VerbsintermediateCEFR B1

Conditional Tense: Would Do, Would Be

What You'll Learn

Master the formation of 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

Overview / Usage

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)

-ía-ías-ía-íamos-íais-ían

🔑 Key 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...)

📊 Complete Conditional Conjugation Tables

-AR Verbs: hablar (to speak)

Singular	Plural
yo hablaría I would speak	nosotros hablaríamos we would speak
tú hablarías you would speak	vosotros hablaríais you all would speak
él/ella hablaría he/she would speak	ellos/ellas hablarían they would speak

-ER Verbs: comer (to eat)

Singular	Plural
yo comería I would eat	nosotros comeríamos we would eat
tú comerías you would eat	vosotros comeríais you all would eat
él/ella comería he/she would eat	ellos/ellas comerían they would eat

-IR Verbs: vivir (to live)

Singular	Plural
yo viviría I would live	nosotros viviríamos we would live
tú vivirías you would live	vosotros viviríais you all would live
él/ella viviría he/she would live	ellos/ellas vivirían they would live

⚠️ 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!

Three Patterns for Irregular Stems:

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 Tables

tener (to have)

Stem: tendr-

Singular	Plural
yo tendría I would have	nosotros tendríamos we would have
tú tendrías you would have	vosotros tendríais you all would have
él/ella tendría he/she would have	ellos/ellas tendrían they would have

hacer (to do/make)

Stem: har-

Singular	Plural
yo haría I would do/make	nosotros haríamos we would do/make
tú harías you would do/make	vosotros haríais you all would do/make
él/ella haría he/she would do/make	ellos/ellas harían they would do/make

poder (to be able to)

Stem: podr-

Singular	Plural
yo podría I would be able to	nosotros podríamos we would be able to
tú podrías you would be able to	vosotros podríais you all would be able to
él/ella podría he/she would be able to	ellos/ellas podrían they would be able to

All Irregular Conditional Stems:

poner

to put

Stem: pondr-

yo pondría

salir

to leave

Stem: saldr-

yo saldría

venir

to come

Stem: vendr-

yo vendría

decir

to say

Stem: dir-

yo diría

querer

to want

Stem: querr-

yo querría

saber

to know

Stem: sabr-

yo sabría

valer

to be worth

Stem: valdr-

yo valdría

caber

to fit

Stem: cabr-

yo cabría

haber

to have (aux)

Stem: habr-

yo habría

Examples

🎯 Uses of the Conditional

1️⃣ Hypothetical Situations

Si tuviera dinero, viajaría al mundo

If I had money, I would travel the world

Sin trabajo, no podríamos vivir aquí

Without work, we couldn't live here

2️⃣ Polite Requests

¿Podrías ayudarme?

Could you help me?

Me gustaría un café, por favor

I would like a coffee, please

3️⃣ Probability in the Past

Serían las tres cuando llegó

It must have been three o'clock when he arrived

Tendría unos 30 años en esa foto

He was probably about 30 in that photo

4️⃣ Future in the Past

Dijo que vendría mañana

He said he would come tomorrow

Sabía que sería difícil

I knew it would be difficult

💬 Common Conditional Phrases

These phrases frequently appear with the conditional tense:

me gustaría

I would like

Me gustaría viajar a España

sería mejor

it would be better

Sería mejor esperar

podríamos

we could

Podríamos ir al cine

yo que tú

if I were you

Yo que tú, estudiaría más

en tu lugar

in your place

En tu lugar, no lo haría

debería(s)

should

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

Gotchas / 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?