Use of Present Conditional The conditional is a mood, which means that it serves to express the attitude or impression of the speaker. The present conditional is used in three main contexts: 1. With certain verbs to indicate politeness: Je voudrais la carte, s’il vous plaît. (I would like the menu, please.) Auriez-vous deux minutes? (Would you have a couple of minutes?) 2. To express “the future of the past.” Compare the regular future (as used in direct discourse) with the future of the past (used in indirect discourse): Direct discourse: Elle a dit, “je viendrai à la fête.” (She said, “I will come to the party.”) Indirect discourse: Elle a dit qu’elle viendrait à la fête. (She said she would come to the party.) 3. In si constructions expressing possible or hypothetical situations. These sentences follow a relatively inflexible pattern entailing a “si-clause” and a “result clause”: “Si + imperfect” followed by “present conditional” Si j’avais le temps, je ferais mes devoirs. (If I had the time, I would do my homework.) (Source: Carleton )