répondrions

Répondrions is the first‑person plural form of the French verb répondre in the conditionnel présent. It translates to “we would answer” or “we would respond” and is used to express hypothetical, contingent, or polite actions in the present or future.

Usage and meaning

In everyday French, this form conveys what would happen under certain conditions or as a polite or tentative proposition. It often appears in conditional clauses or in statements about possible outcomes, for example: “Si vous posiez la question, nous répondrions rapidement” (If you asked the question, we would respond quickly), or “Nous répondrions volontiers à votre demande” (We would be happy to respond to your request). The conditional mood is common in formal or courteous discourse and in hypothetical discussion.

Morphology and conjugation

Répondrions is formed from the stem of the future simple for répondre, répondr-, plus the standard conditional endings -ions, identical in form to other -re verbs in the nous form. The full set of present conditional forms for répondre includes: je répondrais, tu répondrais, il répondrait, nous répondrions, vous répondriez, ils répondraient. The verb belongs to the family of -re verbs and uses the same pattern for the conditional present but with its own stem.

Etymology

Répondre derives from Latin respondere (to answer). Through Old French, it evolved into the modern French répondre, with the conditional forms including répondrions, répondrions being a direct reflex of the future stem répondr- plus the usual endings.

See also

répondre, conditionnel (grammatical mood), conjugaison française.