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Before discussing ruined plans, you need to know how to talk about the weather forecast (*la météo* or *le bulletin*) and its predictions (*les prévisions*).

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### The Sequence of Tenses: Future to Conditional

If someone makes a prediction or promise in the present, they use the **futur simple** ("It will be sunny"). However, when you report that statement later using a past-tense reporting verb (like *a dit* or *a annoncé*), the reported verb backshifts to the **conditionnel présent**.

This mirrors English perfectly: "will" backshifts to "would".

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To express whether you can trust these predictions, use the reflexive verb *se fier à* (to trust / to rely on).

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### Broken Promises and Ruined Plans

You will frequently use this past-to-conditional backshift with verbs like *penser* (to think), *croire* (to believe), and *promettre* (to promise) to complain about inaccurate expectations. 

Just conjugate the reporting verb in the *passé composé*, followed by *que*, and put the action that was supposed to happen into the conditional.

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This structure is perfect for explaining exactly how a bad forecast ruined your day. Remember that in negative reported statements, *ne* and *pas* wrap around the conjugated conditional verb.

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Reported speech: future to conditional

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the bulletin	le bulletin
I listened to the bulletin this morning.	J'ai écouté le bulletin ce matin.
the forecast	la prévision
The forecasts were not good.	Les prévisions n'ont pas été bonnes.
sunny	ensoleillé
The bulletin announced that the weekend would be sunny.	Le bulletin a annoncé que le week-end serait ensoleillé.
to trust	se fier à
One must not trust this forecast.	Il ne faut pas se fier à cette prévision.
reliable	fiable
Their forecasts are rarely reliable.	Leurs prévisions sont rarement fiables.
clear (unobstructed)	dégagé
The journalist said that the sky would stay clear.	Le journaliste a dit que le ciel resterait dégagé.
the fog	le brouillard
But an hour ago, the fog arrived.	Mais il y a une heure, le brouillard est arrivé.
I thought that the fog would disappear quickly.	J'ai pensé que le brouillard disparaîtrait vite.
the storm	la tempête
awful	affreux
A storm broke out, the weather is awful.	Une tempête a éclaté, la météo est affreuse.
They promised that the storm would not come here.	Ils ont promis que la tempête ne viendrait pas ici.
wet	mouillé
I believed that my clothes would not be wet.	J'ai cru que mes vêtements ne seraient pas mouillés.
Now, we are wet and it's awful!	Maintenant, nous sommes mouillés et c'est affreux !
We must never trust the weather forecast.	On ne doit jamais se fier à la météo.
The weather forecast was not reliable and the sky is not clear.	La météo n'a pas été fiable et le ciel n'est pas dégagé.
The weather forecast announced that the weekend would be sunny, but the rain ruined the picnic.	La météo a annoncé que le week-end serait ensoleillé, mais la pluie a gâché le pique-nique.