Learn French: Si la gravité était moins forte, l'astronaute flotterait. - If the gravity were less strong, the astronaut would float.

In French hypothetical sentences (the second conditional), the rule is always si + imparfait for the condition, followed by the conditionnel for the result. You can never put a conditional verb directly after si!

How do we build the conditional verb flotterait?

For regular -er verbs like flotter (to float), you take the full infinitive and add the imparfait endings. Since l'astronaute is third-person singular (he/she), you add the ending -ait to get flotterait.

Why is it forte instead of fort?

The adjective describes la gravité, which is a feminine noun. In French, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, so we add an -e to the masculine fort to make it feminine.

Why do we say la gravité when English just says "gravity"?

French requires a definite article (le, la, l', or les) before nouns when talking about general concepts, sciences, or abstract ideas. While English drops the article for "gravity," French keeps it.