Spanish Conditional

The conditional is the "would" tense. It's structurally identical to the future - same stems, different endings. Three core uses cover almost all Foundation-tier needs.

The endings

The endings are -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían - identical to the -er / -ir imperfect endings. They attach to the full infinitive (no chopping), exactly like the future tense.

Every form takes a written accent on the í of the ending - mandatory.

The same endings work across all three conjugation classes:

• hablar → hablaría, hablarías, hablaría, hablaríamos, hablaríais, hablarían
• vivir → viviría, vivirías, viviría, viviríamos, viviríais, vivirían

Irregular stems (same as the future)

The same twelve verbs that have irregular stems in the future use the same stems in the conditional.

If you know the future, you know the conditional. The only thing changing is the endings.

Use 1: politeness

The single highest-frequency use. The conditional softens requests, orders and questions.

• Me gustaría un café. (I'd like a coffee.) - vs the blunter "quiero un café"
• ¿Podrías ayudarme? (Could you help me?) - vs "¿puedes ayudarme?"
• ¿Te importaría cerrar la puerta? (Would you mind closing the door?)
• Querría hablar con el director. (I would like to speak with the director.)
• Deberíamos salir pronto. (We should leave soon.)

If there's one phrase to internalise from this page, it's me gustaría. It's the polite default for ordering and asking, and it'll make your Spanish noticeably less rude in any service interaction.

Use 2: hypotheticals

The conditional describes what you would do in a hypothetical situation, without specifying the trigger.

• Yo iría contigo. (I would go with you.)
• ¿Qué harías tú? (What would you do?)
• No le diría nada. (I wouldn't tell him anything.)
• Sería mejor esperar. (It would be better to wait.)

The English "would" maps cleanly here.

Use 3: conditional sentences ("if X, then Y")

The full structure for hypothetical "if" sentences is si + imperfect subjunctive, + conditional. Foundation tier doesn't cover the imperfect subjunctive - that's Higher-tier and lives on the intermediate Spanish grammar page. What you need at this level is to recognise the construction and produce the conditional half of it.

• Si tuviera dinero, viajaría por el mundo. (If I had money, I would travel the world.)
• Si pudiera, te ayudaría. (If I could, I would help you.)
• Si fuera tú, no lo haría. (If I were you, I wouldn't do it.)

In real Spanish you'll meet these constantly. The pattern is: the if clause uses imperfect subjunctive (tuviera, pudiera, fuera, hablara) and the then clause uses the conditional. For now, produce the conditional half confidently and parse the subjunctive half from context.

"Would" that isn't the conditional

English "would" sometimes means "used to" - habitual past action. In that case, Spanish uses the imperfect, not the conditional.

• De niño, iba a la playa cada verano. (As a child, I would go to the beach every summer.) - habit, so imperfect
• Yo iría contigo si pudiera. (I would go with you if I could.) - hypothetical, so conditional

If "would" in English means "used to", reach for the imperfect. If it means "hypothetically would", reach for the conditional.

Worked examples

• Me gustaría aprender chino. (I'd like to learn Chinese.)
• ¿Podría darme un vaso de agua? (Could you give me a glass of water?)
• Deberías llamar a tu madre. (You should call your mother.)
• Yo no haría eso. (I wouldn't do that.)
• Si tuviera tiempo, leería más. (If I had time, I would read more.)
• Sería interesante visitar Japón. (It would be interesting to visit Japan.)
• Me dijo que vendría mañana. (He told me he would come tomorrow.)

Common mistakes English speakers make

Translating English habitual "would" with the conditional: iba a la playa (used to go) is right; iría a la playa is wrong for that meaning. Forgetting the written accent: it's comería, not "comeria". Trying to regularise irregular stems - tendría is right, not "tenería". And under-using the conditional for politeness in real interactions: switching from quiero to me gustaría is a single-syllable change that lifts your Spanish a level.

See also

• The Spanish future tense page covers the matching stems and structure.
• The intermediate Spanish grammar page covers the imperfect subjunctive and full conditional sentences.