What is the conditional mood in French and when is it used?

The conditional mood in French, called "le conditionnel," is used to express actions or events that are dependent on a certain condition or that may or may not happen in the future. It is also used to make polite requests or to express hypothetical situations.

The conditional mood is formed by adding specific endings to the infinitive form of the verb.

For regular verbs, the endings are as follows:

• For -ER verbs: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient
• For -IR and -RE verbs: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient

Example:

• Parler (to speak): Je parlerais (I would speak)
• Finir (to finish): Tu finirais (You would finish)
• Vendre (to sell): Il/Elle vendrait (He/She would sell)

However, there are also irregular verbs in the conditional mood that have unique stems and endings. It's important to memorize the irregular forms as they do not follow a specific pattern like regular verbs.