Si j'étais un oiseau, je volerais par-dessus les arbres

Great sentence! Let me explain the two parts:

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1. Si j'étais un oiseau

• Si = If
• j'étais = imperfect tense of être (to be) — "I were" or "I was"
• This is a conditional clause with "si" + imparfait used to talk about a hypothetical situation.

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2. je volerais

• This is the conditional tense of voler (to fly) — "I would fly"
• It expresses what you would do if the condition were true.

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Why j'étais (imparfait) and je volerais (conditionnel)?

Because in French, to talk about hypothetical situations, you use:

• Imparfait after si (if)
• Conditionnel in the main clause (what would happen)

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So:

• Si j'étais un oiseau = If I were a bird
• je volerais par-dessus les arbres = I would fly over the trees

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Note:

• "par-dessus" is written as one word (means “over” or “above”)
• The verb forms are correct — étais (imparfait) and volerais (conditionnel) — that’s how you form conditional sentences in French.