The Spanish conditional tense, from hablaría to me gustaría
The conditional is the Spanish form you use for most English “would” sentences: iría, comería, me gustaría. You need it to ask for things politely, give advice, imagine situations and report what someone said they would do. Below: when to use it, how to form it, the irregular verbs, and the si clauses that often come with it.
When to use the conditional
Use the conditional to talk about what would happen in an imagined situation. Con más dinero, viajaría más is “With more money, I would travel more”. Yo no diría eso is “I wouldn’t say that”.
Use it to ask for things politely. ¿Podría ayudarme? is “Could you help me?” Me gustaría reservar una mesa is “I would like to book a table”. Use the conditional of poder, querer, gustar and importar to make a request softer, as you would with “could” and “would” in English.
Use it to give advice. Deberías descansar is “You should rest”. Yo que tú, iría al médico is “If I were you, I’d go to the doctor”. Yo que tú is a fixed phrase and is very common.
Use it to report what someone said about the future, when the reporting verb is in the past. Dijo: “Vendré mañana” becomes Dijo que vendría al día siguiente, “She said she would come the next day”.
Use it to guess about the past. Serían las once cuando llegó is “It must have been about eleven when he arrived”. Tendría unos veinte años is “She must have been about twenty”. For a guess about the present, use the future: serán las once is “it must be about eleven”.
When not to use it
In English you also use “would” for past habits: “When I was a child, I would play in the street”. Use the imperfect for this, never the conditional: Cuando era niño, jugaba en la calle.
English “would” in “He wouldn’t open the door” means “refused to”. Use the preterite of querer: No quiso abrir la puerta.
How to form the conditional
Take the whole infinitive and add the endings. They are the same for -ar, -er and -ir verbs, and every one has a written accent on the í.
| Person | Ending | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -ía | hablaría | comería | viviría |
| tú, vos | -ías | hablarías | comerías | vivirías |
| él, ella, usted | -ía | hablaría | comería | viviría |
| nosotros | -íamos | hablaríamos | comeríamos | viviríamos |
| vosotros | -íais | hablaríais | comeríais | viviríais |
| ellos, ustedes | -ían | hablarían | comerían | vivirían |
The yo and él forms are the same. Add the subject when it is not clear: yo iría, ella iría.
These endings are the same as the imperfect endings for -er and -ir verbs. The difference is that in the conditional you add them to the whole infinitive: comía (I was eating) and comería (I would eat).
The irregular conditional stems
The verbs that are irregular in the future have the same stem in the conditional.
| Infinitive | Stem | yo | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| tener | tendr- | tendría | I would have |
| poner | pondr- | pondría | I would put |
| salir | saldr- | saldría | I would leave |
| venir | vendr- | vendría | I would come |
| valer | valdr- | valdría | it would be worth |
| poder | podr- | podría | I could, I would be able to |
| saber | sabr- | sabría | I would know |
| haber | habr- | habría | I would have (auxiliary) |
| querer | querr- | querría | I would want |
| caber | cabr- | cabría | it would fit |
| decir | dir- | diría | I would say |
| hacer | har- | haría | I would do |
The conditional of hay is habría, “there would be”. Compounds follow their base verb: mantendría, propondría, desharía.
Si clauses for “if I had, I would”
To imagine something unlikely or untrue in the present, use si with the imperfect subjunctive, then the conditional. Si tuviera tiempo, te ayudaría is “If I had time, I’d help you”.
Never put the conditional directly after si meaning “if”. Si tendría is wrong in standard Spanish.
Here are the imperfect subjunctive forms you need most often.
| Infinitive | yo | English, in “if I…” |
|---|---|---|
| ser, ir | fuera | were, went |
| tener | tuviera | had |
| poder | pudiera | could |
| saber | supiera | knew |
| hacer | hiciera | did |
| estar | estuviera | were |
| hablar | hablara | spoke |
| vivir | viviera | lived |
Forms ending in -se (tuviese, fuese) mean the same and are more common in Spain than in Latin America.
For the past, use si with the pluperfect subjunctive and the conditional perfect: Si lo hubiera sabido, habría venido, “If I’d known, I would have come”. In speech, many people also use hubiera in the second half: Si lo hubiera sabido, hubiera venido. Both are accepted.
The conditional perfect
Habría with a participle is “would have”: Habría ido, pero estaba enfermo, “I would have gone, but I was ill”. Use it also to guess about an earlier past: Ya se habrían ido, “They had probably left already”.
Polite requests from direct to formal
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Can you help me? | ¿Me puedes ayudar? | tú, everyday |
| Could you help me? | ¿Me podrías ayudar? | tú, softer |
| Could you help me? | ¿Me podría ayudar? | usted |
| Would you mind closing the door? | ¿Le importaría cerrar la puerta? | usted, formal |
| I’d like a coffee. | Quería un café. | Imperfect used politely, common in Spain |
| I’d like a coffee. | Me gustaría un café. or Quisiera un café. | Polite anywhere |
Quisiera is the imperfect subjunctive of querer and is a very common polite “I would like”. Querría is also correct and sounds more formal.
Everyday phrases with the conditional
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I’d love to | Me encantaría. | Warm answer to an invitation |
| I’d rather… | Preferiría… | Preferiría quedarme en casa. |
| What would you think of…? | ¿Qué te parecería…? | ¿Qué te parecería cenar fuera? |
| It would be great | Sería genial. | |
| It would be worth it | Valdría la pena. | |
| I couldn’t tell you | No sabría decirte. | Polite “I don’t know” |
| We’d have to… | Habría que… | General obligation, from hay que |
| Would it be possible to…? | ¿Sería posible…? | Formal requests |
Worked examples
- Me gustaría ir a México. I’d like to go to Mexico.
- ¿Podrías hablar más despacio? Could you speak more slowly?
- Yo no haría eso. I wouldn’t do that.
- Deberías llamarla. You should call her.
- Yo que tú, lo compraría. If I were you, I’d buy it.
- ¿Qué harías tú? What would you do?
- Sería mejor salir temprano. It would be better to leave early.
- Me dijo que llegaría tarde. He told me he would arrive late.
- ¿Le importaría esperar un momento? Would you mind waiting a moment?
- Si tuviera más tiempo, aprendería a tocar la guitarra. If I had more time, I’d learn to play the guitar.
- Serían las tres cuando sonó el teléfono. It must have been about three when the phone rang.
- Si hubiera salido antes, no habría perdido el tren. If I’d left earlier, I wouldn’t have missed the train.
Common mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Si tendría dinero, viajaría. | Si tuviera dinero, viajaría. | After si, use the imperfect subjunctive. |
| Cuando era niño, iría a la playa. | Cuando era niño, iba a la playa. | Use the imperfect for past habits. |
| Podería. | Podría. | Poder has the stem podr-. |
| Me gustaría que vienes. | Me gustaría que vinieras. | After me gustaría que, use the imperfect subjunctive. |
| Podria. | Podría. | The accent is part of the ending. |
| Él no abriría la puerta. (meaning refused) | No quiso abrir la puerta. | For a past refusal, use no quiso. |
| Si yo sería tú. | Si yo fuera tú. or Yo que tú. | Never use the conditional after si meaning “if”. |
Regional notes
In parts of northern Spain, including the Basque Country and Navarre, you may hear the conditional after si: Si tendría tiempo, iría. It is regional and considered non-standard, so do not copy it.
The -se imperfect subjunctive (tuviese, fuese) is used alongside -ra in Spain and much less in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. Both are correct.
In Spain, Quería un café is a very common way to order. It is the imperfect, used for politeness, and does not mean you no longer want one.
With vos, use the same conditional as with tú: ¿Vos qué harías? In the si clause Argentines use the standard forms too: Si vos pudieras.
Practise it
The Vozelu grammar course has a lesson called “The conditional tense”. To take it, create an account. In the lesson you read the endings, the irregular stems and when to use the form, then you type the conditional in full sentences and are told what you got wrong.
Questions people ask
How do you say “would” in Spanish? Usually with the conditional: iría (I would go), comería (I would eat). For past habits (“I would walk to school”) use the imperfect: iba andando al colegio.
How do you form the conditional in Spanish? Add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive. The irregular verbs use the same stems as the future: tendría, haría, diría.
What is the difference between quería and querría? Quería is the imperfect, “I wanted”, and is also used politely to order: Quería un café. Querría is the conditional, “I would like”, and sounds more formal.
Can I use the conditional after si? Not in standard Spanish. Use the imperfect subjunctive after si and the conditional in the other half: Si pudiera, iría.
How do I say “I would like” in Spanish? Me gustaría, quisiera or, in Spain especially, quería. All three are polite.
What does “yo que tú” mean? “If I were you”. It is followed by the conditional: Yo que tú, no iría.
What is the conditional perfect? Habría plus a participle, “would have”: Habría llamado, “I would have called”.