The Basics of the Conditional Tense in Spanish

Shoulda, coulda, woulda: Spanish edition
The conditional tense in Spanish is all about the world of “shoulda, coulda, woulda”. The conditional tense is what we use for giving advice, offering suggestions, and talking about potential. These are the main contexts in English for using the conditional tense- I would...
- You should...
- If I were rich and famous, I could...

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The simple conditional tense in Spanish: Infinitivo + ía
The simple conditional tense is translated to English as would + verb: I would think, I would eat, I would go, etc. The greatest thing about the conditional tense in Spanish is that it’s super easy to conjugate.- Start with the infinitive form of the verb – pensar, comer, ir
- Add the conditional ending – ía, ías, ía, íamos, ían
- pensaría, pensarías, pensaría, pensaríamos, pensarían
- comería, comerías, comería, comeríamos, comerían
- iría, irías, iría, iríamos, irían
These are some common Spanish irregular verbs you’ll need:
- Saber – sabría
- Decir – diría
- Poner – pondía
- Tener – tendría
- Haber – habría
- Hacer - haría
SHOULDA: Using the conditional in Spanish
What should I do about my love life?- Deberías romper con tu novio. You should break up with your boyfriend.
- Debe permanecer soltero y desarrollarse personalmente. You should stay single and work on your personal development.
COULDA: What could you do if you were rich?
- (Yo) podría renunciar a mi trabajo y viajar por el mundo. I could quit my job and travel the world.
- Podría adoptar un millón de cachorros. I could adopt a million puppies.
WOULDA: What would you do if you were fluent in Spanish?
- Hablaría con mis compañeros de clase y haría nuevos amigos. I would talk with my classmates and make new friends.
- Me sentiría confiado/a en nuevas situaciones. I would feel confident in new situations.