Conditional Tense: Would, Could, Should
Quick Answer: The conditional is formed by adding imperfect -er/-ir endings (-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían) to the full infinitive. It shares the same irregular stems as the future tense.
Expressing hypotheticals, polite requests, and speculation
Category: Verb Tenses
The Rule
The conditional is formed by adding imperfect -er/-ir endings (-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían) to the full infinitive. It shares the same irregular stems as the future tense.
Why This Matters
The conditional in Spanish works like 'would' in English. It's used for hypotheticals, polite requests, and past-future speculation. Because it shares irregular stems with the future, learning one gives you the other for free.
Examples
• Me gustaría un café, por favor. — "I would like a coffee, please." [Polite request] • ¿Qué harías tú? — "What would you do?" [Hypothetical (hacer → har-)] • Dijo que vendría. — "He said he would come." [Future in the past] • Serían las diez cuando llegó. — "It was probably around ten when he arrived." [Probability in the past]
Common Mistakes
❌ Yo gustaría un café. ✅ Me gustaría un café. → Gustar requires an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le...). The subject is 'un café,' not 'yo.' ❌ Si tengo tiempo, iría. ✅ Si tuviera tiempo, iría. → Contrary-to-fact conditions require the subjunctive imperfect in the 'si' clause, not the present indicative.
Quick Tip
The conditional and future share the same 12 irregular stems. If you know 'haré' (future), you know 'haría' (conditional). Same stem, different endings!
The conditional and future share the same 12 irregular stems. If you know 'haré' (future), you know 'haría' (conditional). Same stem, different endings!
Examples
Common Mistakes
Incorrect: Yo gustaría un café. → Correct: Me gustaría un café.. Gustar requires an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le...). The subject is 'un café,' not 'yo.'
Incorrect: Si tengo tiempo, iría. → Correct: Si tuviera tiempo, iría.. Contrary-to-fact conditions require the subjunctive imperfect in the 'si' clause, not the present indicative.
Quiz
Which conditional form is correct for 'poder' (yo)?