Spanish 5.4. Simple Conditional Tense

The simple conditional tense in Spanish 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, e.g., “I would do the laundry if I had time.”

Conjugation

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.

 -ar ending
hablar		-er ending
comer		-ir ending
vivir
yohablaríacomeríaviviría
túhablaríascomeríasvivirías
él/ella/ustedhablaríacomeríaviviría
nosotros/-ashablaríamoscomeríamosviviríamos
vosotros/-ashablaríaiscomeríaisviviríais
ellos/ellas/ustedeshablaríancomeríanvivirían

Irregular Verbs in the Simple Conditional Tense

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

1. 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-
yotendríapondríavendríasaldría
tútendríaspondríasvendríassaldrías
él/ella/ustedtendríapondríavendríasaldría
nosotros/-astendríamospondríamosvendríamossaldríamos
vosotros/-astendríaispondríaisvendríaissaldríais
ellos/ellas/ustedestendríanpondríanvendríansaldrían
2. 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-
yosabríapodríaquerríahabría
túsabríaspodríasquerríashabrías
él/ella/ustedsabríapodríaquerríahabría
nosotros/-assabríamospodríamosquerríamoshabríamos
vosotros/-assabríaispodríaisquerríaishabríais
ellos/ellas/ustedessabríanpodríanquerríanhabrían
3. 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-
yodiríaharía
túdiríasharías
él/ella/usteddiríaharía
nosotros/-asdiríamosharíamos
vosotros/-asdiríaisharíais
ellos/ellas/ustedesdiríanharían

Examples

Below are some examples in Spanish that use the simple conditional tense.

Viajaría cada año si tuviera dinero.I would travel every year if I had money.
Si yo fuera tú, no iría al gimnasio hoy.If I were you, I wouldn’t go to the gym today.
Si tuviera mucho dinero, compraría un palacio.                  If I had a lot of money, I would buy a palace.
Podrías estudiar más horas para el examen.You could study more hours for the exam.
¿Podrías pasarme la pimienta?Could you pass me the pepper?
¿Viviríamos en una ciudad pequeña?Would we live in a small city?
Dormirían todo el día si no tuvieran trabajo.They would sleep all day if they didn’t have work.
Diría la verdad si me preguntaran.I would tell the truth if they asked me.

Quiz: Conditional Tenses in Spanish

Spanish: Simple Conditional Tense

1 / 21

1. Conjugate the Spanish verb "hablar" (to speak) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

2 / 21

2. Conjugate the Spanish verb "hacer" (to do or make) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

3 / 21

3. Could you pass me the pepper? (can = poder)

Use informal singular "you" ("tu" form)

SP: ¿ pasarme la pimienta?

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

4 / 21

4. Conjugate the Spanish verb "saber" (to know) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

5 / 21

5. Conjugate the Spanish verb "caber" (to fit) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

6 / 21

6. Conjugate the Spanish verb "querer" (to want) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

7 / 21

7. They would sleep all day if they didn’t have work. (to sleep = dormir)

SP: todo el día si no tuvieran trabajo.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

8 / 21

8. Conjugate the Spanish verb "valer" (to be worth) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

9 / 21

9. Conjugate the Spanish verb "poner" (to put) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

10 / 21

10. Conjugate the Spanish verb "haber" in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

11 / 21

11. He would tell the truth if they asked him. (to tell = decir)

SP: la verdad si le preguntaran.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

12 / 21

12. Conjugate the Spanish verb "vivir" (to live) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

13 / 21

13. I would travel every year if I had money. (to travel = viajar)

SP: cada año si tuviera dinero.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

14 / 21

14. Conjugate the Spanish verb "tener" (to have) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

15 / 21

15. Conjugate the Spanish verb "venir" (to come) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

16 / 21

16. Conjugate the Spanish verb "comer" (to eat) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

17 / 21

17. Conjugate the Spanish verb "poder" (to be able to) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

18 / 21

18. Conjugate the Spanish verb "decir" (to say or tell) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

19 / 21

19. Conjugate the Spanish verb "salir" (to exit or go out) in the simple conditional tense.

yo
tú
él/ella/usted
nosotros/as
vosotros/-as
ellos/ellas/ustedes

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

20 / 21

20. Would we live in a small city? (to live = vivir)

SP: ¿ en una ciudad pequeña?

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

21 / 21

21. If I were you, I wouldn't go to the gym today. (to go = ir)

SP: Si yo fuera tú, no al gimnasio hoy.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

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Next: Present Subjunctive Tense II

Back to: Spanish Lessons

Other lessons in Level V:

Level V – Advanced

1.     Irregular Verbs in the Preterite Tense

2.    Imperative Mood & Giving Commands

3.    Expressions of Pain & Illness

4.    Simple Conditional Tense

5.    Present Subjunctive Tense II

6.    Perfect Subjunctive Tense

7.    Imperfect Subjunctive Tense

8.    Past & Conditional Progressive Tense

9.    Interjections