VerbsIntermediate

Conditional Tense

Would, Could, Should in Spanish

The rule at a glance

infinitive + -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían

Same endings for -ar, -er and -ir verbs · hablar → hablaría · tener → tendría

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).

What You'll Learn

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
Practise using conditional with phrases like si pudiera, me gustaría, and sería mejor

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)

-ía

tú

-ías

él/ella

-ía

nosotros

-íamos

vosotros

-íais

ellos/as

-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...)

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. Drop the e (querer: double r)

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 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

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

Try it now:Conditional tense practice →

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!

Put it into practice

Fill-in-the-blank exercises with instant feedback, from beginner to advanced.

Practise conditional tense →

Useful Resources

⚖️Imperfect Subjunctive vs Conditional: When They're Interchangeable

Master when quisiera and querría are interchangeable and when you must use one specific form. Clear rules for polite requests, hypothetical situations, and si clauses.

Lesson

🔮Practise Conditional Tense: Fill-in-the-Blank Exercises

Master conditional tense conjugations with 5 progressive exercises covering regular verbs, irregular stems, and hypothetical situations.

Fill in the Blank

📖Reading: Si pudiera viajar (If I Could Travel)

Practise reading comprehension with an intermediate text using the conditional tense.

Reading

📖Reading: Decisiones importantes (Important Decisions)

Practise reading comprehension with an advanced text using si clauses and conditional sentences.

Reading

🎧Listening: Una Entrevista de Trabajo (A Job Interview)

Practise listening comprehension with an intermediate conversation about a job interview. Features present perfect, conditional tense, and professional vocabulary.

Listening

🎧Listening: Por Teléfono (On the Phone)

Practise listening comprehension with an intermediate phone conversation about a restaurant complaint. Features conditional tense, formal expressions, and phone vocabulary.