Would vs. could

Question

I always understood "le conditionnel présent" to mean "could," but here you're indicating that it means "would," which has a completely different meaning.  Is that just true with "aller" or how do you tell when it's could or would?

Accepted Answer

Hi Rebecca, 
The conditional of any verb is 'would' -

I would go = J'irais
I would eat = Je mangerais
We would talk = Nous parlerions

Le Conditionnel Présent
 
To say you could do something you will use pouvoir -

Je pourrais vous voir = I could see you 
Vous pourriez repasser demain = You could call again tomorrow

Take a look at the following lesson for more examples -
Conjugate pouvoir in the conditional mood in French = could (Le Conditionnel Présent)
Hope this helps!

Answer

Hi Rebecca,Interesting point.As I understand the situation  --  "could" is the past tense of "can"Whereas "would" is the conditional of "will"So I'm not sure if I can agree with you that "could" is conditional present.Let's see what others may comment.Bonne journéeJim

Answer

To make this issue less ambiguous, use "to be able to" instead of "can":Je pourrais vous voir -- I would be able to see you = I could see you