Learn French: S'il n'était pas pessimiste, il aurait organisé une fête. - If he weren't pessimistic, he would have organized a party.

S'il n'était pas pessimiste, il aurait organisé une fête.

If he weren't pessimistic, he would have organized a party.

Breakdown of S'il n'était pas pessimiste, il aurait organisé une fête.

Questions & Answers about S'il n'était pas pessimiste, il aurait organisé une fête.

Why does this sentence use the imparfait (était) instead of the plus-que-parfait (avait été) for the 'if' clause?

This is a mixed conditional dealing with a present condition and a past result. Because being pessimistic is his ongoing personality trait, it applies to the present, so we use the imparfait. The party, however, was a specific event in the past that didn't happen, so we use the past conditional (aurait organisé). If we used avait été, it would mean he was only pessimistic in the past.

Is it mandatory to contract si + il into s'il?

Yes, it is strictly mandatory in written and spoken French. The word si always drops its 'i' before il and ils. Just remember this is a specific exception: si does not contract before any other vowels, meaning you must always write si elle or si on.

Does the adjective pessimiste change if the subject is female?

No, pessimiste already ends in an 'e' in its masculine form, so it stays exactly the same for feminine subjects. If the sentence were about a woman, it would simply be: Si elle n'était pas pessimiste...

Why is the auxiliary verb avoir used in aurait organisé?