The Conditional Tense The conditional tense can be thought of as the “would” tense. Use the conditional to describe things that “would” or “could” be: I would call him, but I’m shy. If I were rich, I would buy a Porsche. Could I have a napkin, please? I wouldn’t do that! She could leave, if she had a ride.

Here are the correct endings for the conditional tense. Notice that the endings are the same for all three kinds of verbs! Subject-AR, -ER, & -IR Verbs Yo-ía Tú- ías Él, Ella, Usted-ía Nosotros- íamos Vosotros-íais Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes-ían

The conditional tense conjugates in the same fashion as the future tense - don’t remove the –AR, -ER, or –IR! Just add the subject ending right onto the end of the verb!

Here’s an an example of the conjugation process. We’ll use the “yo” form for this example. CANTAR To sing Simply attach the ending which matches the subject. That’s it! TOSING ÍA I would sing

-ER and -IR verbs work the same way as -AR verbs. COMER To eat VIVIR To live Just add the correct ending. To livee ÍAN They would live You would eat ÍAS

Here’s a full conjugation chart for all 3 verb types. SubjectCantar to sing Comer to eat Vivir to live YoCantaría I would sing Comería I would eat Viviría I would live TúCantarías You (inf) would sing Comerías You (inf) would eat Vivirías You (inf) would live Él, Ella, Usted Cantaría He/She would sing You (for) would sing Comería He/She would eat You (for) would eat Viviría He/She would live You (for) would live NosotrosCantaríamos We would sing Comeríamos We would eat Viviríamos We would live VosotrosCantaríais You (in pl) would sing Comeríais You (in pl) would eat Viviríais You (in pl) would live Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes Cantarían They would sing You (f pl) would sing Comerían They would eat You (f pl) would eat Vivirían They would live You (f pl) would live

Now you try it! On a piece of paper, or in your head, conjugate the following and then click for the correct answer. He would ask. (Preguntar) I would study. (Estudiar) They would run. (Correr) You (inf) would write. (Escribir) Él preguntaría. Yo estudiaría. Ellos correrían. Tú escribirías.

Irregulars Irregular verbs in the conditional tense have the same stem as they do in the future tense. To conjugate them, just add the regular conditional tense ending to these stems. Remember, any verb which contains one of these irregular verbs will inherit its stem in the conditional. For example; proponer = propondr-. VerbNew stem SalirSaldr- TenerTendr- PoderPodr- PonerPondr- SaberSabr- QuererQuerr- VenirVendr- HacerHar- HaberHabr- DecirDir-

Here are some examples as well as the other two common irregular verbs in the future and the conditional; SubjectCaber To fit Valer To be worth, cost YoCabría I would fit Valdría I would be worth TúCabrías You (inf) would fit Valdrías You (inf) would be worth Él, Ella, Usted Cabría He/ She would fit You (for) would fit Valdría He/She would be worth You (for) would be worth NosotrosCabríamos We would fit Valdríamos We would be worth VosotrosCabríais You (inf pl) would fit Valdríais You (inf pl) would be worth Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes Cabrían They would fit You (for pl) would fit Valdrían They would be worth You (for pl) would be worth

Finally, note the following; Although the conditional tense is usually translated as “would” it’s not the only tense that can mean would. When would is used to refer to something that was habitual in the past, you should use the imperfect past tense. For example: We would always lose. Because the conditional can translate as “could”, this tense is often used to make polite requests. For example: Could I please borrow a pencil? There are no stem changers in the conditional tense. Estar, Ser, and Ir are regular in the conditional tense. Just as the future tense may be used to express probability in the present, the conditional may be used to express it in the past. For example; She’s probably at home (present) = Estará en casa. (future) She was probably at home (past) = Estaría en casa. (cond.)

¡El Fin!