📖LearnModule 9 · Lesson 7 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, completedUnit 2 · Le regret et le reproche
J'aurais dû, tu aurais pu
Module 9 of the free French course (CEFR B2, completed), lesson 7 of 30: Two verbs in this tense carry most of the regret in French. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 7.
The words
French
English
Say it
j'aurais dû écouter
I should have listened
zhoh-reh dew ay-koo-TAY
tu aurais pu me le dire
you could have told me
tew oh-reh pew muh luh DEER
le reproche
the reproach
luh ruh-PROHSH
le remords
the remorse
luh ruh-MOR
écouter
to listen
ay-koo-TAY
accuser
to accuse
ah-kew-ZAY
la faute
the fault
lah FOHT
délicat
delicate
day-lee-KAH
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
Two verbs in this tense carry most of the regret in French. J'aurais dû is I should have; j'aurais pu is I could have. Tu aurais pu me le dire — you could have told me.
Et aussi · And also
The difference between regret and reproach is only the person. J'aurais dû écouter is remorse; tu aurais dû écouter is an accusation. Use the second one carefully.
Attention · Watch out
j'aurais dû is I should have and j'aurais pu is I could have: devoir and pouvoir carry the regret, and the main verb stays in the infinitive: j'aurais dû écouter.
devoir, conditionnel passé — the table
je aurais dû · tu aurais dû · il/elle aurait dû · nous aurions dû · vous auriez dû · ils/elles auraient dû
pouvoir, conditionnel passé — the table
je aurais pu · tu aurais pu · il/elle aurait pu · nous aurions pu · vous auriez pu · ils/elles auraient pu
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with j'aurais dû écouter.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out devoir, conditionnel passé and pouvoir, conditionnel passé in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.