The conditional mood expresses what would happen, what someone would do, or what might occur under certain circumstances. It softens requests and adds politeness.
Formation
The conditional is formed by adding endings to the infinitive or to an irregular stem; these endings are the same for all three conjugations and are easy to learn.
Endings
The conditional endings are added to the infinitive for regular verbs, and they are consistent across -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.
Regular -ar Verbs
Regular -ar verbs form the conditional by adding the endings to the infinitive without any changes.
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | hablaría | I would speak | |
| Tú | hablarías | you would speak | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | hablaría | he/she/you (formal) would speak | |
| Nosotros | hablaríamos | we would speak | |
| Vosotros | hablaríais | you all would speak | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | hablarían | they/you all (formal) would speak |
Regular -er Verbs
Regular -er verbs form the conditional by adding the endings to the infinitive without any changes.
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | comería | I would eat | |
| Tú | comerías | you would eat | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | comería | he/she/you (formal) would eat | |
| Nosotros | comeríamos | we would eat | |
| Vosotros | comeríais | you all would eat | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | comerían | they/you all (formal) would eat |
Regular -ir Verbs
Regular -ir verbs form the conditional by adding the endings to the infinitive without any changes.
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | viviría | I would live | |
| Tú | vivirías | you would live | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | viviría | he/she/you (formal) would live | |
| Nosotros | viviríamos | we would live | |
| Vosotros | viviríais | you all would live | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | vivirían | they/you all (formal) would live |
I would eat a paella if I had time.
Irregular Verbs
Some common verbs change their stem in predictable ways in the conditional, but keep the same endings.
| English Meaning | Spanish Infinitive | Conditional Stem | English Conditional | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| to have | tener | tendr- | would have | |
| to put / place | poner | pondr- | would put/place | |
| to come | venir | vendr- | would come | |
| to say / tell | decir | dir- | would say/tell | |
| to be able to | poder | podr- | would be able to | |
| to do / make | hacer | har- | would do/make | |
| to go out | salir | saldr- | would go out | |
| to know (facts) | saber | sabr- | would know | |
| to receive | recibir | recibir- | would receive | |
| to sell | vender | vender- | would sell | |
| to attend | asistir | asistir- | would attend |
tener (to have)
The verb tener becomes tendr- in the conditional stem, so yo tendría means "I would have."
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | tendría | I would have | |
| Tú | tendrías | you would have | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | tendría | he/she/you (formal) would have | |
| Nosotros | tendríamos | we would have | |
| Vosotros | tendríais | you all would have | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | tendrían | they/you all (formal) would have |
poner (to put / place)
The verb poner changes to pondr- in the conditional stem, so yo pondría means "I would put/place."
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | pondría | I would put/place | |
| Tú | pondrías | you would put/place | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | pondría | he/she/you (formal) would put/place | |
| Nosotros | pondríamos | we would put/place | |
| Vosotros | pondríais | you all would put/place | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | pondrían | they/you all (formal) would put/place |
salir (to go out)
The verb salir becomes saldr- in the conditional stem, so yo saldría means "I would go out."
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | saldría | I would go out | |
| Tú | saldrías | you would go out | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | saldría | he/she/you (formal) would go out | |
| Nosotros | saldríamos | we would go out | |
| Vosotros | saldríais | you all would go out | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | saldrían | they/you all (formal) would go out |
hacer (to do / make)
The verb hacer changes to har- in the conditional stem, so yo haría means "I would do/make."
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | haría | I would do/make | |
| Tú | harías | you would do/make | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | haría | he/she/you (formal) would do/make | |
| Nosotros | haríamos | we would do/make | |
| Vosotros | haríais | you all would do/make | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | harían | they/you all (formal) would do/make |
venir (to come)
The verb venir becomes vendr- in the conditional stem, so yo vendría means "I would come."
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | vendría | I would come | |
| Tú | vendrías | you would come | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | vendría | he/she/you (formal) would come | |
| Nosotros | vendríamos | we would come | |
| Vosotros | vendríais | you all would come | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | vendrían | they/you all (formal) would come |
decir (to say / tell)
The verb decir changes to dir- in the conditional stem, so yo diría means "I would say/tell."
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | diría | I would say/tell | |
| Tú | dirías | you would say/tell | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | diría | he/she/you (formal) would say/tell | |
| Nosotros | diríamos | we would say/tell | |
| Vosotros | diríais | you all would say/tell | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | dirían | they/you all (formal) would say/tell |
saber (to know (facts))
The verb saber changes to sabr- in the conditional stem, so yo sabría means "I would know."
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | sabría | I would know | |
| Tú | sabrías | you would know | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | sabría | he/she/you (formal) would know | |
| Nosotros | sabríamos | we would know | |
| Vosotros | sabríais | you all would know | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | sabrían | they/you all (formal) would know |
poder (to be able to)
The verb poder becomes podr- in the conditional stem, so yo podría means "I would be able to."
| Person | Spanish Conjugation | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | podría | I would be able to | |
| Tú | podrías | you would be able to | |
| Él/Ella/Usted | podría | he/she/you (formal) would be able to | |
| Nosotros | podríamos | we would be able to | |
| Vosotros | podríais | you all would be able to | |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | podrían | they/you all (formal) would be able to |
Usage
Use the conditional to express hypothetical actions, polite requests, and to soften statements about the future or past.
Hypotheticals
The conditional describes what would happen if certain conditions are met, often paired with si (if) clauses.
Politeness
Using the conditional to ask for something makes the request more polite and less direct, which is useful in social and professional contexts.
Future in the Past
The conditional can express an action that was expected or planned to happen after a past moment, adding nuance to narratives.
After Queriendo
When softening past requests, the conditional sometimes appears alongside the gerund to emphasize politeness or hesitation.
Summary
The conditional is formed by adding endings to the infinitive or an irregular stem; it shows what would happen and makes requests polite. Learn common irregular stems to speak naturally.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025