Les orientations professionnelles : present modals, conditional with vouloir | French

Starter quiz

Which verbs are modal verbs?

vouloir ✓

voir

faire

savoir ✓

devoir ✓
Match the French modal verbs with their correct English meaning.

devoir

⇔

to have to, must ✓

pouvoir

⇔

to be able, can ✓

vouloir

⇔

to want, wanting ✓

savoir

⇔

to know how, can ✓
Which modal verb should you use when saying that you can drive in French?

'savoir' ✓
Which modal verb should you use when saying that you can drive to the party tonight?

'pouvoir' ✓
Which is the correct form of 'devoir' in this sentence? 'Nous ______ bien travailler à l'école'. We have to work well at school.

dois

doit

devons ✓

devez

doivent
Put the words in order to make this sentence: They want to give me a shock.

1

⇔

ils

2

⇔

veulent

3

⇔

me

4

⇔

donner

5

⇔

un

6

⇔

choc

Exit quiz

What is the conditional tense used for?

to say what you used to do

to say what you are going to do

to say what you will do

to say what you have done

to say what you would do ✓
How many words are needed in French to say 'would like'?

'one' ✓
Which is the conditional stem of 'vouloir'?

voul

voudr ✓

veu
Which ending is correct? 'Il voudr ...' (He would like)

'ait' ✓
When a modal verb is followed by a second verb, the second verb is always in which form?

Past participle.

Infinitive. ✓

Present participle.

Gerund.
Which verbs are always followed by a second verb in the infinitive?

persuader de ✓

apprendre

inventer

arrêter de ✓

conseiller de ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The sound [ai] sounds like 'vrai'.
Modal verbs state necessity or possibility and are commonly followed by a second verb as an infinitive.
The verb vouloir can be used in the conditional to express a wish. It can be followed by a noun or an infinitive.
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd person forms of vouloir in the conditional all sound the same: je voudrais, tu voudrais, il voudrait.

Common misconception

When saying what you would like to do, a French word for 'would' is needed before the verb 'aimer' to like.

In French, to say what you would like to do, use the conditional stem of the verb vouloir together with the appropriate ending - -ais for 'je' and 'tu', -ait for 'il' and 'elle'.

Keywords

Modal verb - verb of necessity or possibility used with a 2nd verb in infinitive e.g. must, can, want
Conditional tense - describes what could or would happen under certain conditions
Stem - part of the verb that appears in all forms