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GrammarNovember 17, 2023
Spanish Conditional Tense (Condicional Simple): Complete Guide
Master the Spanish conditional tense with conjugation tables, usage rules, and practical examples for hypothetical situations.
Master the Spanish conditional tense with conjugation tables, usage rules, and practical examples for hypothetical situations.
The conditional tense (Condicional Simple) in Spanish is used to express hypothetical situations, possibilities, polite requests, suggestions, and conjecture about the past. It's equivalent to the English construction "would + verb."
The Spanish conditional tense is used in several key contexts:
Used for actions that would happen under certain conditions (often implied or stated in an "if" clause).
Softens requests or suggestions, making them less direct.
¿Podrías ayudarme, por favor? (Could/Would you help me, please?)
Me gustaría un café. (I would like a coffee.)
Deberías estudiar más. (You should study more - softened advice)
To talk about what someone thought or said would happen in the future, viewed from the past.
Dijo que vendría a la fiesta. (He said he would come to the party.)
Pensé que llegarían más tarde. (I thought they would arrive later.)
Expressing what might have happened or was probably true in the past.
Similar to the future tense, the conditional tense is formed by adding specific endings to the infinitive form of the verb. The endings are the same for all -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.
yo: -ía
tú: -ías
él/ella/usted: -ía
nosotros/as: -íamos
vosotros/as: -íais
ellos/ellas/ustedes: -ían
yo viviría (I would live)
tú vivirías (you would live)
él/ella/usted viviría (he/she/you would live)
nosotros/as viviríamos (we would live)
vosotros/as viviríais (you all would live [Spain])
ellos/ellas/ustedes vivirían (they/you all would live)
The same verbs that have irregular stems in the future tense also have irregular stems in the conditional tense. You use the same irregular stem and add the regular conditional endings.
decir → dir- (diría, dirías...)
hacer → har- (haría, harías...)
poder → podr- (podría, podrías...)
poner → pondr- (pondría, pondrías...)
querer → querr- (querría, querrías...)
saber → sabr- (sabría, sabrías...)
salir → saldr- (saldría, saldrías...)
tener → tendr- (tendría, tendrías...)
venir → vendr- (vendría, vendrías...)
It's important not to confuse the conditional tense with the imperfect subjunctive, although they often appear together in hypothetical "if" clauses (oraciones condicionales).
In sentences expressing hypothetical situations unlikely to happen in the present or future:
If Clause: Imperfect Subjunctive
Main Clause: Conditional Simple
Example: Si tuviera (imp. subj.) más tiempo, viajaría (cond.) más. (If I had more time, I would travel more.)
Example: Si fueras (imp. subj.) rico, ¿qué comprarías (cond.)? (If you were rich, what would you buy?)
Note: The conditional tense usually appears in the main clause (the result), while the imperfect subjunctive appears in the "if" clause (the condition).
Remember the irregular stems are the same as the future tense stems.
Incorrect: Yo hacería (using infinitive)
Correct: Yo haría (using irregular stem har-)
The conditional expresses hypotheticals ("would"), while the imperfect indicative describes past habits or ongoing actions ("used to", "was/were -ing").
Conditional: Si pudiera, iría. (If I could, I would go.)
Imperfect: Cuando era niño, iba al parque todos los días.
(When I was a child, I used to go / would go to the park every day.)
Use Imperfect Subjunctive in the "if" part and Conditional in the result part.
Ready to test your knowledge of the Spanish conditional tense? Head over to our Practice page and select the condicional simple option to practice with unlimited new sentences and examples.
The practice tool will generate new sentences each time, allowing you to reinforce your understanding of conditional tense conjugations and usage in various contexts.