• BenVimes@lemmy.ca
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    9 months ago

    When I was learning French I was told penser and croire were interchangeable in this context.

    • Tetsuo@jlai.lu
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      9 months ago

      The issue here is more the fact that “Je croirais” doesn’t exist.

      It’s close to “Je croirai” which is simple futur (Futur simple).

      So what you said is closer to "I will believe ".

      The past tense that would work here would be :

      “Je croyais que” (Imparfait).

      But yeah you could say “Je croyais que” or “Je pensais que” both would be fine.

      • Evkob@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        You’re mistaken, “je croirais” exists, it’s the “conditionnel présent” (conditionnal present).

        Example sentence: “Je te croirais si t’avais des preuves.” (Translation: “I would believe you if you had proof”).

      • Zagorath@aussie.zone
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        9 months ago

        the fact that “Je croirais” doesn’t exist

        Okay this I’m very confident is incorrect. I’m very open to the idea that it might not be correct to use in the way I used it here, but it definitely exists. It’s the conditional tense, first person singular conjugation of croire.