ELONIO
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Si la gravité était moins forte, l'astronaute flotterait.

Si la gravité était moins forte, l'astronaute flotterait.
If the gravity were less strong, the astronaut would float.
From Lesson 174:The second conditional (si j'avais, je ferais)·French

Questions & Answers about Si la gravité était moins forte, l'astronaute flotterait.

Why do we use the imparfait (était) after si instead of the conditional?
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.

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