1. Alphabet & Pronunciation
1.1. Syllable Stress
2. Similarities to English
2.1. Plural
2.2. Negation
2.3. Punctuation & Written Accents
3. Cardinal Numbers
4. Subject Personal Pronouns
5. Present Indicative Tense I
6. The Articles
7. Prepositions
8. Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives
9. Basic Phrases
1. Gender of Nouns & Adjectives
2. Present Indicative Tense II – Irregular Verbs
3. The Verb “To Be”: “Ser” vs. “Estar”
4. Future Tense
5. Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns
6. Demonstrative Adjectives & Pronouns
7. Object Personal Pronouns
7.1. Combining Direct & Indirect Object Personal Pronouns
8. Relative Pronouns
9. Ordinal Numbers I
10. Times & Seasons
1. Verbs Like “Gustar”
2. “Por” vs. “Para”
3. The Verb “To Know”: “Saber” vs. “Conocer”
4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns
5. Present Progressive Tense
6. Present Perfect Tense
7. Special Uses of “Haber” & “Tener”
8. Telling Time & Describing Weather
9. Adverbs
9.1. The Adverbs โTan,โ โSolo,โ โTambiรฉn,โ โTampoco,โ โVez,โ & โVecesโ
9.2. Other Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases
10. Directions
1. Degrees of Comparison: Comparatives & Superlatives
2. Past Tense: Preterite vs. Imperfect
3. Conjunctions
4. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs
5. The Verb “Soler”
6. Time Expressions: Todavรญa, Aรบn, Ya, Hace, Acabar, & Desde
7. Present Subjunctive Tense I
8. Personal “a”
9. Future Perfect Tense
1. Irregular Verbs in The Preterite
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 Tenses
9. Interjections
1. Ordinal Numbers II
2. “Would/Should/Could Have …”
3. Pluperfect Indicative Tense
4. Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense
5. Use of โAunque,โ โSi Bien,โ and โA Pesar deโ
6. Verbs of Change
7. Reflexive Passive, Impersonal, & Accidental โSeโ
8. Diminutives & Augmentatives
9. Use of โVosโ in Some Spanish-Speaking Countries
10. Uses of โOjalรกโ in Spanish
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., โI would do the laundry if I had time.โ
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 | |
yo | hablarรญa | comerรญa | vivirรญa |
tรบ | hablarรญas | comerรญas | vivirรญas |
รฉl/ella/usted | hablarรญa | comerรญa | vivirรญa |
nosotros/-as | hablarรญamos | comerรญamos | vivirรญamos |
vosotros/-as | hablarรญais | comerรญais | vivirรญais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablarรญan | comerรญan | vivirรญan |
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 โ-erโ and โ-irโ drop the โeโ or โiโ from the infinitive ending and replace it with a โd.โ There are five common verbs in this category: โtenerโ (to have), โponerโ (to put), โvalerโ (to valueor to be worth), โvenirโ (to come), and โsalirโ (to go outor to exit).
tener tendr- | poner pondr- | venir vendr- | salir sladr- | |
yo | tendrรญa | pondrรญa | vendrรญa | saldrรญa |
tรบ | tendrรญas | pondrรญas | vendrรญas | saldrรญas |
รฉl/ella/usted | tendrรญa | pondrรญa | vendrรญa | saldrรญa |
nosotros/-as | tendrรญamos | pondrรญamos | vendrรญamos | saldrรญamos |
vosotros/-as | tendrรญais | pondrรญais | vendrรญais | saldrรญais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | tendrรญan | pondrรญan | vendrรญan | saldrรญan |
2. Some verbs ending in โ-erโ simply drop the โeโ from the infinitive ending. There are also five common verbs in this category: โsaberโ (to know), โpoderโ (can), โcaberโ (to fit), โquererโ (to want), and โhaber,โ which is an auxiliary verb equivalent to the English auxiliary verb โhave.โ
saber sabr- | poder podr- | querer querr- | haber habr- | |
yo | sabrรญa | podrรญa | querrรญa | habrรญa |
tรบ | sabrรญas | podrรญas | querrรญas | habrรญas |
รฉl/ella/usted | sabrรญa | podrรญa | querrรญa | habrรญa |
nosotros/-as | sabrรญamos | podrรญamos | querrรญamos | habrรญamos |
vosotros/-as | sabrรญais | podrรญais | querrรญais | habrรญais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | sabrรญan | podrรญan | querrรญan | habrรญan |
3. The verbs โdecirโ (to say) and โhacerโ (to do) change their stem to โdir-โ and โhar-โ to form the simple conditional tense conjugation. These two verbs are irregular and must be memorized.
decir dir- | hacer har- | |
yo | dirรญa | harรญa |
tรบ | dirรญas | harรญas |
รฉl/ella/usted | dirรญa | harรญa |
nosotros/-as | dirรญamos | harรญamos |
vosotros/-as | dirรญais | harรญais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | dirรญan | harรญan |
Examples
Below are some examples in Spanish that use the simple conditional tense.
Viajarรญa cada aรฑo si tuviera dinero. | I would travel every year if I had money. |
Si yo fuera tรบ, no irรญa al gimnasio hoy. | If I were you, I wouldnโt go to the gym today. |
Si tuviera mucho dinero, comprarรญa un palacio. | If I had a lot of money, I would buy a palace. |
Podrรญas estudiar mรกs horas para el examen. | You could study more hours for the exam. |
ยฟPodrรญas pasarme la pimienta? | Could you pass me the pepper? |
ยฟVivirรญamos en una ciudad pequeรฑa? | Would we live in a small city? |
Dormirรญan todo el dรญa si no tuvieran trabajo. | They would sleep all day if they didnโt have work. |
Dirรญa la verdad si me preguntaran. | I would tell the truth if they asked me. |
Quiz: Conditional Tenses in Spanish
Next: Present Subjunctive Tense II
Other lessons in Level V: