Breakdown of J'ai cru que mes vêtements ne seraient pas mouillés.
je
I
être
to be
avoir
to have
ne
not (used before the verb)
Questions & Answers about J'ai cru que mes vêtements ne seraient pas mouillés.
Why is seraient in the conditional tense instead of the future tense?
This is the core rule of backshifting in reported speech. If you were having this thought right now, you would use the future tense: I believe that my clothes will not be wet (ne seront pas). But because the main verb is in the past (J'ai cru), the future tense shifts into the conditional (seraient) to express the future from a past perspective (would not be).
What is the infinitive verb for cru?
Cru is the irregular past participle of the verb croire (to believe). Since it uses avoir as its helping verb, I believed or I thought is formed as J'ai cru.
In English, we often drop the word that and just say I believed my clothes would not be wet. Can I drop que in French?
No, you can never drop the conjunction que in French when it connects a main clause to a subordinate clause. Even though it feels optional in English, it is strictly required in French.