Comparative Grammar 5.4. Conditional Tenses in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French

In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages, we study the conditional tenses in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French.

Table of Contents

• Simple Conditional Tense in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French
  • Conjugation
  • Irregular Verbs in Spanish
  • Irregular Verbs in Portuguese
  • Irregular Verbs in Italian
  • Irregular Verbs in French
  • Examples
• The Conditional Perfect: “Would/Could/Should have”
  • Examples
• Level V – Advanced

Simple Conditional Tense in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French

The simple conditional tense is used to describe a hypothetical situation, express wishes, give advice, or make a polite request. It is similar in its use to the simple conditional tense in English, for example, “I would do the laundry if I had time.”

Conjugation

In Spanish and Portuguese, the regular verb conjugation is the same for all verb endings and is formed by adding the conjugation ending to the infinitive rather than to the stem.

In Italian, we begin with the infinitive as a stem, then we drop the final “e” of the verb and change the final “-ar” to “-er” in the case of “-are” verbs.

In French, we use the infinitive as a stem, then we drop the final “-e” in the case of “-re” verbs.

The endings are the same for the three types of verbs:

– In Spanish:

	-ar ending e.g., hablar	-er ending e.g., comer	-ir ending e.g., vivir
yo	hablaría	comería	viviría
tú	hablarías	comerías	vivirías
él/ella/usted	hablaría	comería	viviría
nosotros/-as	hablaríamos	comeríamos	viviríamos
vosotros/-as	hablaríais	comeríais	viviríais
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hablarían	comerían	vivirían

– In Portuguese:

	-ar ending e.g., falar	-er ending e.g., comer	-ir ending e.g., partir
eu	falaria	comeria	partiria
ele/ela/você	falaria	comeria	partiria
nós	falaríamos	comeríamos	partiríamos
eles/elas/vocês	falariam	comeriam	partiriam

– In Italian:

	-are ending e.g., parlare	-ere ending e.g., vendere	-ire ending e.g., partire
io	parlerei	venderei	partirei
tu	parleresti	venderesti	partiresti
lui/lei	parlerebbe	venderebbe	partirebbe
noi	parleremmo	venderemmo	partiremmo
voi	parlereste	vendereste	partireste
loro	parlerebbero	venderebbero	partirebbero

– In French:

	-er ending e.g., parler	-ir ending e.g., finir	-re ending e.g., vendre
je	parlerais	finirais	vendrais
tu	parlerais	finirais	vendrais
il/elle/on	parlerait	finirait	vendrait
nous	parlerions	finirions	vendrions
vous	parleriez	finiriez	vendriez
ils/elles	parleraient	finiraient	vendraient

Irregular Verbs in Spanish

In Spanish, there are a few irregular verbs in the simple conditional tense; twelve are commonly used and will be discussed here.

Some verbs ending in “-er” and “-ir” drop the “e” or “i” from the infinitive ending and replace it with a “d.” There are five common verbs in this category: “tener” (to have), “poner” (to put), “valer” (to valueor to be worth), “venir” (to come), and “salir” (to go outor to exit).

	tener tendr-	poner pondr-	venir vendr-	salir sladr-
yo	tendría	pondría	vendría	saldría
tú	tendrías	pondrías	vendrías	saldrías
él/ella/usted	tendría	pondría	vendría	saldría
nosotros/-as	tendríamos	pondríamos	vendríamos	saldríamos
vosotros/-as	tendríais	pondríais	vendríais	saldríais
ellos/ellas/ustedes	tendrían	pondrían	vendrían	saldrían

Some verbs ending in “-er” simply drop the “e” from the infinitive ending. There are also five common verbs in this category: “saber” (to know), “poder” (can), “caber” (to fit), “querer” (to want), and “haber,” which is an auxiliary verb equivalent to the English auxiliary verb “have.”

	saber sabr-	poder podr-	querer querr-	haber habr-
yo	sabría	podría	querría	habría
tú	sabrías	podrías	querrías	habrías
él/ella/usted	sabría	podría	querría	habría
nosotros/-as	sabríamos	podríamos	querríamos	habríamos
vosotros/-as	sabríais	podríais	querríais	habríais
ellos/ellas/ustedes	sabrían	podrían	querrían	habrían

The verbs “decir” (to say) and “hacer” (to do) change their stem to “dir-” and “har-” to form the simple conditional tense conjugation. These two verbs are irregular and must be memorized.

	decir dir-	hacer har-
yo	diría	haría
tú	dirías	harías
él/ella/usted	diría	haría
nosotros/-as	diríamos	haríamos
vosotros/-as	diríais	haríais
ellos/ellas/ustedes	dirían	harían

Irregular Verbs in Portuguese

In Portuguese, the verbs “dizer” (to say), “fazer” (to do), and “trazer” (to bring) change their stem to “dir-,” “far-,” and “trar-,” respectively, to form the simple conditional tense conjugation. These three verbs are irregular and must be memorized.

	dizer dir-	fazer far-	trazer trar-
eu	diria	faria	traria
ele/ela/você	diria	faria	traria
nós	diríamos	faríamos	traríamos
eles/elas/vocês	diriam	fariam	trariam

Irregular Verbs in Italian

In Italian, the same verbs that are irregular in the simple future tense are also irregular in the simple conditional tense. We summarize these verbs here in a similar fashion:

• Some verbs, in addition to dropping the final “e,” drop the vowel before the final “r” from the infinitive to form the stem. For example, the stem from the verb “andare” becomes “andr-” instead of “andar-.” Other examples from this group are: “avere” (to have), “cadere” (to fall), “dovere” (must), “potere” (can), “sapere” (to know), “vedere” (to see), and “vivere” (to live).

	andare andr-	avere avr-	cadere cadr-	dovere dovr-	potere potr-
io	andrei	avrei	cadrei	dovrei	potrei
tu	andresti	avresti	cadresti	dovresti	potresti
lui/lei	andrebbe	avrebbe	cadrebbe	dovrebbe	potrebbe
noi	andremmo	avremmo	cadremmo	dovremmo	potremmo
voi	andreste	avreste	cadreste	dovreste	potreste
loro	andrebbero	avrebbero	cadrebbero	dovrebbero	potrebbero

• Some short verbs with the “-are” ending do not change the “-ar” to “-er” after dropping the final “e” to form the stem. The most common verbs in this group are: “dare” (to give), “fare” (to do or to make), and “stare” (to stay or to be).

	dare dar-	fare far-	stare star-
io	darei	farei	starei
tu	daresti	faresti	staresti
lui/lei	darebbe	farebbe	starebbe
noi	daremmo	faremmo	staremmo
voi	dareste	fareste	stareste
loro	darebbero	farebbero	starebbero

• Some verbs, in addition to dropping the final “e,” replace both the consonant and the vowel preceding the final “r” of the infinitive with an extra “r” to form the stem. For example, the stem from “tenere” (to hold) is “terr-” instead of “tener-.” The most common verbs in this group are: “tenere” (to hold), “volere” (to want), and “venire” (to come).

	tenere terr-	volere vorr-	venire verr-
io	terrei	vorrei	verrei
tu	terresti	vorresti	verresti
lui/lei	terrebbe	vorrebbe	verrebbe
noi	terremmo	vorremmo	verremmo
voi	terreste	vorreste	verreste
loro	terrebbero	vorrebbero	verrebbero

• Some verbs are completely irregular, such as “essere” (to be) and “bere” (to drink), whose stems are “sar-” and “berr-,” respectively.

	essere sar-	bere berr-
io	sarei	berrei
tu	saresti	berresti
lui/lei	sarebbe	berrebbe
noi	saremmo	berremmo
voi	sareste	berreste
loro	sarebbero	berrebbero

• Finally, the same orthographic changes applied to verbs ending in “-care,” “-gare,” “-ciare,” “-giare,” and “-gliare” in the present indicative tense and the simple future tense are applied here to maintain the proper pronunciation.

Irregular Verbs in French

In French, the same verbs that are irregular in the simple future tense are also irregular in the simple conditional tense and use the same stem. Here is a list of irregular verbs in the simple conditional tense:

	je	tu	il/elle	nous	vous	ils/elles
aller to go	irais	irais	irait	irions	iriez	iraient
avoir to have	aurais	aurais	aurait	aurions	auriez	auraient
courir to run	courrais	courrais	courrait	courrions	courriez	courraient
devenir to become	deviendrais	deviendrais	deviendrait	deviendrions	deviendriez	deviendraient
devoir must	devrais	devrais	devrait	devrions	devriez	devraient
envoyer to send	enverrais	enverrais	enverrait	enverrions	enverriez	enverraient
être to be	serais	serais	serait	serions	seriez	seraient
faire to do	ferais	ferais	ferait	ferions	feriez	feraient
falloir to have to	–	–	faudrait	–	–	–
mourir to die	mourrais	mourrais	mourrait	mourrions	mourriez	mourraient
pleuvoir to rain	–	–	pleuvrait	–	–	–
recevoir to receive	recevrais	recevrais	recevrait	recevrions	recevriez	recevraient
revenir to return	reviendrais	reviendrais	reviendrait	reviendrions	reviendriez	reviendraient
savoir to know	saurais	saurais	saurait	saurions	sauriez	sauraient
tenir to hold	tiendrais	tiendrais	tiendrait	tiendrions	tiendriez	tiendraient
valoir to be worth	–	–	vaudrait	–	–	–
venir to come	viendrais	viendrais	viendrait	viendrions	viendriez	viendraient
voir to see	verrais	verrais	verrait	verrions	verriez	verraient
vouloir to want	voudrais	voudrais	voudrait	voudrions	voudriez	voudraient

There are some verbs that undergo minor spelling changes. Here are some common examples:

	je	tu	il/elle	nous	vous	ils/elles
employer to hire	emploierais	emploierais	emploierait	emploierions	emploieriez	emploieraient
essuyer to wipe	essuierais	essuierais	essuierait	essuierions	essuieriez	essuieraient
nettoyer to clean	nettoierais	nettoierais	nettoierait	nettoierions	nettoieriez	nettoieraient
acheter to buy	achèterais	achèterais	achèterait	achèterions	achèteriez	achèteraient
appeler to call	appellerais	appellerais	appellerait	appellerions	appelleriez	appelleraient
jeter to throw	jetterais	jetterais	jetterait	jetterions	jetteriez	jetteraient

Examples

Here are some examples that use the simple conditional tense:

SP	Viajaría cada año si tuviera dinero.	I would travel every year if I had money.
PT	Eu viajaria todos os anos se tivesse dinheiro.
IT	Viaggerei ogni anno se avessi soldi.
FR	Je voyagerais chaque année si j’avais de l’argent.
SP	Si yo fuera tú, no iría al gimnasio hoy.	If I were you, I wouldn’t go to the gym today.
PT	Se eu fosse você, não iria para a academia hoje.
IT	Se fossi in te, oggi non andrei in palestra.
FR	Si j’étais toi, je n’irais pas à la gym aujourd’hui.
SP	Si tuviera mucho dinero, compraría un palacio.	If I had a lot of money, I would buy a palace.
PT	Se eu tivesse muito dinheiro, compraria um palácio.
IT	Se avessi molti soldi, comprerei un palazzo.
FR	Si j’avais beaucoup d’argent, j’achèterais un palais.
SP	Podrías estudiar más horas para el examen.	You could study more hours for the exam.
PT	Você poderia estudar mais horas para o exame.
IT	Potresti studiare più ore per l’esame.
FR	Vous pourriez étudier plus d’heures pour l’examen.
SP	¿Podrías pasarme la pimienta?	Could you pass me the pepper?
PT	Você poderia me passar a pimenta?
IT	Potresti passarmi il pepe?
FR	Pourriez-vous me passer le poivre?
SP	¿Viviríamos en una ciudad pequeña?	Would we live in a small city?
PT	Viveríamos em uma cidade pequena?
IT	Vivremmo in una piccola città?
FR	Vivrions-nous dans une petite ville?
SP	Dormirían todo el día si no tuvieran trabajo.	They would sleep all day if they didn’t have work.
PT	Eles dormiriam o dia todo se não tivessem trabalho.
IT	Dormirebbero tutto il giorno se non avessero un lavoro.
FR	Ils dormiraient toute la journée s’ils n’avaient pas de travail.
SP	Diría la verdad si le preguntaran.	He would tell the truth if they asked him.
PT	Ele diria a verdade se lhe perguntassem.
IT	Direbbe la verità se glielo chiedessero.
FR	Il dirait la vérité s’ils le lui demandaient.

The Conditional Perfect: “Would/Could/Should have”

To convey the meaning of “would/could/should have …,” we resort to the conditional perfect tense.

• “Would have” + past participle =

SP	“haber” in the simple conditional	+ past participle
PT	“ter” or “haver” in the simple conditional
IT	“avere” or “essere” in the simple conditional
FR	“avoir” or “être” in the simple conditional

Here are some examples:

SP	Yo lo habría hecho.	I would have done it.
PT	Eu o teria feito.
IT	Io l’avrei fatto.
FR	Je l’aurais fait.
SP	Ellos habrían pagado.	They would have paid.
PT	Eles teriam pago.
IT	Loro avrebbero pagato.
FR	Ils auraient payé.
SP	Nosotros habríamos venido.	We would have come.
PT	Nós teríamos vindo.
IT	Noi saremmo venuti.
FR	Nous serions venus.

• “Could have” + past participle =

SP	“poder” in the simple conditional + “haber” + past participle
PT	“poder” inthe simple conditional + “ter” + past participle
IT	“avere” or “essere” in simple conditional + “potere” in past participle + infinitive
FR	“avoir” in simple conditional + “pouvoir” in past participle + infinitive

Here are some examples:

SP	Yo lo podría haber hecho.	I could have done it.
PT	Eu o poderia ter feito.
IT	Io avrei potuto farlo.
FR	J’aurais pu le faire.
SP	Ellos podrían haber pagado.	They could have paid.
PT	Eles poderiam ter pago.
IT	Loro avrebbero potuto pagare.
FR	Ils auraient pu payer.
SP	Nosotros podríamos haber venido.	We could have come.
PT	Nós poderíamos ter vindo.
IT	Noi saremmo potuti venire.
FR	Nous aurions pu venir.

• “Should have” + past participle =

SP	“deber” in the simple conditional + “haber” + past participle
PT	“dever” inthe simple conditional + “ter” + past participle
IT	“avere” or “essere” in simple conditional + “dovere” in past participle + infinitive
FR	“avoir” in simple conditional + “devoir” in past participle + infinitive

Examples

Here are some examples:

SP	Yo lo debería haber hecho.	I should have done it.
PT	Eu o deveria ter feito.
IT	Io avrei dovuto farlo.
FR	J’aurais dû le faire.
SP	Ellos deberían haber pagado.	They should have paid.
PT	Eles deveriam ter pago.
IT	Loro avrebbero dovuto pagare.
FR	Ils auraient dû payer.
SP	Nosotros deberíamos haber venido.	We should have come.
PT	Nós deveríamos ter vindo.
IT	Noi saremmo dovuti venire.
FR	Nous aurions dû venir.

Another way to express “should have …” in Spanish is by using “tener” in the conditional tense:

“Should have” … + past participle =

“tener” in the simple conditional + “que haber” + past participle

Here are some examples:

Yo tendría que haberlo hecho.	I should have done it.
Ellos tendrían que haber pagado.	They should have paid.
Nosotros tendríamos que haber venido.	We should have come.

Next: Present Subjunctive Tense II & Future Subjunctive Tense

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