Conditional Tense: Spanish Grammar Made Easy

Spanish conditional tense example

Take a look at the endings next to the infinitives in the table below and notice that we only have one conjugation in English for the conditional verb.

The first verb has some endings attached as the original written version would be like.

Examples:

• Yo saldría contigo todos los días: I would go out with you every day.
• Tú tendrías que salir usando tu carro: You’d have to go out by using your car.
• Ella pondría ejemplos perfectos del futuro: She would go set perfect examples about the future.
• Nosotros vendríamos todo el tiempo: We would come all the time.
• Ellos valdrían mucho por su condición: They would be worth it a lot because of their condition.

Verbs that lose one vowel

Such as Caber, Haber, Poder, Saber.

Examples:

• Yo podría comer con él todo el día: I could eat with him all day.
• Tú cabrías pero estás tenso. – You would fit but you’re tense.
• Él sabría qué hacer. – He would know what to do.
• Nosotros habríamos sido como tú. – We could have been like you.
• Ella querría otro helado, por favor. – She would like another ice cream, please.

Verbs in the conditional tense with an irregular root

Something else to take into account is the change in the infinitive for this form.

5 main uses of the conditional tense in Spanish

Now, let us review the uses of the Spanish conditional tense one by one.

First, and, up to this point, you should know how to conjugate the conditional simple in Spanish and that it’s the equivalent of would + an infinitive. However, other words in English also translate into conditional in Spanish.

Depending on the intention of the speaker, the conditional could be translated to “could”, “should have” or “probably”.

Here are some of the most common scenarios in which you’d be using the conditional in Spanish:

1. Wishes

2. Suggestions

3. Requests

4. Excuses

5. Hypothetical situations

Another way to use the conditional tense in Spanish is to talk about situations that are not real at the moment. For these situations, we’re going to be using Si clauses in Spanish. (if clauses)

An “if clause” or Si clause in Spanish is a cropped sentence that implies a condition.

In the Spanish conditional tense, it’s possible to invert the sentence if you would like to express your ideas differently.

Notice that the first verb we use here is nothing like the rest in this article. In each example, the imperfect subjunctive is present.

The Spanish Conditional Compound Tense

The conjugation on this one is very simple as it’s a combination of verbs we already know. Remember that compound tenses use auxiliary verbs.

In this case, you know haber is the auxiliary verb in Spanish. For the conditional compound, it will be in the simple conditional tense.

The second component is the past participle which is going to be used with every personal pronoun without any changes given that we are already conjugating haber.

Past participle in Spanish (regular verbs)

There are three different types of regular verbs in Spanish grammar that we group according to their endings.

Let’s transform those into past participles:

• For verbs that end in -ar, we change the ending for -ado.
• For the verbs with -er and -ir endings, we change the endings for -ido.

Past participle in Spanish (irregular verbs)

The conjugation was pretty straightforward up to this point and now there’s a set of irregular verbs we need to use!

But, there’s nothing to worry about. Many of these irregular verbs are very common, meaning Spanish speakers use them a lot and you’ll be listening to them quite often.

Are there any other irregular verbs? Of course! However, once you’re familiarized with the ones on the previous list, you’d have learned many more.

How does it work? Easy! Verbs finishing in poner (already a verb), will have the same conjugation at the end. That is:

Componer, imponer, suponer, oponer, reponer, exponer, proponer and so on.

Compuesto, Impuesto, supuesto, opuesto, repuesto, expuesto, propuesto and so on.

And let’s not forget about the exceptions. There are three verbs in Spanish with two possible participles (regular and irregular).

Depending on the region, people will use one or the other. To be safe, use the irregular on every occasion.

Using the Conditional Compound

The Spanish Conditional Compound talks about an action that was supposed to happen in the past yet another action got in the way. It’s basically, giving excuses about something in the past.

Example:

• Habría llamado a tu casa pero me robaron el teléfono. – I would have called to your house but they stole my phone.
• Habríamos hecho algo pero no tuvimos oportunidad. – We would have done something but we didn’t have the chance.
• Habrías podido llegar temprano pero te levantaste muy tarde. – You would have been able to arrive early but you got up too late.

Using What You’ve Learned

The Spanish conditional tense is perfect for elaborating excuses and we now have an example for every possible situation. Like in any other tense, regular verbs are the ones you’ll use the most.

The other good thing is that the conditional is easy to conjugate and it doesn’t have too many weird-looking irregular verbs, except for poder (to be able to). Besides these kinds of irregular verbs, you should have everything you need to start using the conditional tense like a pro!

As always, we’ll see you on the next one. If you need any one-on-one support, don’t hesitate to try a free private class or sign up for a 7-day free trial of our group classes.

¡Buena suerte!