This exam tips covers Exam Tips & Common Errors within The simple future and the conditional for GCSE French. Revise The simple future and the conditional in Time Markers and the Three Time Frames for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 4 of 4 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- In the 150-word Higher writing task: use at least one inflectional future OR conditional to demonstrate AO2 grammatical range.
- One si + imperfect + conditional sentence = the single highest-value grammatical structure available at GCSE level — put one in every Higher writing task.
- Key distinction: je mangerai (I will eat — future certainty) vs je mangerais (I would eat — conditional). The -ais/-ait/-aient endings signal conditional.
- The si clause is always imperfect — never use a future tense after si in a conditional sentence.
- Regular -er and -ir verbs use the infinitive as the future/conditional stem — only -re verbs drop the final e.
❌ Common error: Si j'aurai de l'argent, j'achèterais une voiture. (future after si)
✓ Correct: Si j'avais de l'argent, j'achèterais une voiture.
Why it costs marks: The si clause in a hypothetical conditional structure ALWAYS uses the imperfect — never the future. Using the future after si is a serious grammatical error that suggests the student does not understand the conditional structure. This costs AO3 marks and undermines what would otherwise be an impressive high-level sentence.
Practice questions for The simple future and the conditional
Which set of endings correctly completes the simple future tense for je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles?
How is the conditional tense formed in French?