Spanish Grammar Bank
SPANISH CONDITIONAL TENSE
The Spanish conditional tense is used to express hypothetical situations, polite requests, or actions that would happen under certain conditions.
Be careful with the conjugations, but do not fear! We teach you everything there is to know.
INTRODUCTION
The conditional tense in Spanish, referred to as Condicional Simple (or Condicional), is a tense that is generally used to place the action expressed by the verb either at a later point in time than that of another past event or within a hypothetical framework, like for example:
Él dijo que volvería a España.He said he would return to Spain.
In the example above, the verb volver (to return/go back) expresses an action that takes place at a later point in time in relation to the earlier event, él dijo (he said).
So the Condicional in this case sets the stage for an action that follows another (past) event.
FORMING THE CONDITIONAL TENSE
The Continuous Tense in Spanish is formed by adding a pattern of endings to the infinitive form of the regular verbs. These specific endings are identical for all three conjugations (-ar, -er, -ir).
FOR REGULAR VERBS
When forming the Condicional in Spanish with regular verbs, these will maintain their infinitive endings and a specific pattern of endings is added, which is the same for all three verb conjugations (-ar, -er, -ir).
To conjugate regular verbs in the Condicional tense, attach the corresponding endings below to the infinitive form of the verb (-ar, -er, -ir).
| Subject Pronoun | Ending |
|---|---|
| Yo | -ía |
| Tú | -ías |
| Él/Ella/Usted | -ía |
| Nosotros/as | -íamos |
| Vosotros/as | -íais |
| Nosotros/as | -ían |
Examples:
Using the verb llamar (to call)
| Subject Pronoun | conjugation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | llamaría | I would call. |
| Tú | llamarías | You would call. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | llamaría | He/She/You (formal, singular) would call. |
| Nosotros/as | llamaríamos | We would call. |
| Vosotros/as | llamaríais | You (all) would call. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | llamarían | They/You (formal, plural) would call. |
Using the verb andar (to walk)
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | andaría | I would walk. |
| Tú | andarías | You would walk. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | andaría | He/She/You (formal, singular) would walk. |
| Nosotros/as | andaríamos | We would walk. |
| Vosotros/as | andaríais | You (all) would walk. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | andarían | They/You (formal, plural) would walk. |
FOR IRREGULAR VERBS
In Spanish, some verbs are irregular in the Condicional because they have a stem change.
Meaning, they undergo a spelling change, although they still follow the regular pattern of endings as the regular verbs (-ar, -er, -ir) in the conditional tense.
These are some of the most commonly used irregular verbs in the conditional tense:
| Infinitive | Stem |
|---|---|
| hacer (to do) | har- |
| poder (to be able to) | podr- |
| tener (to have) | tendr- |
| saber (to know) | sabr- |
| salir (to leave) | saldr- |
| venir (to come) | vendr- |
Let’s see some examples:
Using the verb hacer (to do)
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haría | I would do. |
| Tú | harías | You would do. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | haría | He/She/You (formal, singular) would do. |
| Nosotros/as | haríamos | We would do. |
| Vosotros/as | haríais | You (all) would do. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | harían | They/You (formal, plural) would do. |
Using the verb poder (to be able to)
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | podría | I would be able to. |
| Tú | podrías | You would be able to. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | podría | He/She/You (formal, singular) would be able to. |
| Nosotros/as | podríamos | We would be able to. |
| Vosotros/as | podríais | You (all) would be able to. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | podrían | They/You (formal, plural) would be able to. |
USAGES OF THE CONDITIONAL TENSE
The Conditional tense has a series of different possible uses, mainly:
• to introduce a hypothetical or imaginary situation.
• to express polite requests or politely communicate a wish.
• to give mild-mannered orders, suggestions or advise in a toned-down manner.
• to refer to a future action from a past perspective, indicating in a way what was going to happen.
| use | spanish | english |
|---|---|---|
| hypothetical or imaginary situations | Si tuviera más tiempo, aprendería a conducir. | If I had more time, I would learn to drive. |
| hypothetical or imaginary situations | Andaría cada día a trabajar si viviera más cerca de la oficina. | I would walk every day to work if I lived closer to the office. |
| order or advise in a toned-down manner | Convendría enviarle un mensaje antes de ir a su casa. | It would be advisable to send him a message before going to his house. |
| order or advise in a toned-down manner | Cerraría las ventanas antes de salir. | I would close the windows before leaving. |
| request or communicate a wish in a polite way | Quisiera reservar mesa para dos. | I would like to reserve a table for two. |
| request or communicate a wish in a polite way | Preferiría pedir para llevar y no tener que cocinar hoy. | I would rather take out and not have to cook today. |
| future action from a past perspective | Mis amigos dijeron que llegarían antes de las cinco. | My friends said they would arrive before five. |
| future action from a past perspective | Pensaba que iríamos juntos al gimnasio. | I thought we would go to the gym together. |
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FAQs
What is the Spanish conditional tense used for ?
The conditional tense is used to express hypothetical situations, polite requests, future actions in the past, and to indicate what would happen under certain conditions.
How do you form the Spanish conditional tense?
The conditional tense is formed by adding the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, and -ían to the infinitive form of the verb, for example:
hablaría (I would speak)
comerías (you would eat).
What difference between conditional and future?
The future tense is used to talk about what will happen, while the conditional tense is used to describe what would happen under certain conditions or in hypothetical situations.
Are there any irregular verbs in the conditional tense?
Yes, some verbs have irregular stems in the conditional tense, but they use the same endings as regular verbs. For example: tener becomes tendría (I would have), and hacer becomes haría (I would do/make).
Can we use conditional for polite requests?
Yes, the conditional tense is often used to make polite requests or suggestions, such as
¿Podrías ayudarme? (Could you help me?)
or
Me gustaría un café, por favor (I would like a coffee, please).
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