Spanish conditional tense Flashcards
What Is the Spanish Conditional Tense?
Spanish conditionals are used to talk about hypothetical things—things that could be, could have been or would have happened. They’re typically formed by adding the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais or -ían to the infinitive form of a verb.
Ending for yo
Infitnitve + -ía
Ending for Tú
Infitnitve + -ías
Ending for Él, Ella & Usted
Infitnitve + -ía
Ending for Nosotros/as
Infitnitve + -íamos
Ending for Vosotros/as
Infitnitve + -íais
Ending for Ellos, Ellas & Ustedes
Infitnitve + -ían
When to use conditional
1.Express the Future in the Past
You can use the conditional tense in Spanish to talk about something that happened/was discussed in the past that touched on future possibilities.
- Me dijo que se casaría conmigo.(He told me he would marry me.)
- Le dije que eso me haría muy feliz. (I told him that would make me very happy.)
2. Speculate About the Past
The conditional can also be used to talk about something that may or may not have happened in the past.
- Se casarían a las 4 de la tarde. (They must have gotten married at 4 p.m.)
- Esa sería la razón por la que se enamoró de ella. (That must have been the reason he fell in love with her.)
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Make Polite Requests or Suggestions
This is pretty self-explanatory! If you want to make your request or suggestion sound more polite, it helps to add the Spanish equivalent of “would” in your request—or, at least, conjugate the verb to get the same message across.
- Me gustaría hacer un pedido. (I would like to place an order.)
- Me encantaría pasar un fin de semana romántico en Barcelona. (I would love to spend a romantic weekend in Barcelona.)
4. Make Hypothetical Statements
The Spanish conditional tense can be used to talk about things that might have happened—were it not for a little wrinkle.
- Me casaría contigo, pero antes debo ahorrar. (I would marry you, but I have to save some money first.)
- Viajaríamos a París, pero no podemos. (We would travel to Paris but we can’t.)
5. Talk About Events That Might or Might Not Occur
You could also use the conditional to just speculate on something, period.
- Sería romántico casarse en Madrid. (It would be romantic to get married in Madrid.)
- Ser tu esposa sería maravilloso.(Being your wife would be wonderful.)
6. Ask for Advice
In this case, you use the conditional to formulate questions along the lines of “What would you do if… ?”
- ¿Qué harías si te dejara? (What would you do if he left you?)
- ¿Qué vestido comprarías para la boda? (Which dress would you buy for the wedding?)
7. Talk About What Would Be Done in a Situation
This is similar to the last entry, except you’re asking for something in a more direct manner. In other words, you’re basically crafting conditional “Yes/No” questions.
- ¿Te casarías con él? (Would you marry him?)
- ¿Le dirías la verdad sobre tu pasado? (Would you tell him the truth about your past?)
8. Talk About Things That Probably Won’t Happen
We use the simple conditional along with the imperfect subjunctive to form the second conditional, which we will discuss later.
- Si me lo pidiera, me casaría con él. (If he asked me, I would marry him.)
Irregular
salir
(to leave/go out)
Stem: Saldr
ENDINGS
Yo: saldría
Tu: saldrías
él/ Ella/ Usted: saldría
Nosotros (as): saldríamos
Vosotros (as): saldríais
Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes: saldrían
(to leave/go out)
Infinitive: salir
Stem: Saldr
ENDINGS
Yo: saldría
Tu: saldrías
él/ Ella/ Usted: saldría
Nosotros (as): saldríamos
Vosotros (as): saldríais
Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes: saldrían
tener
(to have)
Stem: tendr
ENDINGS
Yo: tendría
Tu: tendrías
él/ Ella/ Usted: tendría
Nosotros (as): tendríamos
Vosotros (as): tendríais
Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes: tendrían
To have
Infinitive: Tener
Stem: Tendr
ENDINGS
Yo: tendría
Tu: tendrías
él/ Ella/ Usted: tendría
Nosotros (as): tendríamos
Vosotros (as): tendríais
Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes: tendrían
valer
(to cost/be worth)
Stem: Valdr
ENDINGS
Yo: valdría
Tu: valdrías
él/ Ella/ Usted: valdría
Nosotros (as): valdríamos
Vosotros (as): valdríais
Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes: valdrían
(to cost/be worth)
Infinitive: Valer
Stem: Valdr
ENDINGS
Yo: valdría
Tu: valdrías
él/ Ella/ Usted: valdría
Nosotros (as): valdríamos
Vosotros (as): valdríais
Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes: valdrían
querer
(to want/love)
Stem: Querr
ENDINGS
Yo: querría
Tu: querrías
él/ Ella/ Usted: querría
Nosotros (as): querríamos
Vosotros (as): querríais
Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes: querrían
