In French, expressing a condition can be done by combining the use of "si" with the imperfect and the present conditional. This grammatical structure allows for discussing hypothetical situations or actions that could occur under certain conditions.
Structure:
Si + subject + verb in the imperfect, subject + verb in the present conditional.
Examples
- Si j'avais le temps, je lirais plus de livres. (If I had time, I would read more books. - I don't have time, so I don't read more books.)
- Si tu étais ici, nous irions à la plage. (If you were here, we would go to the beach. - You are not here, so we are not going to the beach.)
- Si nous partions plus tôt, nous éviterions les embouteillages. (If we left earlier, we would avoid the traffic jams.)
- Si elle savait nager, elle pourrait venir avec nous. (If she knew how to swim, she could come with us.)
- Si j'étais un homme, on m'appellerait monsieur. (If I were a man, people would call me sir. - But I am a woman, so they call me madam.)