pourrait
The English word "could" is expressed in French using pourrait.
pourrait is used to express a possibility or a hypothetical situation. Like in English, the conditional mood in French is often used to express politeness when making suggestions or requests.
Which one should you use?
While the word peut expresses a factual ability or certainty (equivalent to "can"), pourrait expresses a possibility or a hypothetical "could".
How does it change in a sentence?
pourrait is the third-person singular conditional present of the verb pouvoir. The forms pourrais (first/second person singular) and pourrait (third person singular) are distinguished by their endings in the conditional mood. To say "they could", use the plural form pourraient.
Did you know?
- The root of pourrait is related to the Latin word potis, which meant 'able'. This makes it a distant cousin to the English word 'potent'.
- The verb pouvoir can be used as a noun, le pouvoir, meaning 'power' or 'the government'. In this sense, it describes the capacity to control others rather than the simple ability to do something.
- While English uses 'could' for both a past ability and a hypothetical, French speakers must choose between the imperfect tense and the conditional mood based on the intended meaning.
Examples in context
- On pourrait faire ça.We could do that.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of pourrait with the subject 'on'.Tatoeba #11578857 by Aiji, translation #2953590 by CK
- Lui pourrait le faire.He could do it.This sentence shows how to use pourrait with the subject 'lui'.Tatoeba #461973 by sacredceltic, translation #284523 by CK
- Tom pourrait faire ça.Tom could do this.This sentence demonstrates the use of pourrait with a name as the subject.Tatoeba #5570786 by Aiji, translation #4667211 by CK
- Je pourrais venir demain ?Could I come tomorrow?
- Pourriez-vous m'aider ?Could you help me?
- Elle pourrait lui téléphoner.She could call him.
- Voudriez-vous bien m'envoyer le rapport ?Could you please send me the report?
- Avec de la pratique, tu pourrais devenir un excellent danseur.With practice, you could become an excellent dancer.
- Pourriez-vous m'expliquer comment utiliser ce logiciel ?Could you explain to me how to use this software?
- Elle pourrait me prêter sa voiture pour le week-end.She could lend me her car for the weekend.
- On pourrait aller au cinéma ce soir.We could go to the cinema tonight.
- 460 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Nathan are discussing their weekend plans.
- LéaOn pourrait voir un film ce soir ?Could we see a movie tonight?
- NathanOui, ce serait super.Yes, that would be great.
- LéaL'histoire pourrait être intéressante.The story could be interesting.
- NathanJe suis d'accord avec toi.I agree with you.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
