Have you ever wondered why is the Spanish conditional tense important? Well, first of all, if it wasn’t for the conditional tense, Spanish speakers wouldn’t know how to express probabilities or hypothetical situations.
Besides, with the conditional in Spanish, we can make polite requests. This one sounds kind of interesting, right?
Nonetheless, in this post, you will learn what types of conditional in Spanish exist, as well as how to conjugate the verbs and how to form a sentence in the conditional tense Spanish.
Unlike other articles, here you will find plenty of examples with audio to help you better understand the concept of the Spanish conditional tense and to practice your listening skills.
CONTENTS
Spanish Conditional Tense
This tense mainly corresponds to would, could, should, probably, must have been, would be doing, or would have been in English.
You will often hear that the Spanish conditional tense is also known as simple conditional (condicional simple in Spanish). However, as always happens with grammar, things are not that “simple”.
So, there are three conditional tenses in Spanish:
- Simple
- Progressive
- Perfect
Let’s see what each of these verb tenses is for.
Simple Conditional Tense
The simple conditional tense is the easiest Spanish conditional tense to learn. Mostly because, in contrast to other Spanish tenses, the conjugations are very simple. It is used a lot like in English, with a few exceptions.
We use the simple conditional tense in Spanish to express something we would like to do in the future if we had the opportunity, or we want to advise someone, and so on.
In English, we translate it as would, could, should, probably, and must have been.
How To Form The Simple Conditional Tense
Regular Verbs
There is a very simple rule regarding regular verb conjugation. The only thing you need to know in conditional tense Spanish is the endings, which are the same for all of them. Just add the following endings to the infinitive form of the verb. Easy, right? We will show you how we form it in the table below.
Abbreviation: Subject pronoun (SUBJ. PRON.).
Subj. Pron. | Endings |
---|---|
Yo | -ía |
Tú | -ías |
Él/ella/Ud. | -ía |
Nosotros/as | -íamos |
Vosotros/as | -íais |
Ellos/as/Uds. | -ían |
Examples
Subj. Pron. | Caminar | Comer | Vivir |
---|---|---|---|
Yo | Caminaría | Comería | Viviría |
Tú | Caminarías | Comerías | Vivirías |
Él/ella/Ud. | Caminaría | Comería | Viviría |
Nosotros/as | Caminaríamos | Comeríamos | Viviríamos |
Vosotros/as | Caminaríais | Comeríais | Viviríais |
Ellos/as/Uds. | Caminarían | Comerían | Vivirían |
Irregular Verbs
Good news! The same irregular verbs in the simple future tense are also irregular here. So, the stem changes, however, the endings in the conditional tense Spanish are regular.
(Only the yo form is shown in the table).
Verb | Yo form | Verb | Yo form |
---|---|---|---|
Caber | Cabría | Querer | Querría |
Decir | Diría | Saber | Sabría |
Haber | Habría | Salir | Saldría |
Hacer | Haría | Tener | Tendría |
Poder | Podría | Valer | Valdría |
Poner | Pondría | Venir | Vendría |
How To Use the Simple Conditional Tense
Hypothetical Actions or Events
Examples
- Sería interesante estudiar biología. → It would be interesting to study biology.
- ¿Irías a España? → Would you go to Spain?
Conjectures about the Past
Examples
- Estarían en el trabajo cuando llamaste. → They must have been / They were probably at work when you called.
- No fue a trabajar, estaría enfermo. → He didn’t go to work, he must have been sick / He was probably sick.
The Future from the Perspective of the Past
Examples
- Me dijo que llegaría tarde. → He told me he would be late.
- Sabía que la tienda no abriría el fin de semana. → I knew the shop wouldn’t open / wasn’t open on the weekend.
Conditional Sentences
Examples
- Si tuviera tiempo, te ayudaría. → If I had time, I would help you.
- Si hubiera entrenado más, ahora estaría en la final. → If I had trained more, I would be in the finals now.
Polite Requests
Examples
- ¿Podríamos quedarnos en tu casa? → Could we stay at your house?
- ¿Te importaría si uso el baño? → Would you mind if I use the bathroom?
Invitations
Examples
- ¿Querrías ir a la fiesta conmigo? → Would you like to go to the party with me?
- ¿Vendrías al cine con nosotros? → Would you come to the movie theater with us?
Desires
Examples
- Me encantaría ir a la fiesta contigo. → I would love to go to the party with you.
- Me gustaría viajar por el mundo. → I would like to travel around the world.
Suggestions and Advice
Examples
- Deberías ir al médico. → You should go to the doctor.
- Podrías tomarte unos días libres. → You could take some days off.
Where To Practice The Simple Conditional Tense
Conjugations
Quizzes
- Conditional Tense
- Conditional Tense: Quiz #1 and Test#1
Gap Fill Exercises
- Conditional 1 – Exercises – simple conditional
- B1 – Simple Conditional: (Irregular verbs) and (Regular verbs)
- Conditional – Present
- Simple Conditional – Exercises
- Conditional
Oral Practice
- Spanish Demystified – Oral Practice 3 and 4 from chapter 12 (pages 240 and 241).
Written Practice
- The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice – Written Practice H and I from chapter 6 (pages 78 and 79).
- Spanish Demystified – Written Practice 4 from chapter 12 (page 240).
Everything
- Conditional 2 – Ejercicios – condicional simple
- The Conditional Tense
- Regular & irregular
- Irregular verbs
Progressive Conditional Tense
How To Form The Progressive Conditional Tense
Don’t let this one confuse you just because of its pompous name.
One of the uses you will recognize the progressive conditional tense Spanish for is to talk about something that would be happening only if something else were to happen first.
To form the progressive conditional tense in Spanish you need to combine the simple conditional tense of the verb estar and the present participle of the second verb. The present participle corresponds to the -ing form in English.
In English, we translate this Spanish conditional tense as would be doing.
Abbreviations: Subject pronoun (SUBJ. PRON.), conjugations (CONJ.) and present Participle (PR. PPLE.).
The Verb Estar – Simple Conditional Tense
Subj. Pron. | Conj. |
---|---|
Yo | Estaría |
Tú | Estarías |
Él/ella/Ud. | Estaría |
Nosotros/as | Estaríamos |
Vosotros/as | Estaríais |
Ellos/as/Uds. | Estarían |
Regular Verbs – Present Participle
To form the present participle of regular verbs, add the following endings to the infinitive form of the verb.
Verb Ending | Pr. Pple. |
---|---|
-ar | -ando |
-er | -iendo |
-ir | -iendo |
Examples
Subj. Pron. | Caminar | Comer | Vivir |
---|---|---|---|
Yo | Estaría caminando | Estaría comiendo | Estaría viviendo |
Tú | Estarías caminando | Estarías comiendo | Estarías viviendo |
Él/ella/Ud. | Estaría caminando | Estaría comiendo | Estaría viviendo |
Nosotros/as | Estaríamos caminando | Estaríamos comiendo | Estaríamos viviendo |
Vosotros/as | Estaríais caminando | Estaríais comiendo | Estaríais viviendo |
Ellos/as/Uds | Estarían caminando | Estarían comiendo | Estarían viviendo |
Other Verbs – Present Participle
Verb | Pr. Pple. |
---|---|
Construir | Construyendo |
Decir | Diciendo |
Dormir | Durmiendo |
Ir | Yendo |
Leer | Leyendo |
Morir | Muriendo |
Oír | Oyendo |
Poder | Pudiendo |
Reñir | Riñendo |
Venir | Viniendo |
Examples
Subj. Pron. | Dormir | Leer | Venir |
---|---|---|---|
Yo | Estaría durmiendo | Estaría leyendo | Estaría viniendo |
Tú | Estarías durmiendo | Estarías leyendo | Estarías viniendo |
Él/ella/Ud. | Estaría durmiendo | Estaría leyendo | Estaría viniendo |
Nosotros/as | Estaríamos durmiendo | Estaríamos leyendo | Estaríamos viniendo |
Vosotros/as | Estaríais durmiendo | Estaríais leyendo | Estaríais viniendo |
Ellos/as/Uds | Estarían durmiendo | Estarían leyendo | Estarían viniendo |
How To Use The Progressive Conditional Tense
The progressive conditional tense in Spanish, as the name suggests, describes an action that would be in progress at a certain point in time. It also emphasizes the course of action.
We mainly use this conditional tense Spanish in the following situations:
The Future from the Perspective of the Past
Examples
- Mis amigos me dijeron que estarían estudiando español. → My friends told me they would be studying Spanish.
- Sabía que vosotros estaríais jugando al fútbol. → I knew you all would be playing soccer.
Conjectures about the Past
Examples
- ¿Dónde estaba tu hermano? Estaría trabajando. → ¿Where was your brother? He was probably working / He must have been working.
- No fueron a trabajar, estarían estudiando para el examen. → They didn’t go to work, they were probably studying for the test / They must have been studying for the test.
Conditional Sentences
Examples
- Si tuvieramos tiempo, estaríamos viajando por España. → If we had time, we would be traveling around Spain.
- Si Pepe estuviera aquí, estaría cantando. → If Pepe was here, he would be singing.
Where To Practice The Progressive Conditional Tense
Gap Fill Exercises
Other
Perfect Conditional Tense
How To Form The Perfect Conditional Tense
This, like the previous one, can be a bit tricky but don’t let this discourage you.
You will mostly use the perfect conditional tense if you want to describe or talk about something that could have happened but did not due to another event that did. But be mindful that it is not the only use of this tense.
We form the perfect conditional in Spanish by combining the simple conditional tense of the verb haber and the past participle of the second verb.
In English, it corresponds to would have done.
Abbreviations: Subject pronoun (SUBJ. PRON.), conjugations (CONJ.) and past participle (PAST PPLE.).
The Verb Haber – Simple Conditional Tense
Subj. Pron. | Conj. |
---|---|
Yo | Habría |
Tú | Habrías |
Él/ella/Ud. | Habría |
Nosotros/as | Habríamos |
Vosotros/as | Habríais |
Ellos/as/Uds. | Habrían |
Regular Verbs
The past participle of regular verbs is not difficult to form. We do it by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the following endings.
Verb Ending | Past Pple. |
---|---|
-ar | -ado |
-er | -ido |
-ir | -ido |
Examples
Subj. Pron. | Caminar | Comer | Vivir |
---|---|---|---|
Yo | Habría caminado | Habría comido | Habría vivido |
Tú | Habrías caminado | Habrías comido | Habrías vivido |
Él/ella/Ud. | Habría caminado | Habría comido | Habría vivido |
Nosotros/as | Habríamos caminado | Habríamos comido | Habríamos vivido |
Vosotros/as | Habríais caminado | Habríais comido | Habríais vivido |
Ellos/as/Uds. | Habrían caminado | Habrían comido | Habrían vivido |
Irregular Verbs
In the table below, you will find the most common irregular verbs in the past participle.
Infinitive | Past Pple. |
---|---|
Abrir | Abierto |
Decir | Dicho |
Escribir | Escrito |
Hacer | Hecho |
Ver | Visto |
Volver | Vuelto |
Examples
Subj. Pron. | Decir | Hacer | Volver |
---|---|---|---|
Yo | Habría dicho | Habría hecho | Habría vuelto |
Tú | Habrías dicho | Habrías hecho | Habrías vuelto |
Él/ella/Ud. | Habría dicho | Habría hecho | Habrías vuelto |
Nosotros/as | Habríamos dicho | Habríamos hecho | Habríamos vuelto |
Vosotros/as | Habríais dicho | Habríais hecho | Habríais vuelto |
Ellos/as/Uds. | Habrían dicho | Habrían hecho | Habrían vuelto |
How To Use The Perfect Conditional Tense
Hypothetical Actions or Events about the Past
- Yo no habría ido. → I wouldn’t have gone.
- Juan se habría quedado más tiempo, pero tenía que trabajar. → Juan would have stayed longer, but he had to work.
Conjectures about an Action in the Past that Already Took Place
- Cuando él llegó al restaurante no tenía hambre, seguramente habría comido antes. → When he arrived at the restaurant he wasn’t hungry, he must have eaten before / He had probably eaten before.
- No vi a Pepe en la fiesta, me imagino que se habría ido. → I didn’t see Pepe at the party, I imagine he must have left / He had probably left.
Conditional
- Si hubiera estudiado más, habría aprobado el examen. → If I had studied more, I would have passed the test.
- Si no hubiéramos ido, no te habríamos visto. → If we hadn’t gone, we wouldn’t have seen you.
Where To Practice The Perfect Conditional Tense
Conjugations
- Conditional: Perfect Forms and Uses and Perfect (all Participles)
Gap Fill Exercises
Other
Where to Practice All Tenses
Gap Fill Exercises
Final Thoughts
Not so bad, is it? We know it’s a bit longer, but hopefully, this post will help you understand the Spanish conditional tense better.
Don’t hesitate to use the exercises provided in the text. Because practice makes it perfect!
Suggestion: you can also try and make up your own examples with the Spanish conditional tense. Even better if you have a Spanish-speaking friend or anyone who speaks the language to practice it with.
In our online Spanish conversation classes, we do both oral and written exercises. This means you get a chance to put your knowledge of the conditional in Spanish into practice on the spot. What better way to learn?
So, to encourage you to start practicing the conditional tense Spanish, can you answer the questions below? We’re looking forward to reading your comments!
- ¿Qué idioma habrías estudiado si no hubieras elegido estudiar español?
- ¿Estarías leyendo este artículo si no quisieras mejorar tu español?
- ¿Te dijeron alguna vez que estudiar español sería fácil?
Our goal is to offer free content for people to practice their Spanish. However, creating and maintaining the blog takes a lot of our free time. Because of our love of sharing Spanish with you, we will keep adding and updating the content in the blog. If you like the content of this post and believe that it helps you, please consider donating. Any amount is appreciated. Donations will be used to support the free content of this blog.
- 5 Spanish Short Film Worksheets$40.00
- Vale – Spanish Short Film Worksheet$9.00
- Boost Your Everyday Spanish From Spain – Ebook and Audiobook All Packs$40.90
- Boost Your Everyday Spanish from Spain – Ebook and Audiobook Pack 1$24.95
- Clara – Spanish Short Film Worksheet$9.00
- Vecinoo – Spanish Short Film Worksheet$9.00
- 5 Spanish Short Film Worksheets$40.00
- Anónimos – Spanish Short Film Worksheet$9.00
- 10 Spanish Short Film Worksheets$70.00