Tips 057: How To Use The Spanish Conditional Tense

Do you know how to express would, could and should in Spanish?

In this tip we will be looking at the Spanish conditional tense. We will give a few examples of how to form this conjugation. And we will give a few common situations where the conditional tense should be used.

The two big positives of this Spanish tense: it’s relatively easy to form and it’s relatively easy to use.

The negatives are that it can be a little bit tongue twisty. And there are some situations where it gets complicated to use.

But, in general, the use of Spanish conditional tense is very similar English. For example, I would like to travel, could you help me?, etc.

I often say to Spanish students that they should focus on vocabulary ahead of grammar. But, as you work your way to a conversational level, today’s tense will be extremely useful.

It is useful because you can ask about peoples dreams and desires. This is a great conversation starter because everybody has a dream or a desire.

If you can use today’s tense well you can open up a whole range of topics with the people you find to practice with.

Other podcast episodes mentioned in today’s tip:

• The Pretérito Indefinido.
• The Pretérito Imperfecto.

Examples from the episode:

The Spanish conditional conjugation of ‘gustar’:

I would like – Me gustaría.

You would like – Te gustaría.

He would like – Le gustaría.

We would like – Nos gustaría.

You-all would like – Os gustaría.

They would like – Les gustaría.

We would like to travel – Nos gustaría viajar.

The conditional conjugation of ‘comer’:

I would eat – Yo comería.

You would eat – Tú comerías.

He would eat – Él comería.

We would eat – Nosotros comeríamos.

You-all would eat – Vosotros comeríais.

They would eat – Ellos comerían.

The conditional conjugation of ‘poder’:

I could – Yo podría.

You could – Tú podrías.

He could – Él podría.

We could – Nosotros podríamos.

You-all could – Vosotros podríais.

They could – Ellos podrían.

I could do this – Yo podría hacer esto.

I could do something – Yo podría hacer algo.

Spiritual retreat – Retiro Espiritual.

I would like to see animals from a far – Me gustaría ver a los animales de lejos.

Crutches, Pause words – Muletas.

You can get access to the Spanish podcast transcripts and English translations here.

How else could you use the Spanish conditional tense?

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