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Si clauses: real, imagined and past conditions

CEFR B1

What you will learn

  • Match each degree of reality to its tense pair: present, imperfect or pluperfect after si.
  • Distinguish conditional si from interrogative si meaning whether.

The idea

The tense immediately after conditional si shows how the speaker presents the condition: open, imagined or already impossible.

For a real or open condition, use “si + present”. The result can be present, simple future or imperative according to meaning: “si tu viens, on dîne”; “si tu viens demain, nous sortirons”; “si tu viens, appelle-moi”.

For an imagined present or future situation, use “si + imperfect” and “present conditional”: “si j’avais plus de temps, je lirais davantage”. The imperfect does not place the event in the past here; it marks distance from reality.

For a past condition that can no longer be fulfilled, use “si + pluperfect” and “past conditional”: “si nous avions réservé, nous aurions eu une table”. Both compound tenses place condition and result in an alternative past.

The practical rule is precise: conditional si meaning “if/in the event that” is not followed by the simple future or conditional. Do not extend that rule to interrogative si meaning “whether”: “je ne sais pas s’il viendra” allows a future because it is not a condition.

Working paradigm

ReadingSi-clausePossible result
abiertasi + présentprésent / futur / impératif
imaginadasi + imparfaitconditionnel présent
pasada imposiblesi + plus-que-parfaitconditionnel passé

The result may come first; the tense pairing does not change.

How it sounds

  • Si nous avions réservé, nous aurions eu une table.The opportunity has passed. The unfulfilled condition takes the pluperfect: “si nous avions réservé”. The alternative result takes the past conditional: “nous aurions eu”.
Three paths: real rain leads to an umbrella, imagined time leads to books, and a missed train leaves a faded past route.
Each row represents a different degree of reality and requires a different tense pair.

Your turn

Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.

  1. Use this image

    Si tu ___ demain, nous irons au musée.

    viens — Open condition: si + present; the future belongs in the result clause.

  2. Use this image

    Si elle ___ près d’ici, elle viendrait à pied.

    habitait — Imagined situation: si + imperfect, followed by the present conditional.

  3. Use this image

    Si vous étiez partis plus tôt, vous ___ le dernier bus.

    auriez pris — The past condition was not fulfilled; the alternative result takes the past conditional.

When it doesn't hold

What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.

  • ConditionS’il vient demain, nous sortirons.
  • Indirect questionJe ne sais pas s’il viendra demain.

What your own language pushes you to say

Wrong Si j’aurais plus de temps, je voyagerais.

Right Si j’avais plus de temps, je voyagerais.

The conditional belongs in the imagined result; the condition uses the imperfect. Non-standard patterns in other languages may suggest “si j’aurais”, but the French pair is fixed.

Curriculum alignment and sources

Once it makes sense

Practise this: After si, never the futureFrench subjunctive: forms, triggers and contrast with the indicativePast participle agreement: auxiliary, object and positionReported speech: person, tense and viewpointOn and the passive: choosing sentence focusSpoken and written French: adapting register