You walk into a restaurant in Bogota and want to order politely. Instead of "Quiero un cafe" (I want a coffee), you say "Me gustaria un tinto, por favor." Instantly, you sound more refined. The conditional tense is your key to politeness, hypothetical thinking, and expressing what you would do in various situations. And the best part? Its formation is one of the most regular in all of Spanish.
Self-Rating
B1-B2 Language Objectives
Form the conditional by adding -ia endings to the infinitive (no stem changes for regular verbs)
Master the 8 irregular conditional stems (the same stems as the future tense!)
Use the conditional for: polite requests, hypothetical situations, advice, and softened desires
The conditional expresses what would happen, what you would do, or what you would like. It is the tense of:
Polite requests: ¿Podria ayudarme? (Could you help me?)
Hypotheticals: Yo viajaria a Cartagena. (I would travel to Cartagena.)
Softened desires: Me gustaria un cafe. (I would like a coffee.)
Advice: Yo que tu, estudiaria mas. (If I were you, I would study more.)
Wondering about the past: ¿Que hora seria? (What time could it have been? / I wonder what time it was.)
🔑
Conditional = 'would' in English
Tap to reveal
The conditional translates most naturally as 'would': comería = I would eat, iría = I would go, diría = I would say. For polite requests, it maps to 'could' or 'would you': ¿Podría...? = Could you...? It is the tense of politeness and possibility.
Tap to flip back
2. Regular Conditional Formation
The conditional is formed by adding endings directly to the full infinitive. You do not remove -ar, -er, or -ir -- you keep the whole verb and attach the endings.
Endings (same for ALL verb types)
Pronoun
Ending
yo
-ia
tu
-ias
usted/el/ella
-ia
nosotros
-iamos
ustedes/ellos/ellas
-ian
Examples
hablar
comer
vivir
yo
hablaria
comeria
viviria
tu
hablarias
comerias
vivirias
usted
hablaria
comeria
viviria
nosotros
hablariamos
comeriamos
viviriamos
ustedes
hablarian
comerian
vivirian
Conditional = Infinitive + Imperfect-like Endings
Notice the endings (-ia, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -ian) look like shortened imperfect -er/-ir endings! And they attach to the full infinitive. This means if you can say the infinitive and you know the imperfect, the conditional is almost free.
Knowledge Check
What is the conditional of 'yo + hablar'?
Knowledge Check
Complete: 'Nosotros ___ (comer) en ese restaurante.' (would eat)
Knowledge Check
What is the conditional of 'ella + vivir'?
3. The 8 Irregular Stems
The same verbs that are irregular in the future tense are irregular in the conditional. The stems change, but the endings (-ia, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -ian) stay the same.
Verb
Irregular Stem
Yo Conditional
tener
tendr-
tendria
hacer
har-
haria
poder
podr-
podria
querer
querr-
querria
saber
sabr-
sabria
venir
vendr-
vendria
decir
dir-
diria
poner
pondr-
pondria
⚡
Pattern: Drop-the-vowel irregulars
Tap to reveal
Most irregular stems simply drop the 'e' or 'i' before the -r: tener → tendr-, poder → podr-, querer → querr-, saber → sabr-, haber → habr-. The 'r' of the infinitive stays and the ending attaches to it.
Tap to flip back
⚡
Pattern: Replace-with-d irregulars
Tap to reveal
Some verbs replace the vowel with 'd': tener → tendr-, venir → vendr-, poner → pondr-. The 'd' makes these easy to spot and remember as a group.
Tap to flip back
⚡
The two oddballs: hacer and decir
Tap to reveal
Hacer → har- (drops the 'ce' entirely): haría, harías, haría, haríamos, harían. Decir → dir- (drops the 'ec'): diría, dirías, diría, diríamos, dirían. These two must simply be memorized.
Tap to flip back
Knowledge Check
What is the conditional of 'yo + tener'?
Knowledge Check
Complete: '¿Qué ___ (hacer) usted en mi situación?'
Knowledge Check
The conditional of 'ellos + decir' is:
Quick Check-in
4. Polite Usage in Colombian Spanish
💡
Ordering at a Restaurant in Bogotá
Mesero: Buenas tardes. ¿Que les gustaria ordenar?
You: Me gustaria un ajiaco, por favor. Y ¿podria traerme una limonada de coco?
Mesero: Claro que si. ¿Le gustaria algo de tomar mientras espera?
You: Si, seria perfecto un tintico.
Mesero: Con mucho gusto.
Using conditional forms (gustaría, podría, sería) makes you sound polite and respectful - exactly how Colombians expect to be addressed in a restaurant.
💡
Asking for Help on the Street
You: Disculpe, ¿podria decirme donde queda la estacion de TransMilenio?
Stranger: Claro, seria por ahi, dos cuadras a la derecha.
You: Muchas gracias. ¿Sabria usted si hay una panaderia cerca?
Stranger: Si, tendria que caminar una cuadra mas. Esta al lado del banco.
¿Podría decirme...? and ¿Sabría usted...? are polite conditional forms that Colombians use instinctively. They are much softer than the direct ¿Puede decirme...?
💡
Making Hypothetical Plans
Friend: Si tuvieras vacaciones, ¿adonde irias?
You:Iria a San Andres. Me encantaria ver el mar de siete colores.
Friend: Yo preferiria ir a la Sierra Nevada. Seria increible conocer la Ciudad Perdida.
You: Si, eso tambien estaria chevere. Podriamos ir juntos.
The conditional lets you dream and plan hypothetically. Notice how natural it sounds when friends discuss possibilities.
Knowledge Check
Which is more polite: '¿Puede ayudarme?' or '¿Podría ayudarme?'
5. Advice and Hypotheticals
Using the Conditional for Advice
"Yo que tú/usted..." (If I were you...): Yo que usted, estudiaria mas. (I would study more.)
"Debería..." (You should...): Deberia descansar. (You should rest.)
"¿No le gustaría...?" (Wouldn't you like...?): ¿No le gustaria probar la bandeja paisa? (Wouldn't you like to try bandeja paisa?)
"Sería mejor..." (It would be better...): Seria mejor salir temprano. (It would be better to leave early.)
"Podría..." (You could...): Podria tomar un taxi. (You could take a taxi.)
Knowledge Check
How do you say 'You should rest more' using the conditional?
Reflection
Key Takeaways
The conditional adds -ia, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -ian to the full infinitive
Regular verbs keep the infinitive intact: hablar + ia = hablaria