Chapter 18 Trying the Past Conditional Tense: Could Have and Would Have In This Chapter ᮣ Forming the past conditional tense ᮣ Using the past conditional Y ou use the past conditional tense in all those situations when you could just kick your- self because you should have said this or should have done that. For example, you may say I should have locked the door when a thief takes your car stereo or I should not have locked the door when you lock your keys inside your car. You may tell your friend you should have gone out with him or you may say she shouldn’t have said that if you’re trying to make someone feel better. In all those instances, you’re using the past conditional tense. The past conditional often expresses a missed opportunity in the past, an uncertainty, or a regret. For example, Elle aurait voulu voyager mais elle n’avait pas assez d’argent means She would have liked to travel but she didn’t have enough money. In English, the past conditional is translated as would have done something. Furthermore, in English it’s used to express what would have or would not have occurred if something had happened or had not happened. In this chapter, I show you how to form the past conditional tense and then how to use it. I offer plenty of exercises so that you can practice these concepts. Creating the Past Conditional You form the past conditional by putting the auxiliaries avoir (to have) and être (to be) in the conditional tense and adding the past participle of the verbs. Check out the following tables that conjugate the auxiliaries in the conditional form. avoir ( to have ) j’aurais nous aurions tu aurais vous auriez il/elle/on aurait ils/elles auraient être ( to be ) je serais nous serions tu serais vous seriez il/elle/on serait ils/elles seraient 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 201 202 Part IV: Looking Ahead: The Future and the Conditional Tenses The verbs étudier (to study) and partir (to leave) serve as examples of the two types of auxiliaries: avoir and être. Étudier takes the auxiliary avoir, and partir takes être. The past participle of verbs taking être as their auxiliary agrees with the subject. Therefore, if the subject is feminine singular, add an e, if it’s masculine plural, add an s, and if it’s feminine plural, add an es. If you aren’t sure about the past participle of verbs, look at Chapter 12. étudier ( to study ) j’aurais étudié nous aurions étudié tu aurais étudié vous auriez étudié il/elle/on aurait étudié ils/elles auraient étudié Elle aurait étudié. ( She would have studied. ) partir ( to leave ) je serais parti(e) nous serions partis(es) tu serais parti(e) vous seriez parti(e)(s)(es) il/elle/on serait parti(e) ils/elles seraient partis(es) Nous serions partis. ( We would have left. ) Nous aurions voulu vous aider. (We would have liked to help you.) Ils seraient arrivés. (They would have arrived.) For pronominal verbs, place the pronominal pronoun in front of the auxiliary être, which is followed by the past participle of the verb. Remember that all pronominal verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary être, which is conjugated in the conditional. se lever ( to get up ) je me serais levé(e) nous nous serions levés(es) tu te serais levé(e) vous vous seriez levé(e)(s)(es) il/elle/on se serait levé(e) ils/elles se seraient levés(es) Vous vous seriez levés. ( You would have gotten up. ) To make the past conditional negative, place ne in front of the auxiliary and pas after the auxiliary. For pronominal verbs, place ne in front of the pronominal pronoun and the pas after the auxiliary. Je n’aurais pas fini. (I would not have finished.) Benjamin ne se serait pas réveillé. (Benjamin would not have woken up.) To ask a question using inversion with past tenses, you simply invert the subject and the auxiliary. Serions-nous arrivés à l’heure? (Would we have arrived on time?) Te serais-tu amusé? (Would you have had fun?) 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 202 Now it’s your turn. Put the verbs in parentheses in the past conditional. Q. Corinne _________________ (devoir) téléphoner. A. Corinne aurait dû téléphoner. (Corinne should have called.) 1. Antoine _________________ (payer) par chèque. 2. Vous _________________ (préférer) partir tôt. 3. Mélanie et Alexandre _________________ (se souvenir) de leur jeunesse. 4. Tu _________________ (rester) toute la journée. 5. Sarah _________________ (pouvoir) te présenter à ses amis. 6. Je _________________ (apprendre) le russe. 7. Étienne _________________ (recevoir) la médaille. 8. Nous _________________ (se voir). 9. Les parents de Sophie _________________ (être) déçus. 10. Aurore _________________ (aimer) les rencontrer au café. Correctly Using the Past Conditional The past conditional expresses a missed opportunity or a regret. You can use the past conditional in a simple sentence or in a more complex sentence with two or more clauses. For example, you can say J’aurais dû étudier plus (I should have studied more ), or you can say Si j’avais eu temps, j’aurais étudié plus (If I had had the time, I would have studied more ). Before you correctly use the past conditional in a complex sentence, you need to understand how you use it in a hypothetical sentence. A hypothetical sentence expresses a supposition, a condition, or a possibility introduced by the conjunction if or si. A hypothetical sentence has two clauses — a subordinate clause introduced by si and a result clause or a main clause. The tenses of these clauses vary depending on which hypothetical sentence you use. Here’s what you need to know about the three hypothetical sentences: ߜ In the first hypothetical sentence, you use the present after si, and you can use the present, the immediate future, the simple future, or even the imperative form in the result clause. Use the tense that makes the most sense for what you want to say. ߜ In the second hypothetical sentence, you use the imperfect after si, and you use the present conditional in the result clause. (See Chapter 17.) ߜ In the third hypothetical sentence, you use the pluperfect after si, and you use the past conditional in the result clause. This sentence is the most common use of the past conditional. If the si clause uses the pluperfect (see Chapter 12 for more on forming the pluperfect), then you use the past conditional in the result clause. 203 Chapter 18: Trying the Past Conditional Tense: Could Have and Would Have 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 203 Table 18-1 puts the hypothetical sentences all together. Table 18-1 Hypothetical Sentences Tense in the If or Subordinate Tense in the Result or Main Si Clause Clause Result Clause Clause Present S’il pleut . . . Present . . . je porte un If it rains . . . imperméable. . . . I wear a raincoat. Present S’il pleut . . . Simple future . . . je porterai un If it rains . . . imperméable. . . . I will wear a raincoat. Present S’il pleut . . . Immediate future . . . je vais porter un If it rains . . . imperméable. . . . I am going to wear a raincoat. Present S’il pleut . . . Imperative . . . porte ton If it rains . . . imperméable. . . . wear your raincoat. Imperfect S’il pleuvait . . . Present conditional . . . je porterais un If it were to rain . . . imperméable. . . . I would wear my raincoat. Pluperfect S’il avait plu . . . Past conditional . . . J’aurais porté un If it had rained . . . imperméable. . . . I would have worn my raincoat. You may begin a sentence with the result clause, followed by the subordinate or si clause. However, you can’t switch the tenses, which means that the present (except for the first example sentence, in which both clauses can be in the present tense), the imperfect, and the pluperfect are always placed in the si clause and the future, condi- tional, and past conditional are always placed in the result clause. Si tu avais fini tes devoirs, tu serais allé jouer. (If you had finished your home- work, you would have gone to play. ) As with the other two hypothetical sentences, you may begin your sentence with the result clause, followed by the si clause. However, you can’t switch the tenses. In other words, you always put the pluperfect in the si clause and the past conditional in the result clause. Nous serions arrivés plus tôt s’il n’y avait pas eu d’embouteillages. (We would have arrived earlier if there hadn’t been any traffic jams. ) Fill in these hypothetical sentences. Remember to place the past conditional in the result clause. 204 Part IV: Looking Ahead: The Future and the Conditional Tenses 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 204 Q. S’il n’avait pas plu, nous _________________ (aller) à la plage. A. S’il n’avait pas plu, nous serions allés à la plage. (If it hadn’t rained, we would have gone to the beach. ) 11. Si tu avais regardé la carte, tu _________________ (suivre) la bonne route. 12. S’il n’avait pas fait de vent, je _________________ (rester) à la plage. 13. Ils _________________ (ne pas aller) en classe, s’ils avaient su que le professeur était absent. 14. Je _________________ (se dépêcher) si j’avais été en retard. 15. Si Anne n’avait pas étudié, elle _________________ (ne pas réussir) à l’examen. 16. Est-ce que vous _________________ (être) moins fatigué si vous aviez travaillé plus près de chez vous? 17. Nous _________________ (venir) si tu nous avais dit. 18. Si Sébastien s’était inscrit à ce cours, il _________________ (recevoir) trois unités de valeur. 19. Si tu t’étais levé tôt, tu _________________ (éviter) la circulation. 20. Les enfants _________________ (jouer) dehors s’il n’avait pas fait si froid. I want to provide you with some more practice problems so that you have a firm grasp on the three hypothetical sentences. In the following exercise, match the let- tered logical result clause with the numbered si clause by putting the correct letter in each blank. Q. Si vous n’étiez pas venu A. g. Si vous n’étiez pas venu, vous auriez manqué une bonne soirée. (If you hadn’t come, you would have missed a good party. ) 21. _____ Si tu avais pris des leçons de musique a. je me promènerais. 22. _____ Si on veut b. nous aurions rencontré tes parents. 23. _____ Si Audrey avait de la chance c. ils seraient arrivés dans une demi heure. 24. _____ S’il faisait beau d. tu ne glisserais pas. 25. _____ Si j’ai le temps e. tu aurais joué beaucoup mieux. 26. _____ Si nous étions venus f. elle trouverait un appartement pas trop cher. 27. _____ S’ils avaient pris le métro g. vous auriez manqué une bonne soirée. 28. _____ Si tu marchais prudemment h. on peut. 29. _____ Si Caroline vient avec nous i. elle s’assiéra à côté de toi. 30. _____ Si vous étiez resté chez vous j. je viendrai avec vous. 205 Chapter 18: Trying the Past Conditional Tense: Could Have and Would Have 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 205 What? More practice? Yes, I want to make sure that you understand this concept. In the following sentences, all three hypothetical sentences are included. In each sentence, one of the verbs is filled in for you. It’s up to you to fill in the second verb. Refer to Table 18-1 and conjugate the verbs in parentheses in the required tense. Q. J’aurais fini mes devoirs, si je _________________ (commencer) plus tôt. A. J’aurais fini mes devoirs, si j’avais commencé plus tôt. (I would have finished my home- work if I had begun earlier. ) 31. Si Eric lisait le journal, il _________________ (savoir) ce qui se passait dans le monde. 32. Nous _________________ (pouvoir) voyager, si nous prenons notre retraite. 33. Si mes parents avaient habité plus près, je les _________________ (voir) plus souvent. 34. S’il faisait du vent, vous _________________ (ne pas aller) à la plage. 35. Si vous aviez été fatigués, vous _________________ (devoir) vous reposer. 36. Si tu étais malade, tu _________________ (prendre) des médicaments. 37. Les enfants _________________ (être) heureux s’ils gagnaient le match. 38. S’il avait eu des œufs, il _________________ (faire) une omelette. 39. Audrey _________________ (travailler), si elle finit ses études. 40. Si je gagnais à la loterie, je _________________ (faire) le tour du monde. 206 Part IV: Looking Ahead: The Future and the Conditional Tenses 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 206 Answer Key This section provides the correct answers for all the problems in this chapter. Please review and compare them to your answers. a Antoine aurait payé par chèque. (Antoine would have paid by check.) b Vous auriez préféré partir tôt. (You would have preferred to leave early.) c Mélanie et Alexandre se seraient souvenus de leur jeunesse. (Mélanie and Alexandre would have remembered their youth. ) d Tu serais resté toute la journée. (You would have stayed the whole day.) e Sarah aurait pu te présenter à ses amis. (Sarah could have introduced you to her friends.) f J’aurais appris le russe. (I would have learned Russian.) g Étienne aurait reçu la médaille. (Étienne would have won the medal.) h Nous nous serions vus. (We would have seen each other.) i Les parents de Sophie auraient été déçus. (Sophie’s parents would have been disappointed.) j Aurore aurait aimé les rencontrer au café. (Aurore would have liked to meet them at the café.) k Si tu avais regardé la carte, tu aurais suivi la bonne route. (If you had looked at the map, you would have followed the right route. ) l S’il n’avait pas fait de vent, je serais resté à la plage. (If it had not been windy, I would have stayed at the beach. ) m Ils ne seraient pas allés en classe, s’ils avaient su que le professeur était absent. (They would not have gone to class if they had known that the professor was absent. ) n Je me serais dépêché si j’avais été en retard. (I would have hurried if I had been late.) o Si Anne n’avait pas étudié, elle n’aurait pas réussi à l’examen. (If Anne had not studied, she would not have passed the exam. ) p Est-ce que vous auriez été moins fatigué si vous aviez travaillé plus près de chez vous? ( Would you have been less tired if you had worked closer to home?) q Nous serions venus si tu nous avais dit. (We would have come if you had told us.) r Si Sébastien s’était inscrit à ce cours, il aurait reçu trois unités de valeur. (If Sébastien had registered for this course, he would have received three credits. ) s Si tu t’étais levé tôt, tu aurais évité la circulation. (If you had gotten up early, you would have avoided the traffic. ) t Les enfants auraient joué dehors s’il n’avait pas fait si froid. (The children would have played outside if it hadn’t been so cold. ) 207 Chapter 18: Trying the Past Conditional Tense: Could Have and Would Have 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 207 u e. Si tu avais pris des leçons de musique, tu aurais joué beaucoup mieux. (If you had taken music lessons, you would have played much better. ) v h. Si on veut, on peut. (If one wants, one can.) w f. Si Audrey avait de la chance, elle trouverait un appartement pas trop cher. (If Audrey were lucky, she would find an apartment that’s not too expensive. ) x a. S’il faisait beau, je me promènerais. (If it were nice out, I would take a walk.) y j. Si j’ai le temps, je viendrai avec vous. (If I have time, I will come with you.) A b. Si nous étions venus, nous aurions rencontré tes parents. (If we had come, we would have met your parents. ) B c. S’ils avaient pris le métro, ils seraient arrivés dans une demi heure. (If they had taken the subway, they would have arrived in a half an hour. ) C d. Si tu marchais prudemment, tu ne glisserais pas. (If you were to walk carefully, you would not slip. ) D i. Si Caroline vient avec nous, elle s’assiéra à côté de toi. (If Caroline comes with us, she will sit next to you. ) E g. Si vous étiez resté chez vous, vous auriez manqué une bonne soirée. (If you had stayed home, you would have missed a good party. ) F Si Eric lisait le journal, il saurait ce qui se passait dans le monde. (If Eric were to read the news- paper, he would know what was happening in the world. ) G Nous pourrons voyager, si nous prenons notre retraite. (We will be able to travel if we take our retirement. ) H Si mes parents avaient habité plus près, je les aurais vus plus souvent. (If my parents had lived closer, I would have seen them more often. ) I S’il faisait du vent, vous n’iriez pas à la plage. (If it were windy, you would not go to the beach.) J Si vous aviez été fatigués, vous auriez dû vous reposer. (If you had been tired, you should have rested. ) K Si tu étais malade, tu prendrais des médicaments. (If you were ill, you would take some medication. ) L Les enfants seraient heureux s’ils gagnaient le match. (The children would be happy if they were to win the game. ) M S’il avait eu des œufs, il aurait fait une omelette. (If he had had eggs, he would have made an omelette. ) N Audrey travaillera, si elle finit ses études. (Audrey will work if she finishes her studies.) O Si je gagnais la loterie, je ferais le tour du monde. (If I were to win the lottery, I would travel all over the world. ) 208 Part IV: Looking Ahead: The Future and the Conditional Tenses 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 208 . jams. ) Fill in these hypothetical sentences. Remember to place the past conditional in the result clause. 204 Part IV: Looking Ahead: The Future and the Conditional Tenses 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06. seraient 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 201 202 Part IV: Looking Ahead: The Future and the Conditional Tenses The verbs étudier (to study) and partir (to leave) serve as examples of the two types. monde. 206 Part IV: Looking Ahead: The Future and the Conditional Tenses 25_773883 ch18.qxp 8/2/06 1:41 PM Page 206 Answer Key This section provides the correct answers for all the problems in this chapter.