In French, should we write « je serai » or « je serais »?
In French, the two spellings je serais and je serai are correct, but do not have the same meaning:
- Je serai: verb être (to be) in the future tense: we are talking about an upcoming event that will take place with certainty.
- Je serais: verb être (to be) in the conditional tense: we are talking about a hypothetical or uncertain event.
Tip: by replacing the subject Je ( I ) with nous (we), it becomes easy to determine the conjugation:
- Demain, je serai dans l'avion. => Demain, nous serons dans l'avion (futur tense).
- Je serais certain si je pouvais le voir. => Nous serions certain si nous pouvions le voir (conditional tense)
⚠️ Caveat ⚠️:
When you write Je serai acheteur (I will be a buyer) you are committing to buy in the near or distant future, without conditions.
When you write Je serais acheteur (I would be a buyer), you are indicating to your interviewer that - potentially - you would be willing to buy (only if certain conditions are met).
Some examples:
Je serai intéressé. <=> I would be interested. (if we are sure that later on we will be interested)
Je serais intéressé. <=> I would be interested. (if we are not sure yet, but we might be interested)
Quand je serai grand, je serai pompier. <=> When I grow up, I will be a fireman.
Demain, je serai en vacances. <=> Tomorrow I'll be on vacation.
Je serais certain si je pouvais vérifier. <=> I would be sure if I could check.
Je serai certain quand je pourrais vérifier. <=> I'll be sure when I can check.
In French, the two spellings je serais and je serai are correct, but do not have the same meaning:
- Je serai: verb être (to be) in the future tense: we are talking about an upcoming event that will take place with certainty.
- Je serais: verb être (to be) in the conditional tense: we are talking about a hypothetical or uncertain event.
Tip: by replacing the subject Je ( I ) with nous (we), it becomes easy to determine the conjugation:
- Demain, je serai dans l'avion. => Demain, nous serons dans l'avion (futur tense).
- Je serais certain si je pouvais le voir. => Nous serions certain si nous pouvions le voir (conditional tense)
⚠️ Caveat ⚠️:
When you write Je serai acheteur (I will be a buyer) you are committing to buy in the near or distant future, without conditions.
When you write Je serais acheteur (I would be a buyer), you are indicating to your interviewer that - potentially - you would be willing to buy (only if certain conditions are met).
Some examples:
Je serai intéressé. <=> I would be interested. (if we are sure that later on we will be interested)
Je serais intéressé. <=> I would be interested. (if we are not sure yet, but we might be interested)
Quand je serai grand, je serai pompier. <=> When I grow up, I will be a fireman.
Demain, je serai en vacances. <=> Tomorrow I'll be on vacation.
Je serais certain si je pouvais vérifier. <=> I would be sure if I could check.
Je serai certain quand je pourrais vérifier. <=> I'll be sure when I can check.
In French, the two spellings je serais and je serai are correct, but do not have the same meaning:
- Je serai: verb être (to be) in the future tense: we are talking about an upcoming event that will take place with certainty.
- Je serais: verb être (to be) in the conditional tense: we are talking about a hypothetical or uncertain event.
Tip: by replacing the subject Je ( I ) with nous (we), it becomes easy to determine the conjugation:
- Demain, je serai dans l'avion. => Demain, nous serons dans l'avion (Futur).
- Je serais certain si je pouvais le voir. => Nous serions certain si nous pouvions le voir (Conditionnel)
⚠️ Caveat ⚠️:
When you write Je serai acheteur (I will be a buyer) you are committing to buy in the near or distant future, without conditions.
When you write Je serais acheteur (I would be a buyer), you are indicating to your interviewer that - potentially - you would be willing to buy (only if certain conditions are met).
Some examples:
Je serai intéressé. <=> I would be interested. (if we are sure that later on we will be interested)
Je serais intéressé. <=> I would be interested. (if we are not sure yet, but we might be interested)
Quand je serai grand, je serai pompier. <=> When I grow up, I will be a fireman.
Demain, je serai en vacances. <=> Tomorrow I'll be on vacation.
Je serais certain si je pouvais vérifier. <=> I would be sure if I could check.
Je serai certain quand je pourrais vérifier. <=> I'll be sure when I can check.
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