The inclusion of the conditional mode in si clauses reflects the idea of if that is indicated by the conjunction si. We are also familiar with the conditional mode as a form of politeness, used with verbs such as vouloir, pouvoir, avoir, and aimer when making requests, e.g., “Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît” “Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre ?” “Est-ce que vous auriez l’heure ?” “Nous aimerions nous asseoir sur la terrasse”. “J’aurais essayé le dessert, mais il n’en restait pas” illustrates a hypothetical action in the past that never occurred because it was contingent upon certain circumstances that were not in place. It can, of course, be used independently of si clauses to express something that is contingent upon certain circumstances. The conditional is considered an irrealis mode, meaning that the designated action is not known to have happened as the phrase is being uttered. Verbs from the first group follow this pattern: fêter To form verbs in the conditional mode, we add imperfect endings to these radicals. Notice that all of these radicals, whether regular or irregular, end with r, which is why we refer to the r futur when forming them. Some radicals change completely, as do ser- for the verb être and ir- for the verb aller. pouvoir has the futur simple and conditionnel radical pourr- and se souvenir has the futur simple and conditionnel radical souviendr. The radicals of certain irregular verbs change, e.g. fêter, finir, dormir, and the infinitive with the final e dropped for verbs in the third group, such as rendre. This would be the infinitive for regular verbs in the first and second groups, e.g. To form the present conditional, use the same radical as the one you would use for the futur simple. Since two of the three si clauses use conditional forms, let us go over verbs conjugated in the conditional mode. Had this occurred, observers would have been very surprised, but as a past hypothetical it conveys the idea that it did not occur. The fifth and sixth sentences illustrate a past hypothetical situation of the appearance of reindeer on Christmas Eve. It is a possible occurrence, but gives the impression that the speaker is not in Paris, and so it is a less probable scenario than the SPF phrase.
The third and fourth sentences illustrate a hypothetical situation in which the speaker and others could potentially listen to the Messiah at the Paris Philharmonic, if certain things were in place, such as being in the city of Paris. This must be the preferred si clause of dermatologists, since I’ve heard it referred to as an SPF sentence (si+présent→futur). The speaker’s choice of gift, expressed in the future tense, is contingent upon what she is given at present (no pun intended). The first two sentences illustrate a situation that could potentially happen. If reindeer had arrived in front of the house on Christmas Eve, we would have been very surprised. Si des rennes étaient arrivés devant la maison au réveillon de Noël, nous aurions été très surpris. The sequence of tenses and modes is similar to those that would be used in their English equivalents. Be aware that in the French version, there is no word corresponding to the word then.
The word si in these clauses can be translated as if in English, which is why these types of clauses are sometimes referred to as if / then clauses by English-speakers. "Si" Can Be Translated "As If" In English This is the least likely scenario to occur. The third line actually places the second line in the past, indicating that something could have occurred in order for a certain resulting action to come about. The second line is more hypothetical, expressing a condition that would need to be in place in order for a resulting action to come about. This reflects its position as the most likely scenario to occur of the three.
The first line in the table above uses the present and future tenses rather than a past tense and a conditional.
“Si vous pratiquez le r français tous les jours, vous arriverez à prononcer cette consonne fricative uvulaire voisée” can also be expressed as “Vous arriverez à prononcer cette consonne fricative uvulaire voisée si vous pratiquez le r français tous les jours”. The order of these clauses is not fixed, i.e., the clauses can be moved around, with the dependent clause appearing either before or after the main clause. Si + plus-que-parfait → conditionnel passé