The second form of the French conditional perfect is a rather strange verb tense/mood. It is the literary equivalent of the conditional perfect and can easily be mistaken for the pluperfect subjunctive, since they are conjugated identically.
Like all French literary tenses, the second form of the conditional perfect is used only in literature, historical writing, and other very formal writing, so it is important to be able to recognize it but chances are that you will never need to conjugate it. It is used mainly in literary si clauses.
Go on to page 2 to learn how to conjugate the second form of the conditional perfect.
Second Form of the French Conditional Perfect
Conditionnel passé, 2e forme
By Laura K. Lawless, About.com
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