You have seen how the conditionnel présent (present conditional) is used to talk about hypothetical situations and dreams. In French, just like in English, this mood is also the standard way to be polite.
When dealing with bureaucracy and government administration, softening your requests with "I would like" or "Could you" goes a long way.
Expressing Wishes: J'aimerais
Instead of making a blunt demand with je veux (I want), you can use the conditional of aimer (to like/love). Because aimer is a regular verb, it simply takes its infinitive and adds the imperfect ending: j'aimerais (I would like).
Use j'aimerais to politely state what you need to do, such as filling out (remplir) paperwork or requesting official documents like an ID card (une carte d'identité) or a visa:
Making Requests: Vous pourriez
To politely ask someone else to do something, use the conditional of pouvoir (can / to be able to). This translates perfectly to "could you...".
Because pouvoir has an irregular future stem (pourr-), its conditional forms look like this:
| Pronoun | Pouvoir (to be able to) |
|---|
| je | je pourrais |
| tu | tu pourrais |
| il / elle / on | il pourrait |
| nous | nous pourrions |
| vous | vous pourriez |
| ils / elles | ils pourraient |
If you need help at a counter (un guichet) or need an official to explain a tax (un impôt), vous pourriez is the most courteous way to ask:
You will also hear officials use this form to ask you for a signature or to verify if your documents are valid (valide):
