Question 1

Why do we use J'aurais aimé instead of J'aimerais?

Accepted Answer

J'aurais aimé is the past conditional (I would have liked). It is formed with the conditional of avoir (j'aurais) plus the past participle (aimé). You use it here because you are expressing a regret about a missed opportunity in the past. J'aimerais is the present conditional, meaning "I would like" right now.

Question 2

Why isn't there a preposition like à or de before rire?

Accepted Answer

The verb aimer is followed directly by an infinitive without a preposition. Just like you say j'aime lire (I like to read), "I would have liked to laugh" is simply J'aurais aimé rire, with no joining word needed.

Question 3

How could I rewrite the second half to emphasize "the joke" using this lesson's ce qui / c'est structure?

Accepted Answer

To emphasize that the joke was the source of the awkwardness, you could say: ...mais ce qui était gênant, c'est la blague (but what was awkward was the joke). You use ce qui instead of ce que because "what" acts as the subject of the verb était.

Question 4

Does gênante translate exactly to "awkward"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, gênant (feminine gênante) is the most common word for situations that are socially awkward, uncomfortable, or embarrassing. It comes from the verb gêner (to bother or embarrass). It takes an -e at the end here to agree with the feminine noun la blague.

J'aurais aimé rire, mais la blague était gênante.

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