Breakdown of Si le chef était tolérant, il aurait pardonné cette erreur.
être
to be
il
he
avoir
to have
l'erreur
the mistake, an error (f)
ce
this (before a noun)
le chef
the boss / the manager
si
if
pardonner
to forgive
tolérant
tolerant
Questions & Answers about Si le chef était tolérant, il aurait pardonné cette erreur.
Why does this sentence mix the imparfait (était) with the past conditional (aurait pardonné)?
This is a mixed conditional. Normally, si + imparfait pairs with the present conditional to talk about a hypothetical present. But here, we have a present condition (if he were a tolerant person in general) resulting in a past hypothetical outcome (he would have forgiven that specific error in the past).
Why can't we say si le chef serait tolérant?
In French, you can never put a conditional tense right after si when it means 'if' to introduce a condition. Even though the result is conditional, the si clause itself must use the imparfait (était) for a present hypothetical state.
Why is it pardonné cette erreur without a preposition? I thought pardonner used à.
The verb pardonner takes a direct object for the thing being forgiven (pardonner quelque chose), which is why cette erreur attaches directly without a preposition. You only use à for the person being forgiven, for example: il aurait pardonné à l'employé.
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