French si clauses and how to form them

Si clauses, of “if” clauses, are the French equivalent of “if…then” statements.  The main difference between French si clauses and English “if…then” statements is that in French, the “then” part is merely implied.

Si clauses might seem intimidating, but it turns out they’re actually fairly easy, since they can usually be directly translated into English, including the verb tenses they use.

Let’s look at how to form French si clauses, including which verb tense pairs to use with them!

Quick facts about French si clauses

Here are the essential facts about French si clauses.

• French si clauses are the equivalent of “if…then” statements in English.

• In most cases, the “then” in a French si clause is implied, but not said or written. For instance: Si je réussis mon examen, je m’achèterai une glace. (If I do well on my exam, (then) I’ll buy myself an ice cream.)

• A si clause is made up of two phrases that are related to each other by a possibility or condition. This is the reason they’re called propositions conditionnelles (or sometimes phrases conditionnelles avec <<si>>) in French – not because they sometimes involve the conditional tense.

• French si clauses use specific pairs of verb tenses. This may sound intimidating, but keep in mind that this is the same for English “if…then” statements. In fact…

• For Anglophones, si clauses might be one of the best aspects of French grammar because they can usually be directly translated into English, including the verb tenses that are used.

• To make a si clause negative, just follow the usual rules for making its verb tenses negative.

Now let’s look at French si clauses in more detail!

How to construct a si clause in French

As with English “if…then” statements, si clauses usually start with “if” (si). The two possibilities or conditions that make up the phrase are usually – but not always – separated by a comma.

For instance:

Si Jean est fatigué, il n’est pas obligé de venir. (If Jean is tired, (then) he doesn’t have to come.)

Si j’avais de l’argent j’achèterais cette belle robe. (If I had (some) money, (then) I would buy this pretty dress.)

A si clause doesn’t always have to begin with si. Regardless, the structure remains the same; two ideas dependent on a possibility or condition. But when si isn’t the first word, there’s usually no need for a comma between the two phrases.

For instance:

Jean n’est pas obligé de venir s’il est fatigué. (Jean doesn’t have to come if he’s tired.)  

J’achèterais cette belle robe si j’avais de l’argent. (I would buy this pretty dress if I had (some) money.)

As with English “if…then” statements, you may sometimes see a word or phrase before the si clause.

For example:

Mais si Jean est fatigué, il n’est pas obligé de venir. (But/Well, if Jean is tired, he doesn’t have to come.)

J’avoue que si j’avais de l’argent, j’achèterais cette belle robe. (I have to admit that if I had (some) money, I would buy this pretty dress.)

Which verb tense pairs to use in si clauses

Si clauses are pretty straightforward. But there’s one potentially tricky thing about them.

A si clause is usually made up of two phrases, each with its own verb tense. In certain cases, you can use the same tense for both verbs, but most of the time, each part of the si clause has a different verb tense, and the two verb tenses have to go together.

Luckily, this is about logic, so the more familiar you are with French verb tenses, the easier it will be to know which verb tenses can and can’t be used together.

Another thing that may seem tricky about si clauses is that they often involve using compound verb tenses (a verb and its auxiliary). This can make si clauses seem intimidating or cluttered when you first start reading, hearing, and using them. But the more familiar you become with French verb tenses, the easier it will get to recognize and use them in si clauses.

If you start to panic, always remember that si clauses usually use the same verb pairings in French as they do in English. So just try to translate each part directly.

For instance, in English you would say, “If you leave, then I will leave, too.” The verbs used in this “if…then” statement are in the present and future tense.  The same pair goes together in French: Si tu pars, je partirai aussi.  

Now let’s look at a more complicated example. In English, you could say, ”If you had left a message, I would have called you back.” The tenses here are the equivalent of the French pluperfect (also called the plus-que-parfait) and the past conditional 1. This sentence translates directly into French, including the ver tenses involved: Si tu avais laissé un message, je t’aurais rappelé.

Here’s a list of each pair of verb tenses used with si clauses:

• present and present tense

 Note that si clauses with this verb pairing usually describe something that happens all the time.

Examples:

Si tu chantes, le chat ronronne. (If you sing, the cat purrs.)

Si nous faisons nos devoirs, nos parents sont contents. (If we do our homework, our parents are  happy.)

Elle prend un taxi si le Métro est en retard. (She takes a taxi if the subway/underground trains are running late.)

• present and imperative

Si clauses with this verb pairing express a possible situation and an instruction that goes with it.

Si tu rentres après 20h, ferme la grille derriere vous. (If you come home after 8pm, shut the gate behind you.)

Si vous voyez la tante Sylvie, dites-lui bonjour de ma part. (If you see Aunt Sylvie, tell her I said hello.)

Si vous cherchez un paysage merveilleux, allez aux Alpes. (If you’re looking for a marvelous landscape, go to the Alps.)

• present and future

Si clauses with this verb pairing express a situation and a sure result.

Examples:

Si tu chantes, le chat ronronnera. (If you sing, the cat will purr.)

Si nous faisons nos devoirs, nos parents seront contents. (If we do our homework, our parents will be happy.)

Elle prendra un taxi si le Métro est en retard. (She will take a taxi if the subway/underground trains are running late.)

• passé composé and either the present, future, or imperative

Si clauses with these verb pairings express a past action and either a habitual (present) or sure (future) result, or an instruction (imperative), tied to the past.

Note that in many cases, the passé composé in these phrases could be translated as either the simple past or the present perfect in English.

Also note that in some cases, these phrases would only be used in highly specific situations. For instance, it’s somewhat rare to see the passé composé and the future paired together in this way, although it is possible.

Examples:

Si nous avons fait nos devoirs, nos parents sont contents. (If we did/If we’ve done our homework, our parents are happy.)

Si nous avons fait nos devoirs, nos parents seront contents. (If we did/If we’ve done our homework, our parents will be happy. (Implies that the parents don’t know yet.))

Si vous avez fait vos devoirs, dites-le à vos parents. (If you did/If you’ve done your homework, tell your parents.)

• imparfait and present conditional

Si clauses with this verb pairing express past action and a possible/likely outcome. This is one of the most common verb tense pairings for French si clauses.

Examples:

Si tu chantais, le chat ronronnerait. (If you sang, the cat would purr.)

Si nous faisions nos devoirs, nous parents seraient contents. (If we did our homework (regularly)our parents would be happy.)

Elle prendrait un taxi si le Métro était en retard. (She would take a taxi if the subway/underground trains were running late.)

• pluperfect and past conditional 1

Si clauses with this verb pairing express a hypothetical past action and a possible/likely outcome. This is another very common verb tense pairing for French si clauses.

Examples:

Si tu avais chanté, le chat aurait ronronné. (If you had sung, the cat would have purred.)

Si nous avions fait nos devoirs, nos parents auraient été contents. (If we had done our homework, our parents would have been happy.)

Elle aurait pris un taxi si le Métro avait été en retard. (She would have taken a taxi if the subway/underground trains had been running late.)

• past conditional 2 and past conditional 2

This particular si clause combination is almost never used in everyday modern spoken French, but you may come across it in extremely formal situations, as well as in literature, and some plays and films (especially older or historical ones).

Its meaning is the same as the previous si clause verb pairing on our list, the pluperfect and the past conditional 1 – in other words, a hypothetical past action and a possible/likely outcome.

Examples:

Je tu eusses chanté, le chat eusse ronronné. (If you had sung, the cat would have purred.)

Si nous eussions fait nos devoirs, nos parents eussions été contents. (If we had done our homework, our parents would have been happy.)

Elle eût pris un taxi si le Métro eût été en retard. (She would have taken a taxi if the subway/underground trains had been running late.)

How to make a si clause negative

To make a si clause negative, just follow the usual rules for making its verb tenses negative.

For single (non-compound ) verbs, this would mean putting ne…pas or another negative word pairing between the verb.

For instance:

Si tu ne chantes pas, le chat ne ronronne pas. (If you don’t sing, the cat doesn’t purr.)

Si nous ne faisons pas nos devoirs, nos parents ne seront pas contents. (If we don’t do our homework, our parents won’t be happy.)

Elle ne prendra pas de taxi si le Métro est en retard. (She won’t take a taxi if the subway/underground trains are running late.)

For compound verbs, put ne…pas or another negative pairing between the verbs’ auxiliaries.

Like so:

Si tu n’avais pas chanté, le chat n’aurait jamais ronronné. (If you hadn’t sung, the cat would never have purred.)

Si nous n’avions pas fait nos devoirs, nos parents n’auraient pas été contents. (If we hadn’t done our homework, our parents wouldn’t have been happy.)

Elle n’aurait pas pris de taxi si le Métro n’avait pas été en retard. (She wouldn’t have taken a taxi if the subway/underground trains hadn’t been running late.)

As in English, you can also make only one part of a si clause negative:

Si tu chantes, le chat ne ronronnera pas. (If you sing, the cat won’t purr.)

Si nous n’avions pas fait nos devoirs, nos parents auraient été fâchés. (If we hadn’t done our homework, our parents would have been angry.)

Elle n’aurait pas pris de taxi si le Métro avait été en retard. (She wouldn’t have taken a taxi if the subway/underground trains had been running late)

How can I practice si clauses?

As you can see, si clauses are simple because the tenses they use are the same as they would be in English. BUT successfully using a si clause means you have to be very familiar with French verb tenses.

A good way to practice si clauses is to think of an “if…then” statement in English and try to translate it into French. If you find that you’re having trouble figuring out which tenses to use, or if you realize you’re having trouble using or conjugating a particular tense, focus on practicing it. One way to do this is to first review the meaning and uses of the verb  tense in question.

You may want to check out our articles to review the present (indicative) tense, review the passé composé, review the imparfait, and review the French conditional tenses.

Next, do an online search for the verb tense you want to practice, plus the words “French” and “free exercises”.

In addition to studying and practicing, keep in mind is that the more you listen to, read, and watch things in French, and the more you use French, the easier it will get to use different French verb tenses and form si clauses. I can absolutely attest to this. When I was learning French, I got a good foundation for si clauses. But watching French movies and reading French books -and, of course, having conversations with French speakers –  are the things that really helped me feel at ease with si clauses.

There are lots of great ways to practice these aspects of French, including using the French Together app, which features conversations in everyday contemporary French, as well as review exercises.

---

Si clauses may seem intimidating, but if you start to panic, just remember that they follow the same rules as English when it comes to verb tense pairings. So take a breath, think of what you want to say, and go for it!  Si tu pratiques les propositions conditionnelles, tu les maîtriseras ! (If you practice si clauses, you’ll master them!)