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B1 · Spanish2 min read

Conditional simple

Conditional tense for hypothetical situations, polite requests, and reported speech ("dijo que vendría").

what is it?

The conditional simple (el condicional simple) expresses what would happen under certain circumstances, what someone would do in a hypothetical situation, or what was said would occur in the future from a past perspective. It is also used to make polite requests and suggestions.

when to use it

  • Hypothetical situations: to express what would happen or what someone would do if certain conditions were met.

  • Polite requests and suggestions: to soften requests, offers, or advice, making them more courteous than the present tense.

  • Reported speech: to express what someone said would happen in the future, when the reporting verb is in the past tense.

  • Conjecture about the past: to speculate or wonder about something that happened in the past (similar to 'probably' or 'must have been').

formation

The conditional simple is formed by adding the conditional endings to the infinitive of the verb. The endings are the same for all three conjugations (-ar, -er, -ir).

PersonEndinghablarcomervivir
yo-íahablaríacomeríaviviría
tú-íashablaríascomeríasvivirías
él/ella/usted-íahablaríacomeríaviviría
nosotros/as-íamoshablaríamoscomeríamosviviríamos
vosotros/as-íaishablaríaiscomeríaisviviríais
ellos/ellas/ustedes-íanhablaríancomeríanvivirían

Many verbs that are irregular in the future tense use the same irregular stem in the conditional, but the endings remain regular.

InfinitiveIrregular stemExample (yo)
tenertendr-tendría
hacerhar-haría
poderpodr-podría
sabersabr-sabría
ponerpondr-pondría
salirsaldr-saldría
venirvendr-vendría
decirdir-diría
quererquerr-querría
haberhabr-habría

examples in context

Yo iría contigo si pudiera.
I would go with you if I could.
Hypothetical situation expressing what the speaker would do under certain conditions.
¿Podrías ayudarme, por favor?
Could you help me, please?
Polite request using the conditional to soften the question.
Dijo que vendría a las ocho.
He said he would come at eight.
Reported speech: the conditional expresses future from a past perspective.
Me gustaría viajar a España este verano.
I would like to travel to Spain this summer.
Expressing a desire politely using the conditional.
Serían las diez cuando llegó.
It was probably ten o'clock when he arrived.
Conjecture about the past: wondering or estimating what time it was.

common pitfalls

  • Using the future tense instead of the conditional in hypothetical statements. In hypothetical situations (often with

    si clauses), you must use the conditional, not the future. Say

    Iría si tuviera tiempo

    , not

    Iré si tuviera tiempo.

  • Forgetting the irregular stems shared with the future tense. Verbs like

    tener,

    hacer, and

    poder do not use their infinitive as the stem. The correct forms are

    tendría,

    haría, and

    podría, not

    tenería,

    hacería, or

    podería.

Quick check

Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.

1 / 3

Elena dijo que nunca ___ una película de horror sola. (ver)

Fill in the blank with the correct conditional form of the verb in parentheses.

Leads to
B2Conditional perfectB2Conditional for conjecture about the pastB2Remote conditional sentences
Related
B1Present subjunctiveB1Negative imperative and clitic pronoun placementB1Subjunctive in adverbial clauses
Conditional simple in Spanish (B1) · drill