A2 · Grammaire12 / 16

Exprimer le regret

regretter de, j'aurais aimé, si j'avais su, j'aurais dû…

What you’ll learn

Everyone has regrets. French has a rich set of structures for expressing them — from mild 'I wish I had…' to strong 'If only I had known…'. At A2, you need 'si + imparfait + conditionnel' for hypotheticals, and a few fixed expressions for looking back at past choices.

Explanation

Si + imparfait + conditionnel — the hypothetical

This is the core structure for 'what if' scenarios and regrets. The 'si' clause uses the imparfait, and the main clause uses the conditionnel.

Si j'avais le temps, je voyagerais. — If I had time, I would travel. (hypothetical now)
Si je parlais mieux français, je vivrais à Paris. — If I spoke better French, I'd live in Paris.

This is about the PRESENT or FUTURE, not the past. 'Si j'avais le temps' = I don't have time right now, but IF I did…

Regretting the past — conditionnel passé

To express regret about something that already happened (or didn't), use the conditionnel passé: avoir/être in the conditionnel + past participle. Or use fixed expressions.

Expression	Structure	Example
j'aurais aimé…	conditionnel passé of aimer + infinitif	J'aurais aimé voyager plus.
j'aurais voulu…	conditionnel passé of vouloir + infinitif	J'aurais voulu étudier la musique.
j'aurais dû…	conditionnel passé of devoir + infinitif	J'aurais dû l'écouter.
regretter de + inf. passé	verb + avoir/être + PP	Je regrette d'avoir dit ça.

J'aurais aimé apprendre le piano. — I would have liked to learn the piano.
J'aurais dû partir plus tôt. — I should have left earlier.
Je regrette de ne pas avoir voyagé. — I regret not having traveled.

'Si j'avais su…' — the classic French regret

The full structure for past regrets is: si + plus-que-parfait + conditionnel passé. This is advanced, but the expression 'Si j'avais su' is so common it's practically a fixed phrase.

Si j'avais su, je ne serais pas venu. — If I had known, I wouldn't have come.
Si j'avais étudié plus, j'aurais réussi. — If I had studied more, I would have passed.

'Si j'avais su…' is one of the most-used phrases in French. You'll hear it in cafés, in movies, in songs. Just learn it as a block first, then build from there.

Practice · 5 exercises

« Si j'avais le temps, je ___ du sport. » (faire — conditionnel)

J'aurais ___ apprendre à jouer de la guitare. (would have liked)

Je regrette ___ dit ça. (regret having said)

Which sentence expresses a PAST regret?

Express regret about the past

Je n'ai pas étudié le français. →

Le discours rapporté

Relative pronouns: qui, que, où