5.

2 The conditional

• The conditional tense (el condicional) takes the same

endings for all –ar, –er, and –ir verbs. For regular verbs,
the endings are added to the infinitive.

¿Te dijo en qué coche vendría?

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 5.2 The conditional

¡ATENCIÓN!

Note that all of the conditional endings

carry a written accent mark.

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 5.2 The conditional

• Verbs with irregular future stems have the same irregular

stem in the conditional.

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 5.2 The conditional

Uses of the conditional

• The conditional is used to express what would occur
under certain circumstances.

¿Qué ciudad de Ecuador visitarías primero?

Which city in Ecuador would you visit first?
Iría primero a Quito y después a Guayaquil.
First I would go to Quito and then to Guayaquil.

¡ATENCIÓN!
The English would is used to express the conditional, but it can also
express what used to happen. To express habitual past actions,
Spanish uses the imperfect, not the conditional.
Cuando era pequeña, iba a la playa todos los veranos.
When I was young, I would (used to) go to the beach every summer.

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 5.2 The conditional

• The conditional is also used to make polite requests.

¿Podrías pasarme ese mapa, por favor?

Could you pass me that map, please?
¿Le importaría (a usted) cuidar mis plantas?
Would you mind taking care of my plants?

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 5.2 The conditional

• Just as the future tense is one of several ways of

expressing a future action, the conditional is one of
several ways of expressing a future action as perceived
in the past. In this case, the conditional expresses what
someone said or thought would happen.

Dicen que mañana hará viento. Creía que hoy haría viento.
They say it will be windy I thought it would be windy
tomorrow. today.

Dicen que mañana va a hacer Creía que hoy iba a hacer

viento. viento.
They say it’s going to be windy I thought it was going to be
tomorrow. windy today.

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 5.2 The conditional

• In Spanish, the conditional may be used to express

conjecture or probability about a past event. English
expresses this in various ways using words and
expressions such as wondered, must have been, and
was probably.

¿A qué hora regresaría? Serían las ocho.

I wonder what time he returned. It must have been eight o’clock.

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 5.2 The conditional

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