Grammar Guides / Spanish / Conditional Sentences

🔀 Conditional Sentences

Express real and hypothetical situations with si (if) clauses

B1 12 min read 6 sections

Three Types of Conditionals

Spanish conditional sentences follow three main patterns, depending on how likely or real the situation is: Type 0 — General truths: si + present → present. These describe things that are always true. "Si llueve, la calle se moja." (If it rains, the street gets wet.) Type 1 — Real / possible: si + present → future (or present / imperative). These describe situations that might actually happen. "Si estudias, aprobarás." (If you study, you will pass.) Type 2 — Unreal / hypothetical: si + imperfect subjunctive → conditional. These describe situations that are unlikely or contrary to reality. "Si tuviera dinero, viajaría." (If I had money, I would travel.)

Si tengo tiempo, voy al cine. / Si tuviera tiempo, iría al cine.If I have time, I go to the movies. (real) / If I had time, I would go to the movies. (unreal)
Tip: The key rule: NEVER use the present subjunctive or future tense after "si" in a conditional. "Si tendré" and "Si tenga" are always wrong. It is "Si tengo" (present indicative) or "Si tuviera" (imperfect subjunctive).

The Conditional Tense

The conditional tense (I would...) is formed by adding -ía endings to the full infinitive. All three verb families (-ar, -er, -ir) use the same endings. The conditional is used in the result clause of Type 2 conditionals, for polite requests, and to express "would" in English.

Personhablar (to speak)comer (to eat)vivir (to live)
yohablaríacomeríaviviría
túhablaríascomeríasvivirías
él / ella / ustedhablaríacomeríaviviría
nosotros / nosotrashablaríamoscomeríamosviviríamos
ellos / ellas / ustedeshablaríancomeríanvivirían
¿Qué harías con un millón de dólares?What would you do with a million dollars?
Tip: The conditional endings (-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -ían) are identical to the imperfect endings of -er/-ir verbs. The difference is that the conditional adds them to the full infinitive (hablar-ía), while the imperfect uses the stem (com-ía).

Irregular Conditional Stems

The same 10 verbs that are irregular in the future tense are irregular in the conditional. They use a modified stem instead of the full infinitive, but the endings remain the same (-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -ían).

InfinitiveIrregular StemConditional (yo)Meaning
hacerhar-haríaI would do / make
decirdir-diríaI would say / tell
tenertendr-tendríaI would have
ponerpondr-pondríaI would put
salirsaldr-saldríaI would leave / go out
venirvendr-vendríaI would come
poderpodr-podríaI would be able to / could
sabersabr-sabríaI would know
quererquerr-querríaI would want
haberhabr-habríathere would be
Tip: If you already know the irregular future stems, you know the conditional stems — they are exactly the same. "Tendré" (I will have) → "Tendría" (I would have).

Type 1: Real Conditions

Type 1 conditionals describe situations that are possible or likely. The si clause uses the present indicative, and the result clause uses the future, present, or imperative. The clause order can be flipped — "Si llueve, no salgo" and "No salgo si llueve" mean the same thing.

Si clause (present)Result clauseTranslation
Si llueve,no salgo.If it rains, I don't go out.
Si tienes tiempo,ven a mi casa.If you have time, come to my house.
Si estudias más,aprobarás el examen.If you study more, you will pass the exam.
Si no te gusta,puedes devolverlo.If you don't like it, you can return it.
Si terminas temprano,llámame.If you finish early, call me.
Si hace buen tiempo mañana, vamos a la playa.If the weather is good tomorrow, we're going to the beach.

Type 2: Unreal Conditions

Type 2 conditionals describe situations that are contrary to reality or unlikely. The si clause uses the imperfect subjunctive, and the result clause uses the conditional tense. In Latin America, the -ra forms of the imperfect subjunctive are far more common than the -se forms (both are grammatically correct, but -ra dominates in everyday speech).

Si clause (imperfect subjunctive)Result clause (conditional)Translation
Si tuviera dinero,viajaría por el mundo.If I had money, I would travel the world.
Si fuera tú,estudiaría más.If I were you, I would study more.
Si pudiéramos,iríamos a la fiesta.If we could, we would go to the party.
Si hablara español perfectamente,trabajaría en Madrid.If I spoke Spanish perfectly, I would work in Madrid.
Si no lloviera,saldríamos a caminar.If it weren't raining, we would go for a walk.
Si yo fuera presidente, cambiaría muchas cosas.If I were president, I would change many things.
Tip: The imperfect subjunctive -ra conjugation for regular verbs: hablara, hablaras, hablara, habláramos, hablaran. For -er/-ir: comiera, comieras, comiera, comiéramos, comieran. Note that the nosotros form always has a written accent (habláramos, comiéramos).

Common Conditional Expressions

These phrases use the conditional tense and appear constantly in everyday Spanish conversation. They are worth memorizing as fixed expressions.

ExpressionMeaningExample
Yo que tú...If I were you...Yo que tú, no iría. (If I were you, I wouldn't go.)
En tu lugar...In your place...En tu lugar, hablaría con ella. (In your place, I'd talk to her.)
¿Podrías...?Could you...?¿Podrías ayudarme? (Could you help me?)
Me gustaría...I would like...Me gustaría un café. (I would like a coffee.)
Debería...I should...Debería estudiar más. (I should study more.)
Tip: "Would" in English usually translates to the conditional tense in Spanish. "I would go" = "Iría." "She would eat" = "Comería." The main exception is habitual past actions — "When I was a kid, I would play outside" uses the imperfect (jugaba), not the conditional.

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