Question 1

Why do we use the imperfect tense (flottaient) here instead of the present tense?

Accepted Answer

This sentence uses the Second Conditional to talk about a hypothetical or unreal situation. In French, you build this by using si (if) plus the imperfect tense (flottaient), followed by the conditional tense (auraient) in the main clause. Since the plants don't actually float, it's a hypothetical scenario.

Question 2

How do I pronounce the verb endings in flottaient and auraient?

Accepted Answer

For both the imperfect and the conditional tenses, the third-person plural -aient ending is completely silent. You pronounce flottaient exactly like the singular flottait, and auraient exactly like aurait. The ending sounds like a short "eh".

Question 3

Why does it say auraient besoin instead of a direct verb for "would need"?

Accepted Answer

French doesn't have a single, direct verb for "to need". Instead, it uses the expression avoir besoin de (literally "to have need of"). To say "they would need", you put the helper verb avoir into the conditional tense (elles auraient) and add besoin de.

Question 4

Why is it d'oxygène and not de l'oxygène?

Accepted Answer

After the expression avoir besoin de, you usually drop the definite article (le, la, les, or l') when talking about an uncountable noun in a general sense. Because of this rule, and because oxygène starts with a vowel, de simply contracts to d'.

Si les plantes flottaient, elles auraient besoin d'oxygène.

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