mettrais

Mettrais is the first and second person singular form of the French verb mettre in the conditional present mood. It denotes a hypothetical action or a tentative statement and is used with the subject pronouns je or tu.

Grammatically, mettrais is formed from the stem mettr- (the future stem of mettre) plus the endings of the conditional present (-ais for je and tu). The full set of conditional present forms for mettre is: je mettrais, tu mettrais, il mettrait, nous mettrions, vous mettriez, ils mettraient. It is not used for the third person singular in the form mettrais.

In usage, mettrais appears in conditional clauses and polite or speculative expressions. Examples include: «Si j'avais plus de temps, je mettrais de l'ordre dans le bureau.» and «Je mettrais ces documents de côté si vous le permettiez.» It can also appear in questions in an inverted or softened form, though the compound forms are more common in writing and formal speech.

The form highlights a key distinction in French grammar between conditional and future tenses. While the future simple uses forms like je mettrai, the conditional present with mettrais expresses hypothetical or contingent action, making it a frequent choice in conversations about possibilities or preferences.