The Conditional in Spanish
El condicional
Test yourself with a quick quizThe conditional (hablaría) is the Spanish 'would'. It is used for polite requests, advice and imagined situations, and it is built the same way as the future.
How to Form the Conditional
Keep the whole infinitive and add the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. They are the same for all three verb groups, and every form has an accent on the í.
| Subject | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaría | comería | viviría |
| tú | hablarías | comerías | vivirías |
| él/ella/usted | hablaría | comería | viviría |
| nosotros/as | hablaríamos | comeríamos | viviríamos |
| vosotros/as | hablaríais | comeríais | viviríais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablarían | comerían | vivirían |
Irregular Stems
The irregular verbs are exactly the same as in the future tense: if you know tendré, you know tendría.
| Infinitive | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|
| tener | tendré | tendría |
| poner | pondré | pondría |
| salir | saldré | saldría |
| venir | vendré | vendría |
| poder | podré | podría |
| saber | sabré | sabría |
| haber | habrá | habría |
| querer | querré | querría |
| caber | cabré | cabría |
| decir | diré | diría |
| hacer | haré | haría |
When to Use It
The conditional softens what you say and talks about things that are not real or not certain.
| Use | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Polite requests | ¿Podrías ayudarme? | Could you help me? |
| Wishes | Me gustaría un café, por favor. | I'd like a coffee, please. |
| Advice | Deberías descansar más. | You should rest more. |
| Advice | Yo que tú, hablaría con ella. | If I were you, I'd talk to her. |
| Imagined situations | Con más dinero, viajaría por el mundo. | With more money, I'd travel the world. |
| Future in the past | Dijo que llegaría a las nueve. | He said he would arrive at nine. |
| Guesses about the past | Serían las diez cuando llegó. | It must have been about ten when he arrived. |
Test yourself
5 quick questions on this lesson. How many can you get right?
Choose the right answer.
Si-Clauses in Brief
For unlikely or imaginary conditions, use si + imperfect subjunctive, then the conditional. The conditional never goes right after si. The imperfect subjunctive comes from the ellos preterite: tuvieron gives tuviera, fueron gives fuera.
Negatives and Questions
Put no before the verb and pronouns before the conjugated verb. A question in the conditional sounds softer than one in the present.
Common Mistakes
Check your sentences for these errors.
- Using the conditional after si: say si tuviera, not 'si tendría'.
- Regularising stems: say saldría and haría, not 'saliría' or 'hacería'.
- Mixing it up with the future: hablará means 'will speak', hablaría means 'would speak'.
- Using it for past habits: English 'we would go every summer' is íbamos cada verano in Spanish.
- Forgetting the accent: comería, not 'comeria'.