Breakdown of Avec un autre destin, il aurait changé de parcours et étudié la médecine.
un
a / an (masculine)
il
he
et
and
avec
with
avoir
to have
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
étudier
to study
changer
to change
autre
other
le destin
the destiny
le parcours
the pathway
la médecine
the medicine (field of study)
Questions & Answers about Avec un autre destin, il aurait changé de parcours et étudié la médecine.
How do we form the past conditional in il aurait changé?
The past conditional is formed just like the passé composé, but you put the helping verb (the auxiliary) into the conditional tense instead of the present tense. Here, we take avoir in the conditional (il aurait) and add the past participle of the main verb (changé). It translates to "he would have changed".
Why is there no helping verb before étudié?
Why is it changé de parcours instead of changé le parcours?
We usually see the past conditional with a si (if) clause. Where is the condition here?
You're right that past conditionals are often paired with a si clause (like "If he had had another destiny..."). However, you can also express the condition using a prepositional phrase. Here, Avec un autre destin (With another destiny) sets up the hypothetical past condition just as effectively as a full si clause would.
Why do we say étudié la médecine with la, while English just says "studied medicine"?
In French, abstract nouns and general categories, like fields of study, sciences, or arts, require a definite article (le, la, l', or les). Because of this rule, "medicine" in a general sense becomes la médecine.
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