Question 1

Why is the first half in the pluperfect (avait étudié) but the second half in the present conditional (serait)?

Accepted Answer

This is a mixed conditional. It describes a condition that happened or didn't happen in the past (Si elle avait étudié... - If she had studied), which has a direct result on a situation right now in the present (elle ne serait plus... - she would no longer be). The word aujourd'hui makes this present-day result obvious.

Question 2

Why use au chômage instead of an adjective for 'unemployed'?

Accepted Answer

In French, being unemployed is usually expressed with the phrase être au chômage (literally 'to be at the unemployment'). While you can use the noun un chômeur / une chômeuse (an unemployed person), using être au chômage is the most standard and natural way to describe someone's employment status.

Question 3

How does the negation ne ... plus work with the conditional here?

Accepted Answer

Just like in the present tense, ne and plus wrap around the conjugated verb. Here, the conjugated verb is serait, so it becomes ne serait plus. It translates to 'would no longer be' or 'would not be anymore'.

Question 4

What if I wanted to say 'she wouldn't have been unemployed back then'? How would the sentence change?

Accepted Answer

If the result was also in the past, you would use the past conditional: elle n'aurait plus été au chômage (she would no longer have been unemployed). Because we are talking about her situation today, we mix the past condition with the present conditional (serait).

Si elle avait étudié la finance, elle ne serait plus au chômage aujourd'hui.

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