Printable Version: Download this PDF version of the rules for the Spanish Conditional Tense to use as a study reference.

You will also get to see a few examples of where English students typically make mistakes with this common tense. You will learn about 5 common options for where and how you can use it. In this article, you will get an overview of how to form the Spanish conditional tense. Every time you think you could use a word like ‘would’, ‘could’ or ‘should’ in English, it is likely there is a Spanish equivalent.īut (naturally, there was a but coming), there are a few situations where English natives typically make mistakes with the Spanish conditional. In addition to the convenience of the conjugations, the conditional tense in Spanish is used in a similar way to how we would express conditional ideas in English. Another bonus, there are only a small number of irregular verbs.

The conditional of the verb deber is used to mean should, eg debería beber más agua (I should drink more water), los profesores deberían ser menos estrictos (the teachers should be less strict).One of the best things about the Spanish conditional tense is that it is one of the easiest Spanish verb tenses to conjugate.Īlso known as the simple conditional or condicional simple in Spanish, this tense is easier than other tenses because the conjugations for the regular ‘ar’, ‘er’ and ‘ir’ verbs are all exactly the same. The verb poder (to be able) can be used in the conditional to make the polite request or statement 'Could.?' For example, ¿Podrías prestarme un bolígrafo? (Could you lend me a pen?), la visita podría ser interesante (the visit could be interesting). This can be used to say what you would like to do in the future, eg me gustaría vivir en Nueva York (I would like to live in New York) or it can also be used for polite requests, eg me gustaría hablar con el jefe (I would like to speak to the boss). The most common verb in the conditional tense is me gustaría (I would like).

Con más tiempo yo terminaría mis deberes (With more time, I would finish my homework).

Mi colegio ideal tendría una piscina (My ideal school would have a swimming pool).

It can also be used to express ambitions and intentions. The conditional tense is used to describe what someone would do or what would happen in the future.

Conditional sentences spanish