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Spanish grammar Part of Chapter 11

CEFR B1

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Spanish Conditional Tense: me gustaría and Polite Requests

By Michael McGettrick and Sergio Linares-HernandesUpdated 12 October 2026

The conditional is the Spanish "would" tense. It keeps the whole infinitive, like the future, and adds the -ía endings:

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

English 'would' is sometimes a past habit and sometimes a hypothetical. Pick the imperfect for a habit and the conditional for a hypothetical.

  1. De niño, a la escuela cada día. (used to go)

  2. Yo contigo si pudiera. (hypothetical)

  3. Antes a casa de mi abuela cada tarde. (used to go)

the conditional endingthe irregular stemWhat do the colours mean?
  • . - I'd like a coffee.
  • . - I wouldn't do it.

The conditional on one screen

UseExampleEnglish
regular .I would talk to her.
irregular stem .I would be more careful.
I'd like .I'd like a coffee.
a polite request¿ ?Could you help me?
advice .You should rest.
what you'd do .I wouldn't do it.
an if-sentence , .If I could, I'd help you.

The conditional endings

One set of endings for -ar, -er and -ir verbs, on the whole infinitive:

PersonEndingcomer (to eat)
yo-ía
-ías
, , -ía
-íamos
-íais
, -ían
Nothing is chopped: comer + ía gives comería

The same endings work for all three verb groups:

Verbyonosotrosellos

These are the -er imperfect endings. What tells the two tenses apart is the infinitive in front of them:

  • . - As a child I used to eat a lot. (imperfect)
  • . - I would eat more fruit. (conditional)

Irregular stems: the same twelve as the future

The twelve verbs with an irregular future stem use it in the conditional too. Only the ending changes:

GroupVerbStemyo
loses a vowelpodr-
sabr-
querr-
habr-
cabr-
adds a dtendr-
pondr-
saldr-
vendr-
valdr-
short stemhar-
dir-
tener drops its e and adds a d, then the ending: tendría
  • ¿ ? - What would you do?
  • . - I wouldn't tell him anything.
  • . - We would leave later.

Polite requests: the softener

the conditional endingthe irregular stemWhat do the colours mean?

The conditional takes the edge off a request. Each step along this strip is a little softer:

Asking for help
DirectVery polite
  1. ¿Puedes ayudarme?present: fine with friends
  2. ¿Podrías ayudarme?conditional, tú
  3. ¿Podría ayudarme?conditional, usted
  4. ¿Le importaría ayudarme?would you mind
UseSpanishEnglish
I'd like .I'd like a coffee.
I'd like to .I'd like to travel more.
could I¿ ?Could I pay?
would you mind¿ ?Would you mind waiting?
I'd want .I'd like to speak to the manager.
Inside a cafe: a woman with long hair and a bow and a man with a moustache sit at a round white table with a blue cup and a yellow cup of coffee and a green menu standing between them; a waiter, a man with a moustache, a bow tie and an apron, stands at the side writing on a notepad.
  1. .
  2. ¿ ?

Ordering politely: I'd like a coffee. Could we see the menu?

What you would do

On its own, the conditional says what you would do, and with it gives advice:

UseExampleEnglish
what you'd do .I would go with you.
a judgement .It would be better to wait.
advice .You should call your mother.
future from the past .They said they would come.

and , irregular almost everywhere else, are regular in the conditional: , .

If-sentences

A "would" sentence often answers an "if": + imperfect subjunctive, then the conditional. The subjunctive half has its own page, si clauses; at this stage, recognise it and build the conditional half:

If (subjunctive)Then (conditional)English
, .If I had money, I'd travel more.
, .If I could, I'd help you.
, .If I were you, I wouldn't do it.

The conditional never goes in the if-half itself: , never " ". ( meaning "whether" is a different word and can take it: . - I don't know whether I'd go.)

Would that isn't the conditional

English "would" has two other jobs, and Spanish uses other tenses for them:

MeaningEnglishSpanish
a past habitWe would go every summer. .
refusedHe wouldn't open the door. .
hypotheticalI would go if I could. .

If "would" means "used to", reach for the imperfect.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
the accent is compulsory
tenería takes tendr-
hacería takes har-
... ...no conditional after
(used to go) .a past habit is imperfect
. (blunt to a stranger) .softer with a stranger

What to do next

  1. Say , and aloud, then , and .
  2. Swap for the next time you order something.
  3. Then si clauses, for the full "if" sentence.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/5

Build the conditional from its pieces.

  1. yo + hablar

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. nosotros + comer

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. tú + tener

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. ellos + hacer

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  5. usted + poder

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Pick the right one

0/5

English 'would' is sometimes a past habit and sometimes a hypothetical. Pick the imperfect for a habit and the conditional for a hypothetical.

  1. De niño, a la escuela cada día. (used to go)

  2. Yo contigo si pudiera. (hypothetical)

  3. Antes a casa de mi abuela cada tarde. (used to go)

  4. En tu lugar, no a esa fiesta. (hypothetical)

  5. Con más tiempo, a verte. (hypothetical)

Spot the mistake

0/4

Each sentence has one wrong verb. Tap it.

Fill in the blank

0/6

Put the verb in brackets into the conditional.

  1. Yo un café, por favor. (tomar) (tomar, regular)

  2. Ella tiempo para ayudarte. (tener) (tener, irregular stem)

  3. ¿Qué tú en mi lugar? (hacer) (hacer, irregular stem)

  4. Ellos no nada a nadie. (decir) (decir, irregular stem)

  5. Tú llamar a tu madre. (deber) (deber, regular)

  6. Nosotros de casa más tarde. (salir) (salir, irregular stem)

Translation drill

0/4

Translate into English.

  1. Me gustaría un café.

  2. ¿Podrías ayudarme?

  3. Deberías llamar a tu madre.

  4. Yo no lo haría.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you form the conditional in Spanish?
Keep the whole infinitive and add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían: , , . The twelve verbs with an irregular future stem use the same stem here: , , , . Every form has a written accent on the í.
What does and when do I use it?
is the conditional of : I would like. It is the polite way to ask for something or say what you want: (I'd like a coffee), María (I'd like to speak to María). It is softer than , which can sound blunt to a stranger.
Is 'would' always the conditional in Spanish?
No. 'would' in the past ('every summer we would go to the beach') is the imperfect: a . 'Wouldn't' meaning refused is the preterite of : (he wouldn't open the door). Only hypothetical and polite 'would' is the conditional: , .
What is the difference between the conditional and the imperfect endings?
The endings are identical, -ía, -ías and so on, but the imperfect puts them on the stem and the conditional on the whole infinitive. is I used to eat; is I would eat. The -er- or -ir- before the ending is what tells them apart.
Can you use the conditional after ?
Not in an 'if' clause. 'If I had time, I would read more' is , : the imperfect subjunctive after , the conditional in the other half. is a classic mistake. The conditional answers the if-clause; it never sits inside it. meaning 'whether' is different: (I don't know whether I'd go) is fine.