Would, Should, Could… The Spanish Conditional Tense Explained
If you’ve ever wanted to say “I would travel,” “You should study,” or “Could we meet tomorrow?” in Spanish, then you’re in the right place.
These expressions all rely on one key concept: 👉 The Spanish Conditional Tense.
In this post, we’ll break it all down in a clear, beginner-friendly way so you can understand and actually use the conditional in real conversations.
🌟 What Is the Conditional Tense?
The conditional tense in Spanish is used to express:
• What someone would do
• What someone should do (deber + conditional)
• What someone could do (poder + conditional)
Think of it as the “I would, if I could” tense.
🔹 English → Spanish Examples
• I would go = Yo iría
• You should go = Tú deberías ir
• Could we talk? = ¿Podríamos hablar?
• He would like that = A él le gustaría eso
It’s often used in:
• Hypothetical situations
• Polite requests
• Future-in-the-past scenarios
• Expressing wishes or dreams
🛠️ How to Form the Conditional Tense
This part is simple!
Just take the entire infinitive (the verb as-is) and add the conditional endings.
Example:
viajar
viajaría
viajarías
viajaríamos
✅ Regular Endings (for -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs):
Subject Ending Example (hablar) yo -ía hablaría tú -ías hablarías él/ella/usted -ía hablaría nosotros/as -íamos hablaríamos vosotros/as -íais hablaríais ellos/ellas/ustedes -ían hablarían
🧪 A few examples:
• Yo viviría en la playa.
I would live at the beach.
• ¿Qué comerías tú?
What would you eat?
• Nosotros estudiaríamos más.
We would study more.
❗ Common Irregular Verbs in the Conditional
The conditional is mostly regular, but there are about a dozen key verbs with irregular stems. The endings stay the same, but the verb stem changes.
📚 Here’s a full list of common irregulars:
Verb Irregular Stem Example Sentence tener tendr- Tendríamos más tiempo si… salir saldr- Saldría contigo, pero… venir vendr- Vendría, pero estoy ocupado. poner pondr- Pondría la mesa si me ayudas. poder podr- Podría ayudarte mañana. saber sabr- No sabríamos qué hacer. querer querr- Querría un café, por favor. decir dir- Diríamos la verdad siempre. hacer har- Haría lo que fuera necesario. haber habr- Habría muchas razones para ir. caber cabr- No cabría en ese asiento. valer valdr- Valdría la pena intentarlo.
These irregular stems are the same as the future tense stems, so once you know one, you know both!
💡 Should and Could in Spanish
To say should or could, you use:
👉 Deber + conditional = should
• Deberías descansar más.
You should rest more.
• Deberíamos estudiar juntos.
We should study together.
👉 Poder + conditional = could
• ¿Podrías ayudarme?
Could you help me?
• Podríamos ir al cine.
We could go to the movies.
These modal structures are super useful and sound natural and polite in conversation.
🎯 Bonus: “Would Like” = Gustaría
One of the most common phrases beginners learn is:
• Me gustaría = I would like
• Nos gustaría ir a México = We would like to go to Mexico
It’s the conditional form of gustar and is great for sounding more fluent and courteous.
🗣️ Practice Sentences
Try these out and notice the patterns:
Yo te ayudaría, pero estoy ocupado.
→ I would help you, but I’m busy.
Ellos deberían estudiar más.
→ They should study more.
¿Podrías prestarme tu libro?
→ Could you lend me your book?
Me encantaría viajar a Colombia.
→ I would love to travel to Colombia.
Haríamos la tarea si tuviéramos tiempo.
→ We would do the homework if we had time.
📝 Recap: What You Need to Know
✔ The conditional is used to express would, and with deber/poder, it can express should/could
✔ For regular verbs, just add -ía, -ías, -ía, etc. to the infinitive
✔ There are about a dozen common irregular stems, but they follow a consistent pattern
✔ Use it in polite requests, hypotheticals, and expressions of desire
🎁 Want to Practice This More?
Here’s what I’ve got for you:
✅ Join the Fluency Hour 2 and Fluency Hour 3 courses for weekly grammar practice + video lessons.
✅ Follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube — @SpanishWithLevi — for more daily Spanish content
¡Sí se puede!