B2 · If-sentences · about 4 minutes
Conditions without si
«in case it rains» becomes a conditional here.
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need4
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- la conditionthe condition
- sinonotherwise
- le numérothe number
- pourvu queprovided that
Understand
Remember«in case it rains» is au cas où il pleuvrait.
- When
If and would — Here the condition decides the form, not the position on the clock.
- Signal words
- à condition que
- pourvu que
- à moins que
- au cas où
- sinon
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) tense marker person ending ending for tense and person
| provided that I come | à condition que je vienne |
| provided that you come | à condition que tu viennes |
| provided that he comes | à condition qu’il vienne |
| provided that we come | à condition que nous venions |
| provided that you come (plural, polite) | à condition que vous veniez |
| provided that they come | à condition qu’ils viennent |
| as long as the weather is fine | pourvu qu’il fasse beau |
| unless it rains | à moins qu’il ne pleuve |
| in case it rains | au cas où il pleuvrait |
| in case I come | au cas où je viendrais |
| in case you come | au cas où tu viendrais |
| in case he comes | au cas où il viendrait |
| in case we come | au cas où nous viendrions |
| in case you come (plural, polite) | au cas où vous viendriez |
| in case they come | au cas où ils viendraient |
| provided that I come (same subject) | à condition de venir |
| otherwise | sinon |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
à condition que takes the subjunctive.
Je viendrai à condition que tu sois là.I will come provided that you are there.
au cas où takes the conditional, where English has a present.
Prends un parapluie au cas où il pleuvrait.Take an umbrella in case it rains.
à moins que carries a ne that is not a negation.
On sort, à moins qu’il ne fasse trop froid.We are going out, unless it gets too cold.
sinon names what happens otherwise.
Pars maintenant, sinon tu vas rater le train.Leave now, otherwise you will miss the train.
Example sentences
Laisse-moi ton numéro, au cas où j’aurais besoin d’aide.Leave me your number in case I need help.
Nous partirons demain, pourvu que la voiture soit prête.We will leave tomorrow, provided the car is ready.
En cas de retard, appelez ce numéro.In case of delay, call this number.
1 more example sentences
Je le ferai, à condition d’avoir le temps.I will do it, provided I have the time.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Au cas où is the one connector after which the conditional stands — and it stands precisely where si forbids it. English uses the same present tense for both («if it rains» and «in case it rains»), so nothing warns you that the two are opposites here: si tu as le temps, but au cas où tu aurais le temps.
Quick check
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Not every condition starts with si. À condition que (provided that), pourvu que (as long as), à moins que (unless) and en cas de (in case of) do the same job by other means, and three of them pull the subjunctive: à condition que tu viennes, pourvu qu'il fasse beau, à moins qu'il ne pleuve.
That ne in the last one is a ne explétif: it negates nothing and belongs to careful written French. English «unless it rains» has nothing there, so reading it as a negative reverses the sentence.
And one falls out of line, in the most interesting way. Au cas où takes the *conditional*: Au cas où il pleuvrait. English says «in case it rains», with a plain present, and that is one of the commonest things to want to say — «take an umbrella in case it rains», «leave me your number in case I need help». Every one of those becomes a conditional in French.
It is the commonest connector that does this — the only other is the formal quand bien même — and it does it exactly where si forbids it. With the same subject you can fall back on an infinitive: à condition de venir, à moins de partir tôt, or a noun after en cas de.
The verbs on this page, in every form: être · avoir · faire · prendre · laisser · venir · partir · sortir