Learn how to use the Spanish conditional tense: understand normal and irregular conjugations and common uses through simple examples.
Have you ever daydreamed about what you would do if you won the lottery? Or maybe you’ve wondered how nice it would be to speak Spanish fluently? Well, my friend, you’ve just found one of the most useful and intriguing tenses in Spanish: the conditional!
At first glance, the Spanish conditional tense might look complicated and hard to learn. But I can promise you it isn’t. A lot of my students have grasped it quickly and I’m confident you can too!
The Spanish conditional tense is a useful tool for discussing hypothetical circumstances, making polite requests, and even offering advise. If you’ve ever thought, “I’d like to learn Spanish better,” congratulations! You have already used the conditional tense in English. Now let’s look at how it works in Spanish.
Are you ready? Let’s start learning!
What is the Spanish Conditional Tense?
The conditional tense in Spanish is a verb form that expresses hypothetical actions, possibilities, wants, and polite requests. It typically corresponds to the English “would + verb”.
Whether you’re thinking about what you’d do in a new situation, making a proposal, or guessing about the past, the conditional tense can help.
For example:
- Yo viajaría por el mundo si tuviera más dinero. (I would travel the world if I had more money.)
- Me gustaría un café, por favor. (I would like a coffee, please.)
Key Functions of the Conditional Tense:
- Expressing Hypothetical Situations: Used to discuss what might happen under certain scenarios.
- Yo viajaría por el mundo si tuviera más dinero. (I would travel the world if I had more money.)
- Making Polite Requests: In Spanish, the conditional is commonly used to appear more courteous and less direct.
- ¿Podrías ayudarme con mi tarea? (Could you help me with my homework?)
- Expressing Desires or Preferences: The conditional is perfect for talking about things you’d like to do.
- Me gustaría un café, por favor. (I would like a coffee, please.)
- Giving Advice or Recommendations: The conditional works well for making suggestions.
- Yo en tu lugar, estudiaría más para el examen. (If I were you, I would study more for the exam.)
- Expressing Probability in the Past: Spanish speakers occasionally utilize the conditional to speculate on previous events.
- Serían las tres de la tarde cuando llegaron. (It was probably around three in the afternoon when they arrived.)
How to Conjugate Verbs in the Conditional Tense
The good news? Conjugating verbs in the conditional tense is extremely simple. Unlike certain other tenses that make you question your life choices, the conditional is refreshingly uncomplicated.
All you have to do is take the infinitive of the verb and add the following endings:
| Subject | Ending |
| Yo | -ía |
| Tú | -ías |
| Él/Ella/Usted | -ía |
| Nosotros | -íamos |
| Vosotros | -íais |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | -ían |
That’s correct! You don’t need to eliminate any endings; simply tack them onto the infinitive. Let’s see it in action using some popular verbs:
- Hablar (to speak) → Yo hablaría, Tú hablarías, Él hablaría…
- Comer (to eat) → Yo comería, Tú comerías, Ella comería…
- Vivir (to live) → Yo viviría, Tú vivirías, Usted viviría…
Irregular Verbs in the Conditional
Before you panic, take a big breath. The irregular verbs in the conditional are fairly similar to those in the future tense. If you already know those, you’re in luck!
Instead of retaining their complete infinitive forms, certain verbs undergo a stem change before adding conditional ends. What is the good news? The endings remain the same. Let us break it down:
Verbs that drop the ‘e’ from the infinitive
- Poder → podría (I would be able to)
- Querer → querría (I would want)
- Saber → sabría (I would know)
- Caber → cabría (I would fit)
Verbs that replace the ‘e’ or ‘i’ with ‘d’
- Tener → tendría (I would have)
- Poner → pondría (I would put)
- Salir → saldría (I would leave)
- Venir → vendría (I would come)
- Valer → valdría (It would be worth)
Verbs with totally irregular stems
- Hacer → haría (I would do/make)
- Decir → diría (I would say)
Examples in Sentences
- Si tuviera más dinero, compraría una casa grande. (If I had more money, I would buy a big house.)
- Yo haría ejercicio todos los días si tuviera tiempo. (I would exercise every day if I had time.)
- Nosotros vendríamos a la fiesta si no lloviera. (We would come to the party if it wasn’t raining.)
Irregular conditional verbs may look tricky at first, but once you see the patterns, they become much easier to recognize and use!
The Conditional in “If” Clauses
One of the most prevalent applications of the conditional is in “if” clauses, or cláusulas condicionales. These phrases discuss hypothetical circumstances that require a specific condition to be met.
In Spanish, conditional sentences often follow this structure:
- Si + past subjunctive + conditional
For example:
- Si tuviera más tiempo, viajaría por el mundo. (If I had more time, I would travel the world.)
- Si ganara la lotería, compraría una casa en la playa. (If I won the lottery, I would buy a house on the beach.)
- Si fueras más paciente, entenderías mejor el español. (If you were more patient, you would understand Spanish better.)
In these cases, the si (if) clause uses the past subjunctive, and the main clause uses the conditional.
Are You Ready To Practice The Spanish Conditional Tense?
The Spanish conditional tense transforms the way we express possibilities, wishes, and manners. And the best part? It’s one of the easiest tenses to learn! So don’t be scared to use it in discussions right away.
If you’re ready to take your Spanish to the next level, why not book a lesson with one of our amazing tutors at Strommen? We’d love to help you master the conditional tense (and so much more) with fun, personalized lessons.
