- Form the conditional tense by adding endings to the infinitive
- Learn the same irregular stems as the simple future tense
- Understand the different uses: hypothetical situations, polite requests, probability in the past, and future in the past
- Recognise how conditional relates to si (if) clauses in conditional sentences
- Practice using conditional with phrases like si pudiera, me gustaría, and sería mejor
What You'll Learn
Overview
The conditional tense (also called the "would" tense) expresses actions that would happen under certain conditions. It's formed by adding endings to the infinitive - and it uses the exact same irregular stems as the simple future tense!
Conditional: What Would Happen
The conditional describes hypothetical situations, expresses polite requests, indicates probability in the past, and shows future in the past.
English Examples:
"I would travel if I could"
"Would you help me?"
"He would be about 30"
Spanish Examples:
"Viajaría si pudiera"
"¿Me ayudarías?"
"Tendría unos 30 años"
Conditional vs Future: Same Stems!
Good news! The conditional uses the exact same irregular stems as the simple future tense.
Future: tendré, haré, podré
Conditional: tendría, haría, podría
Structure & Formation
Conditional Formation
Conditional = Infinitive + Endings
Like the simple future, the conditional adds endings directly to the complete infinitive form (hablar, comer, vivir). The same set of endings works for ALL regular verbs!
Conditional Tense Endings (All Verbs)
yo
-íatú
-íasél/ella
-íanosotros
-íamosvosotros
-íaisellos/as
-íanKey Pattern Points
- All endings have accent marks on the í - every single one!
- Same endings for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs - no need to memorise three sets
- Use the full infinitive as the stem (hablar → hablaría, comer → comería)
- Same 12 irregular stems as the simple future tense
- Looks like imperfect endings on the infinitive (-ía, -ías...)
Conditional Tense Conjugations
-AR: hablar (to speak)
| yo | hablaría |
| tú | hablarías |
| él/ella/usted | hablaría |
| nosotros | hablaríamos |
| vosotros | hablaríais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablarían |
-ER: comer (to eat)
| yo | comería |
| tú | comerías |
| él/ella/usted | comería |
| nosotros | comeríamos |
| vosotros | comeríais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | comerían |
-IR: vivir (to live)
| yo | viviría |
| tú | vivirías |
| él/ella/usted | viviría |
| nosotros | viviríamos |
| vosotros | viviríais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | vivirían |
Irregular Conditional Stems
Great news! The conditional uses the exact same 12 irregular stems as the simple future tense. Just change the endings from -é, -ás, -á to -ía, -ías, -ía!
1. Drop vowel, add -dr-
tener → tendr-
poner → pondr-
venir → vendr-
salir → saldr-
valer → valdr-
2. Drop vowels entirely
hacer → har-
decir → dir-
caber → cabr-
3. Completely irregular
poder → podr-
saber → sabr-
querer → querr-
haber → habr-
Common Irregular Conditional Conjugations
tener (to have) → tendr-
| yo | tendría |
| tú | tendrías |
| él/ella/usted | tendría |
| nosotros | tendríamos |
| vosotros | tendríais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tendrían |
hacer (to do/make) → har-
| yo | haría |
| tú | harías |
| él/ella/usted | haría |
| nosotros | haríamos |
| vosotros | haríais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | harían |
poder (to be able to) → podr-
| yo | podría |
| tú | podrías |
| él/ella/usted | podría |
| nosotros | podríamos |
| vosotros | podríais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | podrían |
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
Examples
Hypothetical Situations
If clause
Si tuviera dinero, viajaría al 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
Polite Requests
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?
Probability in the Past
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
Future in the Past
Reported
Dijo que vendría mañana
He said he would come tomorrow
Expectation
Sabía que sería difícil
I knew it would be difficult
Promise
Prometió que llamaría
He promised he would call
Common Conditional Phrases
I would like
me gustaría
Me gustaría viajar a España
it would be better
sería mejor
Sería mejor esperar
we could
podríamos
Podríamos ir al cine
if I were you
yo que tú
Yo que tú, estudiaría más
in your place
en tu lugar
En tu lugar, no lo haría
should
debería(s)
Deberías descansar más
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
Common Mistakes
Don't Forget the Accent Marks
ALL conditional endings need accent marks on the í!
Wrong:hablaria, comerias, viviria
Correct:hablaría, comerías, viviría
Same Stems as Future
If you know the irregular future stems, you already know the conditional stems!
Future: tendré, haré, podré
Conditional: tendría, haría, podría
Conditional with Si Clauses
Use conditional in the main clause with imperfect subjunctive in the si clause:
Si tuviera tiempo, estudiaría más
If I had time, I would study more
Politeness with Conditional
The conditional makes requests much more polite:
Direct: ¿Puedes ayudarme?
Polite: ¿Podrías ayudarme?
Could you help me?
Quick Test
Test your knowledge of Spanish conditional tense - regular and irregular forms!
1. How do you say 'I would speak' in Spanish?
2. What's the correct conditional form: 'We would eat'?
3. Which is the correct irregular conditional: 'I would have'?
4. Choose the correct translation: 'She would be happy'
5. What's the polite way to say 'Could you help me?'
6. Complete: 'If I had money, I ____ travel' (viajar)
7. What's the correct form: 'I would make' (hacer)?
8. Choose: 'He said he would come' (venir)
Want more in-depth practice? Try our interactive fill-in-the-blank exercises with progressive lessons covering regular and irregular conditional tense verbs!