Past conditional is tricky

N. T.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Past conditional is tricky

I assume it is a simple answer but am confused as to  when I must use infinitive vs past participle…with past conditional

Tu aurais fait un bon professeur  You would have made a good teacher

MAIS

J'aurais pu être un grand artiste.

I could have been a great artist
Asked 1 year ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Nicolle,

In your first sentence -

Tu aurais fait un bon professeur 

only has 1 verb 'faire' in the past conditional.

In your second sentence -

J'aurais pu être un grand artiste

you have 2 verbs 'pouvoir' in the past conditional and être, being the second verb that takes the infinitive.

Hope this helps!

N. T.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thank you for that… yes I just missed that 

N. T. asked:

Past conditional is tricky

I assume it is a simple answer but am confused as to  when I must use infinitive vs past participle…with past conditional

Tu aurais fait un bon professeur  You would have made a good teacher

MAIS

J'aurais pu être un grand artiste.

I could have been a great artist

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