Second Conditional French «Si Clauses»

What is a si clause?

The word si means if in English. Si clauses, also known as conditionals or conditional sentences, are used to express what could happen if some condition is met. Si clauses indicate possibilities which may or may not actually happen. They refer to the present, past, and future. Click here for a lesson on first conditional si clauses, and here for a lesson on third conditional si clauses.

Conditional sentences have two parts: the condition, or si clause, and the result clause which indicates what will happen if the condition of the si clause is met. The tense of the result clause depends on the tense of the si clause. In other words, the tense of the two clauses follow a pattern that cannot be modified.

What tenses are used in the second conditional?

The si part of the clause must always be in the imperfect tense. The result clause must be in the conditional.

Imperfect + Conditional

👉 Practice second conditional si clauses on Quizlet

Second conditional si clauses suggest what someone would do if a certain situation were to present itself. We use the same model in English. Have a look at the following examples both in French and English, all of which are used in my video lesson below.

👉 Si j’allais en Espagne, je mangerais des tapas tous les jours.

👉 If I went to Spain I would eat tapas every day.

👉 Si j’avais un souhait, ce serait de parler couramment le français.

👉 If I had a wish, it would be to speak French fluently.

👉 Si tu n’avais qu’une soeur, tu ne serais pas obligé(e) de partager ta chambre.

👉 If you only had one sister, you wouldn’t have to share your room.

👉 Si j’étais toi, je ferais plus attention à ma santé.

👉 If I were you, I would pay more attention to my health.

👉 Si tu faisais tes devoirs comme il fallait, tu n’aurais pas de mauvaises notes à l’école.

👉 If you did your homework like you were supposed to, you wouldn’t have bad grades at school.

👉 S’il avait mal à la tête, il me le dirait.

👉 If he had a headache, he would tell (it to) me.