Breakdown of Une loi équitable protégerait l'égalité.
protéger
to protect
la loi
the law
l'égalité
the equality (f)
équitable
fair
Questions & Answers about Une loi équitable protégerait l'égalité.
How is the conditional tense formed in the word protégerait?
To make the conditional (meaning "would" do something), you take the future stem of the verb and add an imparfait (imperfect) ending. For regular -er verbs like protéger, the future stem is just the full infinitive (protéger). Since the subject is Une loi (it/she), we use the third-person singular imparfait ending, which is -ait.
How can I tell protégerait is the conditional and not the future tense?
The future tense for "it will protect" is protégera, ending in -a. The conditional for "it would protect" is protégerait, ending in -ait. This extra -i- is the key spelling difference between future and conditional! Also, remember that the conditional -ait ending sounds like "eh," while the future -a sounds like "ah."
Why does équitable come after loi instead of before it?
In French, most adjectives are placed right after the noun they describe. Only a specific group of common, short adjectives (often remembered by the acronym BANGS: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size) go before the noun. Since équitable (fair) doesn't fall into that short list, it comes after loi (law).
Is there a trick to remembering the words équitable and égalité?
Yes! They are both cognates (words that share a similar root) with English. Équitable looks like "equitable" (fair), and égalité is very close to "equality." In French, an é at the start of a word often corresponds to an "e" or an "s" in the English equivalent.
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