Verbs: Conditional Mood — Catalan Grammar

The conditional mood () is used to talk about hypothetical situations, make polite requests, give advice, or express speculation. It is equivalent to the "would + verb" structure in English (e.g., I would speak, you would eat).

How to Form the Regular Conditional

The conditional is one of the simplest tenses to conjugate. For regular verbs, you take the full infinitive (the dictionary form of the verb) and add the conditional endings. The endings are the same for all verb groups (, , and ).

The endings are:

(jo)
(tu)
(ell/ella/vostè)
(nosaltres)
(vosaltres)
(ells/elles/vostès)

-ar verbs: (to speak)

Jo parlaria.
I would speak.
Nosaltres parlaríem.
We would speak.

-er verbs: (to drink)

Tu beuries.
You would drink.
Vosaltres beuríeu.
You (plural) would drink.

-ir verbs: (to live)

Ell viuria.
He would live.
Ells viurien.
They would live.

Irregular Verbs in the Conditional

A few common verbs are irregular. They use a different stem instead of the infinitive, but they still take the same regular conditional endings listed above. These are the same irregular stems used for the future tense.

Here are the most important ones:

(to go) →
(to say) →
(to do/make) →
(to be able to) →
(to know) →
(to have) →
(to come) →
(to want) →

Què faries tu?
What would you do?
Vindrien a la festa si els convidessis.
They would come to the party if you invited them.
No podria viure sense música.
I couldn't live without music.

Uses of the Conditional

1. Polite Requests and Suggestions

The conditional softens requests, making them more polite than a direct command. It is very common in service situations, like in shops or restaurants.

M'agradaria un cafè, si us plau.
I would like a coffee, please.
Podries obrir la finestra?
Could you open the window?
Voldria reservar una taula per a dos.
I would like to reserve a table for two.

2. Giving Advice

It is used to offer advice or a recommendation in a gentle, non-imposing way.

Hauries de parlar amb ella.
You should talk to her.
Jo que tu, acceptaria la feina.
If I were you, I would accept the job.
Seria una bona idea començar ara.
It would be a good idea to start now.

3. Hypothetical Situations

This is the classic use of the conditional, describing what would happen if a certain condition were met. This structure often uses (if) followed by a verb in the imperfect subjunctive.

Si tingués més temps, llegiria més llibres.
If I had more time, I would read more books.
Si fóssim rics, compraríem una casa a la platja.
If we were rich, we would buy a house on the beach.
Què faríeu si no haguéssiu de treballar?
What would you do if you didn't have to work?

4. Future in the Past

The conditional is used to talk about a future action from the perspective of the past. It describes what someone said or thought would happen.

Va dir que arribaria a les vuit.
He said he would arrive at eight.
Pensava que no vindries.
I thought you wouldn't come.
Sabíem que seria difícil.
We knew it would be difficult.

5. Expressing Conjecture about the Past

The conditional can also be used to make a guess or express probability about a past event.

Quan va marxar? Serien les deu de la nit.
When did he leave? It was probably around ten at night.
En aquella època, la gent no tindria cotxe.
At that time, people probably didn't have cars.

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