Le Conditionnel

The conditional tense in French is used to talk about what would happen, just like in English when you say "I would like" or "I would go."

Note 1: The conditional tense will always have the word would in the English translation.

Note 2: There is always an r in the conditional tense.

Note 3: There is only one set of conditional tense endings. These endings are used for regular and irregular verbs.

-er	Infinitive of the verb + future endings
-ir	Infinitive of the verb + future endings
-re	Infinitive of the verb + drop the -e + future endings

Regular Verbs in 'Le Conditionnel'

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-er and -ir verbs Infinitive of the verb + conditional endings

-re verbs

Infinitive of the verb + drop the -e + conditional endings

Infinitive: Vendre

Drop the -e: Vendr

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Memory Hacks: Of all the irregular verbs, only 16 are very irregular in the the conditional.

Five verbs have a double "r".

Three verbs have a "d"

chatImportant

Important Note on "Je Voudrais" (Vouloir):

"Je voudrais" in the conditional form is especially important in French because it's the polite way to say "I would like."
It's commonly used when making requests, ordering food, or asking for something in a polite manner.
Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît. (I would like a coffee, please.) Using "je voudrais" instead of "je veux" (I want) is considered more courteous and respectful in everyday conversations.

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Link your learning: Le Futur Simple & Le Conditionnel

Both the futur simple and the conditional tenses use the same verb stem (the infinitive or a special stem for irregular verbs).
They both add specific endings to this stem.
The main difference is that futur simple talks about certain future actions, while conditional talks about possible or hypothetical actions.
The endings are also different. Le Futur Simple Endings: Add ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the stem.

Le Conditionnel Endings: Add ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient to the stem.