How to say could in French

Have you ever wondered how to say could in French? Unlike English, where could is a single word, French uses two different tenses depending on the context: the present conditional (le conditionnel présent) and the imperfect (l’imparfait). The key to choosing the right tense lies in whether you’re referring to a hypothetical situation or something that happened in the past.

No matter which tense you use, the verb at the heart of this expression is pouvoir (to be able to). Mastering this distinction will help you sound more natural and fluent in French.

In this lesson, I’ll break down when to use each tense, provide clear examples, and guide you through practical exercises to reinforce your understanding. Scroll down for a step-by-step video tutorial to help you confidently know how to say could in French!

Pouvoir – Present Conditional

The English word could is often expressed in French using the conditional. The conditional is used to refer to hypothetical events that are not guaranteed to happen.

To express could in the conditional, you have to use the verb pouvoir.

je pourrais	nous pourrions
tu pourrais	vous pourriez
il – elle – on pourrait	ils – elles pourraient

Examples

Je ne pourrais jamais vivre en ville.

I could never live in the city.

Pourrais-tu allumer le four?

Could you turn on the oven?

Est-ce qu’elle pourrait venir vers 17h00?

Could she come around 5:00 pm?

Nous pourrions aller au parc.

We could go to the park.

Pourriez-vous m’aider?

Could you help me?

Ils pourraient partager les frais.

They could share the costs.

Pouvoir – Si Clauses – Imperfect Tense

The conditional is often used when the outcome of an event depends on certain conditions being met. When the word could follows si, you need to use the imperfect tense. Using the conditional in this context would be incorrect.

Second conditional si clauses follow a strict pattern regarding tenses. It doesn’t matter whether you begin the si clause with the imperfect or the conditional, but you must follow si with the imperfect.

1st verb conditional	si… 2nd verb imperfect
Si… 1st verb imperfect	2nd verb conditional

Examples

Je ferais un grand voyage si je pouvais.

I would take a big trip if I could.

Si tu pouvais, irais-tu voir ta famille?

If you could, would you go to see your family?

Ce serait gentil si tu pouvais m’aider.

It would be nice if you could help me.

Nous pourrions venir avec vous si notre chien pouvait nous accompagner.

We could come with you if our dog could accompany us.

Si vous pouviez tout recommencer, qu’est-ce que vous changeriez?

If you could do it all over again, what would you change?

Ils viendraient s’ils pouvaient.

They would come if they could.

Pouvoir – Imperfect – Could in the past

When you want to use the word could, and you’re making reference to the past, you need to use the imperfect tense. It means one used to be able to do (or not do) something in the past. There’s no indication that the event had a beginning and an end.