The Spanish conditional tense is formed much like the Spanish simple future tense. Both regular and irregular verbs use the same set of endings, and any stems that are irregular in the simple future are also irregular in the conditional.
Regular Conditional Forms
To form the conditional tense with regular verbs, simply add the conditional endings to the end of the infinitive. Below you'll find a table with the Spanish conditional endings, as well as conjugations of three regular verbs in the conditional: viajar, conocer, and escribir.
Spanish Conditional Endings
Subject Conditional Ending
yo -ía
tú -ías
usted, él, ella -ía
nosotros -íamos
vosotros -íais
ustedes, ellos, ellas -ían
The endings for the conditional tense are the same as those for the -er and -ir forms of the imperfect tense. However, conditional endings are attached to the infinitive, while imperfect endings are attached to the stem.
Conditional: Escribiría unas cartas. (I would write some letters.)
Imperfect: Escribía unas cartas. (I wrote some letters.)
Conditional Conjugations of Viajar, Conocer, and Escribir
Subject Viajar Conocer Escribir
yo
viajaría
conocería
escribiría
tú
viajarías
conocerías
escribirías
usted, él, ella
viajaría
conocería
escribiría
nosotros
viajaríamos
conoceríamos
escribiríamos
vosotros
viajaríais
conoceríais
escribiríais
ustedes, ellos, ellas
viajarían
conocerían
escribirían
Check out these examples of the regular conditional.
Compraría esa camisa.
I would buy that shirt.
Sacaría la basura por ti.
He would take out the trash for you.
Si fuera rico, me gustaría viajar por todo el mundo.
If I were rich, I would travel all over the world.
Irregular Conditional Forms
The conditional has relatively few irregular verbs. They fall into three categories:
Verbs wher the last vowel in the infinitive is replaced with a -d
Verbs wher the last vowel in the infinitive is removed
Verbs that are just plain irregular
1. Verbs wher the Last Vowel in the Infinitive Is Replaced with a -d
only -er and -ir verbs fall into this category. To form the stem of these verbs, simply replac the e or i at the end of the infinitive with a -d. Then, add the conditional endings.
A good example of this type of verb is tener (to have). Check out the conditional conjugation of this verb below.
Tener Conditional Conjugation
Subject tener (to have)
yo
tendría
tú
tendrías
usted, él, ella
tendría
nosotros
tendríamos
vosotros
tendríais
ustedes, ellos, ellas
tendrían
Other Verbs like Tener
Infinitive Conditional Stem
poner
pondr-
valer
valdr-
salir
saldr-
venir
vendr-
Usted tendría una casa nueva.
You would have a new house.
Valdría mil dólares.
It would be worth $1,000.
2. Verbs wher the Last Vowel in the Infinitive Is Removed
only -er verbs fall into this category. To form the stem of these verbs, remove the vowel from the infinitive ending. Then, add the conditional endings.
A good example of this type of verb is poder (to be able to). Check out the conditional conjugation of this verb below.
Poder Conditional Conjugation
Subject Poder (to be able to)
yo
podría
tú
podrías
usted, él, ella
podría
nosotros
podríamos
vosotros
podríais
ustedes, ellos, ellas
podrían
Other Verbs like Poder
Infinitive Conditional Stem
caber
cabr-
haber
habr-
querer
querr-
saber
sabr-
¿Podrías pasar el agua?
Would you pass the water?
Habría menos basura en el parque si todos lo cuidáramos.
There would be less trash in the park if we all took care of it.
3. Irregular stems
The verbs decir (to say) and hacer (to do/make) have slightly more drastic stem changes that don't fit into either of the above patterns. Check out the conditional conjugations of these two verbs below.
Decir and Hacer Conditional Conjugations
Subject Decir (to tell) Hacer (to make/to do)
yo
diría
haría
tú
dirías
harías
usted, él, ella
diría
haría
nosotros
diríamos
haríamos
vosotros
diríais
haríais
ustedes, ellos, ellas
dirían
harían
Diríais el cuento de tu aventura en el caribe.
You would tell your story of your adventure in the Caribbean.
Haría el pastel si tuviera tiempo.
I would make the cake if I had time.
