Verbs: Conditional Mood

01

Forming the Conditional

For regular verbs, the conditional is one of the easiest tenses to form. You do not remove the verb ending (-ar, -er, or -ir). Instead, you add the conditional endings directly to the full infinitive.

The endings are the same for all three verb groups:

• -ía (yo)
• -ías (tú)
• -ía (él/ella/usted)
• -íamos (nosotros)
• -íais (vosotros)
• -ían (ellos/ellas/ustedes)

• Yo viajaría por todo el mundo.

  I would travel all over the world.

• ¿Comeríais en ese restaurante?

  Would you guys eat at that restaurant?

• Ellos vivirían en Madrid si pudieran.

  They would live in Madrid if they could.

02

Irregular Verbs

While the endings remain regular for all verbs, some common verbs change their stem (the root part of the word) before adding the endings. These are the same stem changes found in the future tense.

Group 1: Drop the 'e'

• Poder becomes podr- (e.g., podría)
• Caber becomes cabr- (e.g., cabría)
• Haber becomes habr- (e.g., habría)
• Saber becomes sabr- (e.g., sabría)
• Querer becomes querr- (e.g., querría)

Group 2: Replace the vowel with 'd'

• Poner becomes pondr- (e.g., pondría)
• Salir becomes saldr- (e.g., saldría)
• Tener becomes tendr- (e.g., tendría)
• Venir becomes vendr- (e.g., vendría)
• Valer becomes valdr- (e.g., valdría)

Group 3: Shortened stems

• Decir becomes dir- (e.g., diría)
• Hacer becomes har- (e.g., haría)

• Yo sabría la respuesta.

  I would know the answer.

• ¿Qué harías tú en mi lugar?

  What would you do in my place?

• No tendríamos problemas.

  We would not have problems.

03

Usage: Politeness and Suggestions

The conditional is used to make requests, questions, or desires sound less direct and more polite. This is similar to using "could" or "would" in English instead of "can" or "want."

• ¿Podrías abrir la ventana, por favor?

  Could you open the window, please?

• Me gustaría un café con leche.

  I would like a coffee with milk.

• Deberías estudiar más para el examen.

  You should study more for the exam.

04

Usage: Future in the Past

When speaking about the past, if you want to refer to an event that was in the future at that moment, use the conditional. This is common in reported speech.

• Dijo que llegaría tarde.

  He said that he would arrive late.

• Sabía que me ayudarían.

  I knew that they would help me.

05

Usage: Probability in the Past

In European Spanish, the conditional is frequently used to express speculation or probability regarding a past action. It translates to "must have been," "was probably," or "I wonder."

• Serían las cinco cuando salió.

  It was probably five o'clock when he left.

• ¿Por qué no vino? Estaría enfermo.

  Why didn't he come? He was probably sick.