94 Qu'est-ce que j'ai fichu

le conditionnel passé

The past conditional (le conditionnel passé) in French is used to express things that would have happened under certain conditions. It’s often used for regrets, hypothetical situations, or unfulfilled actions.

Formation of the Past Conditional

The past conditional is formed using the conditional of “avoir” or “être” + the past participle of the main verb.

1. “Avoir” or “Être” in the Conditional Present

• Avoir → j’aurais, tu aurais, il/elle/on aurait, nous aurions, vous auriez, ils/elles auraient
• Être → je serais, tu serais, il/elle/on serait, nous serions, vous seriez, ils/elles seraient

2. Past Participle of the Main Verb

• Regular Verbs

  • manger → mangé (j’aurais mangé)
  • finir → fini (tu aurais fini)
  • vendre → vendu (il aurait vendu)

• Irregular Verbs

  • être → été (j’aurais été)
  • avoir → eu (tu aurais eu)
  • faire → fait (il aurait fait)
  • venir → venu (elle serait venue)

3. Agreement with “Être”

Verbs that use être (mostly movement verbs and reflexive verbs) must agree in gender and number:

• Elle serait venue (she would have come)
• Nous serions partis (we would have left)

Usage of the Past Conditional

1. Regret / Missed Opportunities

Used to express what could have happened but didn’t.

• J’aurais aimé apprendre le piano. → I would have liked to learn the piano.
• Nous aurions dû partir plus tôt. → We should have left earlier.
• Il aurait voulu être médecin. → He would have liked to be a doctor.

2. Hypothetical Situations (with “si” clauses in the past)

When the past perfect (plus-que-parfait) is in the “si” clause, the result is in the past conditional.

• Si tu m’avais invité, je serais venu. → If you had invited me, I would have come.
• Si elle avait étudié, elle aurait réussi son examen. → If she had studied, she would have passed her exam.
• Si nous avions eu plus d’argent, nous aurions voyagé autour du monde. → If we had had more money, we would have traveled around the world.

3. Expressing Doubt / Uncertainty (Reported Speech or Unconfirmed Information)

• Selon les témoins, il aurait volé la voiture. → According to witnesses, he allegedly stole the car.
• On aurait vu un OVNI hier soir. → A UFO was supposedly seen last night.
• Elle aurait dit qu’elle viendrait. → She allegedly said she would come.

4. Giving Advice (using “devoir” or “pouvoir”)

• Tu aurais dû me prévenir ! → You should have warned me!
• Vous auriez pu appeler avant. → You could have called before.
• Il aurait fallu réserver à l’avance. → It would have been necessary to book in advance.

5. Expressing a Missed Obligation (using “falloir”)

• Il aurait fallu être plus prudent. → One should have been more careful.
• Il aurait fallu lui expliquer la situation. → Someone should have explained the situation to him.

📔 Example from the text

• Mais tu aurais dû faire plus attention ou plus de ménage : t’as vu le fouillis dans ton bureau ?

plus vs. plus de

The difference between “plus attention” (without de) and “plus de ménage” (with de) comes from the type of noun following “plus” and the grammatical structure of the sentence.

1. “Plus attention” (without de)

➡️ “Tu aurais dû faire plus attention.”
Here, “attention” is an abstract noun and functions as a direct object of the verb “faire” (faire attention = to pay attention).

• The phrase “faire attention” is a fixed expression, meaning “to be careful” or “to pay attention.”
• When we add “plus” to indicate more, we do not need de.
• Example:
  • Il faut faire attention. → One must pay attention.
  • Tu dois faire plus attention. → You must pay more attention.

💡 Key Rule: With fixed expressions like faire attention, prendre soin, avoir peur, etc., we do not add de before the noun.

2. “Plus de ménage” (with de)

➡️ “Tu aurais dû faire plus de ménage.”
Here, “ménage” (housework/cleaning) is a mass noun, meaning an uncountable quantity.

• When expressing a greater quantity of something, French requires “plus de” + noun for quantifiable or uncountable nouns.
• Example:
  • Je veux plus de café. → I want more coffee.
  • Il y a plus de bruit aujourd’hui. → There is more noise today.

💡 Key Rule: With uncountable or countable nouns expressing quantity, use “plus de” instead of just “plus.”

Why the Difference?

• “Faire attention” is a set expression → “plus attention” (NO de).
• “Faire du ménage” refers to an amount of cleaning → “plus de ménage” (WITH de).

More Examples for Comparison

✔ Tu devrais faire plus d’efforts. → “Efforts” are countable, so we use “plus de”.
✔ Tu devrais faire plus attention. → “Attention” is part of a set phrase, so NO de.

Que je sache

➡️ “Que je sache” literally translates to “as far as I know” or “to my knowledge.” It is used to indicate uncertainty or limited knowledge about a situation.

1. Subjunctive Mood

• Savoir (to know) is conjugated in the subjunctive present:

  • que je sache (that I know)
  • que tu saches (that you know)
  • qu’il/elle/on sache (that he/she/one knows)
  • etc.

• The subjunctive is required because this phrase expresses doubt or uncertainty.

2. Usage in Context

• Used alone to express doubt:

  • Il n’a rien dit, que je sache. → As far as I know, he didn’t say anything.
  • Elle n’est pas encore arrivée, que je sache. → As far as I know, she hasn’t arrived yet.

• Used in a sentence with a main clause:

  • Il n’y a pas de problème, que je sache. → There’s no problem, as far as I know.
  • Personne n’a démissionné, que je sache. → No one has resigned, to my knowledge.

3. Alternative Expressions

• “À ma connaissance” → A more neutral, factual way to say “to my knowledge.”
  • À ma connaissance, il n’a jamais vécu en France.
• “Il me semble que” → “It seems to me that…” (less doubt than que je sache).
  • Il me semble qu’elle est déjà partie.

Se prendre les pieds dans le tapis

➡️ Literal meaning: “To catch one’s feet in the carpet.”
➡️ Figurative meaning: To make a mistake, often in a clumsy or embarrassing way.

1. Explanation

This French idiom is used when someone slips up, makes a blunder, or gets caught in a tricky situation, often due to their own actions. It can refer to both physical clumsiness and metaphorical mistakes (like misspeaking, getting confused, or failing in a situation).

2. Examples in Context

✔ Le ministre s’est pris les pieds dans le tapis en répondant à la question du journaliste.
➡️ The minister slipped up while answering the journalist’s question.

✔ Il voulait mentir, mais il s’est pris les pieds dans le tapis et s’est contredit.
➡️ He wanted to lie, but he messed up and contradicted himself.

✔ Lors de sa présentation, il s’est pris les pieds dans le tapis en oubliant les chiffres clés.
➡️ During his presentation, he stumbled (figuratively) by forgetting the key numbers.

3. Related Expressions

• “Faire un faux pas” → To make a misstep (social or professional mistake).
• “Se prendre une gamelle” → To take a fall (literally or figuratively fail at something).
• “Mettre les pieds dans le plat” → To put one’s foot in it (say something inappropriate or blunt).

Vocabulaire