Condicional simple
This is the equivalent of English 'I would do, I would say'. Used for hypotheticals, polite requests, advice, and in 'if' sentences. Good news: the forms are built almost like the futuro — from the infinitive — but with a different set of endings.
Regular forms
Add these endings to the INFINITIVE: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. (Same as -er/-ir imperfecto.) hablar → hablaría, hablarías, hablaría, hablaríamos, hablaríais, hablarían. comer → comería… vivir → viviría… Every form has the accent.
Irregular stems — same as futuro
If a verb had a special stem in futuro, it keeps the same stem in condicional. tener → tendría. salir → saldría. poner → pondría. venir → vendría. decir → diría. hacer → haría. saber → sabría. poder → podría. querer → querría. haber → habría. Memorize once, use in both tenses.
Polite requests — the most common use
In shops, cafés, written messages. ¿Podría ayudarme? = could you help me? ¿Me daría un café? = would you give me a coffee? Querría un libro = I'd like a book. Compared to the present (¿puedes…?), much softer and more polite.
Hypotheticals and advice
En tu lugar, yo no haría eso = if I were you, I wouldn't do that. Sería mejor estudiar más = it would be better to study more. Me encantaría ir a España = I'd love to go to Spain. Deberías llegar temprano = you should arrive early — soft advice, vs. debes (you must).
In 'if' clauses
The conditional often appears in 'if' sentences — that's the next lesson. For now, remember the structure: Si tuviera tiempo, viajaría a España (if I had time, I would travel to Spain). The main clause is in the condicional.
In the past — 'I thought he would come'
When the main verb is in the past, the 'future from the past's point of view' is the condicional. Pensaba que vendrías = I thought you'd come. Dijo que llegaría tarde = he said he'd be late. Same as English 'would' in reported speech.
