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Conditional (condicional)

The simple conditional expresses politeness, hypotheses, advice, and the future-in-the-past.

Usage

The simple conditional expresses politeness, hypotheses, advice, and the future-in-the-past.

Formation

Regular endings

-ar-er-ir
yo (I)-ía-ía-ía
tú (you)-ías-ías-ías
él/ella (he/she)-ía-ía-ía
nosotros (we)-íamos-íamos-íamos
vosotros (you, pl.)-íais-íais-íais
ellos/ellas (they)-ían-ían-ían

Rules

6

1Formation: infinitive + -ía

Add the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the full infinitive.

  • Yo hablaría con ella. — I would talk to her.
  • Comeríamos más tarde. — We would eat later.
  • Vivirían en el campo. — They would live in the countryside.

2Politeness

The conditional makes requests and wishes sound more polite and softer.

  • ¿Podría ayudarme? — Could you help me?polite request
  • Querría un café. — I would like a coffee.

3Hypotheses

It describes what would happen under a condition, often in the main clause.

  • Yo sería más feliz allí. — I would be happier there.
  • Tendríamos más tiempo. — We would have more time.
  • Eso no haría falta. — That would not be necessary.

4Advice

Use deber or poder in the conditional to give friendly recommendations.

  • Deberías descansar más. — You should rest more.friendly tip
  • Podrías hablar con él. — You could talk to him.

5Future-in-the-past

It names something still to come as seen from a point in the past.

  • Dijo que vendría pronto. — He said he would come soon.
  • Pensé que lo harías. — I thought you would do it.

6Irregular stems as in the future

Verbs with an irregular future stem use that same stem plus the -ía endings.

  • Tendría que irme ya. — I would have to leave now.tener: tendr-
  • ¿Qué dirías tú? — What would you say?decir: dir-
  • Yo no haría eso. — I would not do that.hacer: har-

Examples

  • ¿Te gustaría venir con nosotros? — Would you like to come with us?
  • En tu lugar, dormiría más. — In your place, I would sleep more.
  • Ellos estarían muy contentos. — They would be very happy.
  • Querríamos quedarnos un día más. — We would like to stay one more day.

Conjugate

Practice this tense →

Test

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