What the conditional does
The conditional tense is the Spanish equivalent of "would" in English. You use it to talk about what you would do, to make polite requests, and to describe hypothetical situations. If you've learned the future tense, you're in luck - the conditional uses the same stems.
Forming the regular conditional
Take the full infinitive and add the conditional endings. These are the same for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs and they look just like the imperfect endings of -er/-ir verbs:
| Person | Ending | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -ía | hablaría | comería | viviría |
| tú | -ías | hablarías | comerías | vivirías |
| él/ella/usted | -ía | hablaría | comería | viviría |
| nosotros | -íamos | hablaríamos | comeríamos | viviríamos |
| vosotros | -íais | hablaríais | comeríais | viviríais |
| ellos/ustedes | -ían | hablarían | comerían | vivirían |
Tip: Every single form carries an accent on the i (hablaría, hablarías, etc.).
Irregular conditional stems
The irregular stems are exactly the same as the future tense. If you know one, you know the other:
| Verb | Stem | Conditional (yo) | Future (yo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| tener | tendr- | tendría | tendré |
| poder | podr- | podría | podré |
| hacer | har- | haría | haré |
| decir | dir- | diría | diré |
| querer | querr- | querría | querré |
| saber | sabr- | sabría | sabré |
| salir | saldr- | saldría | saldré |
| venir | vendr- | vendría | vendré |
| poner | pondr- | pondría | pondré |
| haber | habr- | habría | habré |
When to use the conditional
1. Hypothetical situations ("would")
- Me gustaría viajar a Argentina. - I would like to travel to Argentina.
- Con más tiempo, leería más libros. - With more time, I would read more books.
2. Polite requests and suggestions
The conditional softens a request, making it more courteous:
- ¿Podrías ayudarme? - Could you help me?
- ¿Te importaría cerrar la puerta? - Would you mind closing the door?
- Deberíamos salir más temprano. - We should leave earlier.
3. Advice with debería (should)
- Deberías estudiar más. - You should study more.
- No deberíamos gastar tanto. - We shouldn't spend so much.
4. Probability in the past (the "conditional of conjecture")
Just as the future tense can express a guess about the present, the conditional can express a guess or "wonder" about the past:
- Serían las diez cuando llegaron. - It was probably ten o'clock when they arrived.
- Tendría unos veinte años en esa foto. - She must have been about twenty in that photo.
5. Reported speech (what someone said they would do)
- Dijo que vendría. - He said he would come.
- Prometió que lo haría. - She promised she would do it.
Conditional vs. imperfect
English "would" can mean two different things. Be careful not to mix them up:
| English | Meaning | Spanish tense | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| "I would travel" | Hypothetical | Conditional | Viajaría si tuviera dinero. |
| "I would travel" (used to) | Habitual past | Imperfect | De niño, viajaba cada verano. |
If you can replace "would" with "used to" and the sentence still makes sense, use the imperfect. If not, use the conditional.
Dialogue: making plans
Marta: ¿Qué harías si te tocara la lotería?
Pablo: Primero, dejaría mi trabajo. Después viajaría por todo el mundo.
Marta: ¿No ahorrarías nada?
Pablo: Bueno, sí... Pondría algo en el banco, claro. Pero me gustaría ver Asia. ¿Y tú?
Marta: Yo compraría una casa en la playa y no haría nada durante un año entero.
Translation
Marta: What would you do if you won the lottery?
Pablo: First, I would leave my job. Then I would travel around the world.
Marta: Wouldn't you save anything?
Pablo: Well, yes... I would put something in the bank, of course. But I would like to see Asia. And you?
Marta: I would buy a house on the beach and do nothing for a whole year.
Practice sentences
Translate into Spanish using the conditional:
- I would like a coffee, please.
- Could you (formal) repeat that?
- We would go, but we don't have time.
- He said he would call tomorrow.
- What would you (informal) do?
Answers
- Me gustaría un café, por favor.
- ¿Podría repetir eso?
- Iríamos, pero no tenemos tiempo.
- Dijo que llamaría mañana.
- ¿Qué harías tú?
Key takeaways
- The conditional uses the full infinitive + imperfect-style endings (-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían).
- Irregular stems are identical to the future tense - learn them once, use them twice.
- Use it for hypotheticals ("would"), polite requests ("could you..."), advice ("should"), conjecture about the past, and reported speech.
- Don't confuse conditional "would" (hypothetical) with imperfect "would" (habitual past / "used to").