Conditional Tense
The conditional is the "would" tense: add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive (hablaría, I would speak). Use it for hypotheses, polite requests and advice.
The rule at a glance
hablarinfinitive+-íaending (yo)=hablaríaI would speak
Endings: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían; Same endings for -ar, -er and -ir verbs
Would
viajaría
I would travel
Si tuviera dinero, viajaría por el mundo.
If I had money, I'd travel the world.
Could (polite)
podrías
you could
¿Podrías ayudarme?
Could you help me?
Should
deberías
you should
Deberías descansar más.
You should rest more.
- The same 12 irregular stems as the future, e.g. tendr-, har-, dir-, podr-, sabr-, querr-, vendr-, saldr-, pondr- give tendría, haría, diría.
- Every ending has an accent on the í: hablaría, comeríamos, vivirían.
- In an imaginary "if" sentence, the si part takes the imperfect subjunctive and the result takes the conditional: Si tuviera dinero, viajaría (not Si tendría).
Forms
Regular verbs
The conditional (the "would" tense) is formed like the simple future: the endings go on the whole infinitive, and one set of endings works for -ar, -er and -ir verbs. The endings look like the imperfect endings of -er verbs (-ía, -ías...), and every one has an accent.
The highlighted part is the ending.
| hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaría – I would speak | comería – I would eat | viviría – I would live |
| tú | hablarías – you would speak | comerías – you would eat | vivirías – you would live |
| él/ella/usted | hablaría – he/she would speak | comería – he/she would eat | viviría – he/she would live |
| nosotros | hablaríamos – we would speak | comeríamos – we would eat | viviríamos – we would live |
| vosotros | hablaríais – you all would speak | comeríais – you all would eat | viviríais – you all would live |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablarían – they would speak | comerían – they would eat | vivirían – they would live |
Irregular stems
The conditional uses exactly the same 12 irregular stems as the future: just change the endings from -é, -ás, -á to -ía, -ías, -ía (future tendré, haré, podré; conditional tendría, haría, podría).
The highlighted part is the new stem.
Regular endings:-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían
The three you will use most:
The highlighted part is the ending.
| tener → tendr- | hacer → har- | poder → podr- | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | tendría – I would have | haría – I would do/make | podría – I could |
| tú | tendrías – you would have | harías – you would do/make | podrías – you could |
| él/ella/usted | tendría – he/she would have | haría – he/she would do/make | podría – he/she could |
| nosotros | tendríamos – we would have | haríamos – we would do/make | podríamos – we could |
| vosotros | tendríais – you all would have | haríais – you all would do/make | podríais – you all could |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tendrían – they would have | harían – they would do/make | podrían – they could |
Ser is regular in the conditional: sería, serías, sería...
When to use it
1. Hypothetical situations
What would happen under a condition. In an imaginary "if" sentence the si part takes the imperfect subjunctive.
If clause: Si tuviera dinero, viajaría por el mundo – If I had money, I would travel the world
Condition: Sin trabajo, no podríamos vivir aquí – Without work, we couldn't live here
Advice: En tu lugar, yo no lo haría – In your place, I wouldn't do it
2. Polite requests and wishes
The conditional softens a request: ¿Puedes ayudarme? is direct, ¿Podrías ayudarme? is polite.
Question: ¿Podrías ayudarme? Could you help me?
Order: Me gustaría un café, por favor – I would like a coffee, please
Request: ¿Sería posible cambiar la fecha? Would it be possible to change the date?
3. Advice: should, if I were you
debería(s): Deberías descansar más – You should rest more
yo que tú: Yo que tú, estudiaría más – If I were you, I would study more
sería mejor: Sería mejor esperar – It would be better to wait
4. Probability in the past
A guess about the past, as the future makes a guess about the present.
Time: Serían las tres cuando llegó – It must have been three o'clock when he arrived
Age: Tendría unos 30 años en esa foto – He was probably about 30 in that photo
State: Estaría cansado después del viaje – He was probably tired after the trip
5. The future in the past
What someone said, knew or promised would happen.
Reported: Dijo que vendría el lunes – He said he would come on Monday
Expectation: Sabía que sería difícil – I knew it would be difficult
Promise: Prometió que llamaría – He promised he would call
More on "if" sentences: conditional sentences and the imperfect subjunctive.
Common mistakes
Don't forget the accent marks
Not this (incorrect): hablaria, comerias, viviria
But this (correct): hablaría, comerías, viviría. All conditional endings need an accent mark on the í.
Use the conditional in the result, not the si clause
Not this (incorrect): Si tendría tiempo, estudiaría más
But this (correct): Si tuviera tiempo, estudiaría más – If I had time, I would study more. The si clause takes the imperfect subjunctive; the conditional goes in the main clause.
Tener has an irregular stem
Not this (incorrect): Tenería
But this (correct): Tendría – I would have. Same stems as the future: tendr- + ía.
Hacer becomes har-
Not this (incorrect): Hacería
But this (correct): Haría – I would make. Hacer drops 'ce': har- + ía.
Quick check
8 questions1. How do you say 'I would speak' in Spanish?
'Hablaría' is the conditional form: hablar + ía = hablaría.
2. What's the correct conditional form: 'We would eat'?
'Comeríamos' is the conditional form: comer + íamos = comeríamos.
3. Which is the correct irregular conditional: 'I would have'?
'Tendría' uses the irregular stem 'tendr-' + ía.
4. Choose the correct translation: 'She would be happy'
'Sería' is the conditional of 'ser' (to be).
5. What's the polite way to say 'Could you help me?'
'¿Podrías ayudarme?' uses the conditional for a polite request.
6. Complete: 'If I had money, I ____ travel' (viajar)
'Viajaría' - use conditional for hypothetical situations.
7. What's the correct form: 'I would make' (hacer)?
'Haría' - hacer becomes 'har-' (drops 'ce') + ía.
8. Choose: 'He said he would come' (venir)
'Vendría' - use conditional for future in the past.
Test your knowledge of the Spanish conditional tense - regular and irregular forms!
Going further
All the irregular stems, common conditional phrases, a story in the conditional
All irregular conditional stems
- poner → pondr- yo pondría
- salir → saldr- yo saldría
- venir → vendr- yo vendría
- decir → dir- yo diría
- querer → querr- yo querría
- saber → sabr- yo sabría
- valer → valdr- yo valdría
- caber → cabr- yo cabría
- haber → habr- yo habría
Common conditional phrases
me gustaría · I would like: Me gustaría viajar a España – I would like to travel to Spain
podríamos · we could: Podríamos ir al cine – We could go to the cinema
en tu lugar · in your place: En tu lugar, no lo haría – In your place, I wouldn't do it
A story in the conditional
Si ganara la lotería, cambiaría mi vida – If I won the lottery, I would change my life
Primero, compraría una casa grande – First, I would buy a big house
Luego viajaría por todo el mundo – Then I would travel around the world
Ayudaría a mi familia – I would help my family
También donaría dinero a la caridad – I would also donate money to charity
Sería la persona más feliz del mundo – I would be the happiest person in the world
More examples
Viajaría si pudiera – I would travel if I could
¿Me ayudarías? Would you help me?
Tendría unos 30 años – He was probably about 30