The use of vouloir in the conditional

Anita P.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

I am never 100% certain in the use of the conditional tense. In the sentence « What would you like today » your hint was to use ‘vouloir’ in the present. Ok, although when I see « would » my brain automatically thinks ‘the conditional’. I stuck with the present for Mme M’s reply, but I see that you’ve said « je voudrais quatre croissants svp ». I’m surmising that this is Mme M being polite and that for the person behind the counter to say « Qu’est-ce que vous voudriez aujourd’hui » is OTT as Mme M is known to them ?

This question relates to:French writing exercise "Buying pastries at the bakery"

Freeform Writing Exercise A1

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Anita P. asked:

The use of vouloir in the conditional

I am never 100% certain in the use of the conditional tense. In the sentence « What would you like today » your hint was to use ‘vouloir’ in the present. Ok, although when I see « would » my brain automatically thinks ‘the conditional’. I stuck with the present for Mme M’s reply, but I see that you’ve said « je voudrais quatre croissants svp ». I’m surmising that this is Mme M being polite and that for the person behind the counter to say « Qu’est-ce que vous voudriez aujourd’hui » is OTT as Mme M is known to them ?

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