Learn French: Je travaillerais dans la finance si j'avais accepté leur proposition. - I would work in finance if I had accepted their proposal.

Word

Je travaillerais dans la finance si j'avais accepté leur proposition.

Meaning

I would work in finance if I had accepted their proposal.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

French

Lesson

Mixed conditionals: past to present

Breakdown of Je travaillerais dans la finance si j'avais accepté leur proposition.

Questions & Answers about Je travaillerais dans la finance si j'avais accepté leur proposition.

Why is the main clause in the present conditional (travaillerais) but the si clause is in the plus-que-parfait (avais accepté)?

This is a mixed conditional. Normally, you pair the imparfait with the present conditional for a hypothetical present situation (If I did X, I would do Y). Here, the condition happened in the past (j'avais accepté - I had accepted), but the result is happening right now in the present (je travaillerais - I would work).

Could I say en finance instead of dans la finance?

Dans la finance is the standard and most natural way to say "in finance" when referring to the industry or field of work. While you might hear en finance to describe a degree or an academic class, travailler dans la finance is the fixed, natural expression for working in that professional sector.

I sometimes mix up travaillais and travaillerais. How do I remember which one to use here?

Travaillais is the imparfait (I was working), while travaillerais is the conditional (I would work). To form the conditional, you start with the future stem (which keeps the r from the infinitive travailler) and add the imparfait endings (-ais). You need the conditional here to express the "would" result of the sentence.

Does proposition specifically mean a job offer here?