Past Conditional
The past conditional says what would have happened.
How It Works
| Person | aver + participle | èsser + participle |
|---|---|---|
| ieu | auriái manjat | seriái vengut (venguda) |
| tu | auriás manjat | seriás vengut (venguda) |
| el, ela | auriá manjat | seriá vengut (venguda) |
| nosautres | auriam manjat | seriam venguts (vengudas) |
| vosautres | auriatz manjat | seriatz venguts (vengudas) |
| eles, elas | aurián manjat | serián venguts (vengudas) |
The past conditional names an action that did not happen: Auriam crompat l'ostal, mas èra tròp car. (We would have bought the house, but it was too expensive.) It is the result clause of an unreal condition about the past, after se and the pluperfect subjunctive.
With dever it gives the meaning should have: Auriás degut venir mai lèu. (You should have come earlier.) With poder it means could have: auriá pogut.
Examples (5)
- Auriam crompat l'ostal, mas èra tròp car.
We would have bought the house, but it was too expensive.
Auriam crompat: the conditional of aver and the participle.
- Seriam anats a la mar, mas ploviá.
We would have gone to the sea, but it was raining.
Seriam anats: èsser, so the participle takes the plural -s.
- Joan auriá volgut venir, mas èra malaut.
Joan would have liked to come, but he was ill.
Auriá volgut: aver, so the participle does not change.
- Auriás degut venir mai lèu.
You should have come earlier.
Auriás degut means you should have.
- Maria seriá tornada a Tolosa, mas aviá pas d'argent.
Maria would have gone back to Toulouse, but she had no money.
Seriá tornada: èsser with a feminine participle.
Common Mistakes
Choosing aver for a verb of movement
Auriam vengut amb vosautres.Seriam venguts amb vosautres.Venir takes èsser, so the past conditional is seriam venguts.
Leaving out the agreement with èsser
Maria seriá tornat a Tolosa.Maria seriá tornada a Tolosa.With èsser, the participle agrees with the subject: tornada.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The past conditional is the conditional of aver or èsser plus a participle, so the conditional and the compound past come first.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice Past Conditional in Bubblegum
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