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🎲Conditional

The conditional mood shows what would happen under certain circumstances and is often used for gentle requests, hypothetical situations, and future-in-the-past.

Use

The conditional expresses what would happen, what someone would do, polite requests, and hypothetical scenarios tied to an imagined condition.

Formation

The conditional is formed by adding endings to the infinitive for regular verbs, and by using a stem for irregular verbs; the endings are the same for all three conjugations.

Endings

The conditional endings are added to the infinitive and follow a consistent pattern for yo, tú, él/ella, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ellas forms.

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs keep the infinitive stem and add the conditional endings, making them straightforward to predict for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.

Irregular Verbs

Some common verbs change their stem in the conditional but keep the same endings; these irregular stems must be memorized for accurate use.

English Word(s)Spanish Word(s)Spanish Stem
to put / to placeponerpondr-
to leave / to go outsalirsaldr-
to have (to do something)tenertendr-
to comevenirvendr-
to know (facts / information)sabersabr-
to be worthvalervaldr-
to fitcabercabr-
to receiverecibirrecibir-
English Word(s)Spanish Word(s)Spanish Stem
to put / to placeponerpondr-
to leave / to go outsalirsaldr-
to have (to do something)tenertendr-
to comevenirvendr-
to know (facts / information)sabersabr-
to be worthvalervaldr-
to fitcabercabr-
to receiverecibirrecibir-

Hypothetical Use

The conditional is often paired with the imperfect subjunctive to talk about unlikely or imagined situations, but it can also stand alone for simpler clauses.

Examples

Turnbacks

Si Clauses

Si + Conditional + Conditional

Si + Presente + Futuro / Presente

Si + Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo + Condicional Perfecto

Si Clauses

There are different types of si (if) clauses for real, possible, and impossible situations; the conditional appears in the result clause when describing what would happen.

Si + Imperfect Subjunctive + Conditional

Use si + imperfect subjunctive to describe unlikely or contrary-to-fact situations, and the conditional in the main clause for the imagined result.

Si + Conditional + Conditional

Sometimes both clauses use the conditional for polite or tentative statements, and the conditional can appear in the si clause when the result is also conditional.

Si + Presente + Futuro / Presente

Use si + present tense for real or possible conditions, and the result clause uses the future, present, or commands for actual outcomes.

Si + Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo + Condicional Perfecto

For past hypotheticals, use si + pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo and condicional perfecto for what would have happened.

Summary

The conditional expresses what would happen in imagined or polite contexts; regular verbs add endings to the infinitive, key verbs have stem changes, and si clauses signal the type of condition.

Turnbacks

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Examples

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Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025