Spanish conditional

Would you like to learn how to express hypotheses, wishes or suggestions in Spanish? The Spanish conditional is the perfect tense for this and as a Spanish student you must learn how to use it to communicate effectively.

Understanding its formation and use and communicating more naturally and precisely with native speakers is possible by using the Spanish conditional. This article by don Quijote helps you understand the Spanish conditional tense. Keep reading and don’t miss anything!

You can read this same text in Spanish, French or Italian.

Spanish conditional tense

The Spanish conditional is a verb tense used to talk about hypothetical or future situations from the past. It is also used to express courtesy, wishes and advice.

For example:

• In a hypothetical situation: “Si tuviera más tiempo, estudiaría otro idioma” (If I had more time, I would study another language)
• To express courtesy: “Me gustaría un café, por favor” (I would like a coffee, please)

Think of the Spanish conditional tense as a way of talking about things that could happen but are not guaranteed. This can help you understand this Spanish tense conjugation.

How to form the Spanish conditional?

The conditional in Spanish is formed by adding the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive of the verb, according to the person and number. These examples with the three Spanish verb endings will help you see how it works:

However, in Spanish there are also irregular verbs that do not follow the same rules as regular verbs. Some irregular verbs with the Spanish conditional are:

• Tener (to have) – Tendría (I would have)
• Hacer (to do) – Haría (I would do)
• Poder (to be able to) – Podría (I would be able to)
• Decir (to say) – Diría (I would say)
• Querer (to want) – Querría (I would want)

The irregular verbs in the Spanish conditional tense are the same as in the simple future. Therefore, if you learn how one works, you will also have mastered the other.

Uses of the simple conditional in Spanish

The conditional has several uses in Spanish. The simple conditional in Spanish does not use auxiliary verbs as in English. If it helps, you can think of the Spanish conditional as the English “would” (I would like) because it would be the equivalent of the Spanish conditional tense.

Below, we explain the most important uses of the simple conditional in Spanish:

a) Hypothetical situations

The Spanish conditional is used to talk about things that could happen if certain conditions are met. For example:

• Si estudiaras más, sacarías mejores notas (If you studied harder, you would get better grades)
• Si fuera rico, viajaría por el mundo (If I were rich, I would travel the world)

b) Courtesy and formal requests

It is also common to use the simple conditional in Spanish to address others politely:

• ¿Podría ayudarme, por favor? (Could you help me, please?)
• Me gustaría reservar una mesa para do (I would like to reserve a table for two)

c) Future in the past

When speaking in the past and mentioning a future action from that moment, the Spanish conditional tense is also used. Examples:

• Dijo que llegaría tarde (He said he would be late)
• Pensábamos que haría frío, pero hacía mucho calor (We thought it would be cold, but it was very hot)

d) Probability in the past

Another use is to express assumptions about past events.

• Serían las diez cuando llegó (It would be ten o'clock when he arrived) (it was probably ten o'clock)
• Juan tendría unos 30 años cuando se casó (Juan would have been about 30 when he got married) (supposition)

e) Advice and suggestions

The Spanish conditional is useful for making recommendations in a polite way.

• Yo que tú, estudiaría más (If I were you, I would study more)
• Deberías descansar un poco (You should get some rest)

Conditional Compound in Spanish

The compound conditional in Spanish is used to talk about situations that would have happened in the past but did not. Thus, the compound conditional in Spanish is formed with the verb haber in the conditional + the participle of the main verb.

Another tip for the compound conditional: this tense in Spanish would be an English equivalent to “would have” + past participle (I would have studied).

Examples of the compound conditional in Spanish:

• Habría estudiado más si hubiera tenido tiempo (I would have studied more if I had had the time)
• Nos habríamos ido antes, pero llovía mucho (We would have left earlier, but it was raining a lot)

Common mistakes in the use of the Spanish conditional

Many students find it difficult to differentiate between the conditional and the subjunctive in Spanish. Remember that the conditional in Spanish expresses the consequence of a hypothesis, while the Spanish subjunctive is used when an action is unreal or improbable.

Furthermore, many people who learn Spanish as a second language make these mistakes when using the conditional:

• It is incorrect to say: “Si tendría tiempo, viajaría” → The correct thing to say would be: “Si tuviera tiempo, viajaría”
• You can't say: “Dijo que vendrá más tarde” → You must say: “Dijo que vendría más tarde”
• If you want to sound more formal in a conversation, don't say: “¿Me puedes ayudar?” → Instead you can say: “¿Podría ayudarme?”

Examples with the conditional in Spanish

A good way to master the conditional in Spanish is to write sentences that start with 'Si...' and use this tense to see how it works in different contexts. But, to help you learn it better, here are some example sentences with the conditional:

1. Me gustaría un café, por favor (I would like a coffee, please)
2. ¿Querría algo más aparte del café? (Would you like anything else apart from coffee?)
3. Si ganara la lotería, compraría una casa en la playa (If I won the lottery, I would buy a house by the beach)
4. Yo en tu lugar, estudiaría más para el examen (If I were you, I would study more for the exam)
5. Si hiciera buen tiempo, iríamos a la playa (If the weather was good, we would go to the beach)
6. Dijo que llegaría a las ocho, pero aún no ha llegado (He said he would be here at eight, but he hasn't arrived yet)
7. Ayer Luis no contestó el teléfono, estaría ocupado (Luis didn't answer the phone yesterday, he must be busy)
8. Yo que tú, hablaría con el profesor para aclarar la duda (If I were you, I would talk to the teacher to clear up the doubt)

We hope we have helped you with the use of the Spanish conditional tense. However, if you still have doubts, don't hesitate to sign up for an intensive Spanish course, our teachers will teach you the tricks you need to master the Spanish conditional tense.

Although the key is to practice and correct common mistakes, don't think twice and come to study Spanish in Spain with don Quijote!