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Spanish grammar 2

3. Verbs

3.9 Conditional

  • Introduction

  • 1. Pronouns
  • 1.1 Personal Pronouns

  • 1.2 Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns & Genitive

  • 1.3 Accusative and Dative Pronouns

  • 1.4 Demonstrative Pronouns

  • 1.5 Reflexive Pronouns

  • 1.6 Indefinite Pronouns

  • 2. Nouns & Articles
  • 2.1 Gender of Nouns

  • 2.2 Indefinite and Definite Forms

  • 2.3 Singular and Plural

  • 3. Verbs
  • 3.1 Types of Verbs

  • 3.2 The Conjugation and Use of “Be” Verbs

  • 3.3 Present Tense & Gerund

  • 3.4 Preterite

  • 3.5 Imperfect

  • 3.6 The Present Perfect

  • 3.7 The Past Perfect

  • 3.8 Future Tense and Near Future

  • 3.9 Conditional

  • 3.10 Affirmative and Negative Commands

  • 3.11 Subjunctive

  • 3.12 Passive

  • 4. Adjectives
  • 4.1 Adjective Inflection

  • 4.2 Comparison of Adjectives

  • 5. Syntax
  • 5.1 Word Order in Main Clause

  • 5.2 Interrogative Sentence & Question Words

  • 5.3 Subordinate Clauses

  • 6. Prepositions
  • 6.1 Prepositions

  • 7. Adverbs
  • 7.1 Adverbs

  • 8. Numbers
  • 8.1 Basic Numbers

  • 8.2 Order Numbers

  • 8.3 Number Expressions

  • 9. Letters of the Alphabet
  • 9.1 Letters of the Alphabet

  • Introduction

  • 1. Pronouns

  • 1.1 Personal Pronouns

  • 1.2 Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns & Genitive

  • 1.3 Accusative and Dative Pronouns

  • 1.4 Demonstrative Pronouns

  • 1.5 Reflexive Pronouns

  • 1.6 Indefinite Pronouns

  • 2. Nouns & Articles

  • 2.1 Gender of Nouns

  • 2.2 Indefinite and Definite Forms

  • 2.3 Singular and Plural

  • 3. Verbs

  • 3.1 Types of Verbs

  • 3.2 The Conjugation and Use of “Be” Verbs

  • 3.3 Present Tense & Gerund

  • 3.4 Preterite

  • 3.5 Imperfect

  • 3.6 The Present Perfect

  • 3.7 The Past Perfect

  • 3.8 Future Tense and Near Future

  • 3.9 Conditional

  • 3.10 Affirmative and Negative Commands

  • 3.11 Subjunctive

  • 3.12 Passive

  • 4. Adjectives

  • 4.1 Adjective Inflection

  • 4.2 Comparison of Adjectives

  • 5. Syntax

  • 5.1 Word Order in Main Clause

  • 5.2 Interrogative Sentence & Question Words

  • 5.3 Subordinate Clauses

  • 6. Prepositions

  • 6.1 Prepositions

  • 7. Adverbs

  • 7.1 Adverbs

  • 8. Numbers

  • 8.1 Basic Numbers

  • 8.2 Order Numbers

  • 8.3 Number Expressions

  • 9. Letters of the Alphabet

  • 9.1 Letters of the Alphabet

The Spanish conditional corresponds to the English conditional with the auxiliary verb “would”:

ComprarĂ­a ese coche, pero es muy caro.

I would buy that car, but it is very expensive.

The conditional is formed by adding an ending to the base form of the verb (e.g. hablar):
base form +-Ă­a
-Ă­as
-Ă­a
-Ă­amos
-Ă­ais
-Ă­an

The ending is added to the end of the base without removing anything. The endings are the same for verbs ending in -ar, -er and -ir, and the endings of the 1st and 3rd person singular are the same.The endings are the same as the imperfect tense endings of the verbs that end in -er and -ir.

HablarĂ­a contigo, pero estoy ocupado.

I would talk to you, but I’m busy.

ÂżComerĂ­as paella en Valencia?

Would you eat paella in Valencia?

Some verbs have an irregular stem in the conditional, but the endings are the same. The irregular verbs are the same as in the future tense.

Irregular verbs can be divided into three types:
e is dropped from the steme or i is dropped, replaced with dirregular stem
poder → podrponer → pondr-decir → dir-
querer → querr-salir → saldr-hacer → har-
saber → sabr-tener → tendr-
haber → habr-valer → valdr-
caber → cabr-venir → vendr-

Ese coche no cabrĂ­a en el garaje.

That car wouldn’t fit in the garage.

No sabrĂ­amos cĂłmo reaccionar ante una sorpresa asĂ­.

We would not know how to react to such a surprise.

SaldrĂ­an con nosotros, pero tienen muchĂ­simo trabajo.

They would go out with us, but they have a lot of work to do.

Vendríais conmigo al cine, pero ya tenéis otros planes.

You would come with me to the cinema, but you already have other plans.

HarĂ­a las tareas ahora, pero no quiero.

I would do the homework now, but I don’t want to.

 

The conditional conjugation of the be-verbs ser and estar is regular.

SerĂ­a difĂ­cil pintar las paredes.

It would be difficult to paint the walls.

EstarĂ­amos muy felices.

We would be very happy.

 

Conditional clauses beginning with si (if) cannot contain a conditional verb form in Spanish (similarly to English). Instead, the imperfect subjunctive is used. The verb in the main clause is conditional.

IrĂ­amos al parque si no lloviera.

We would go to the park if it wasn’t raining.

Si tuviera más dinero, compraría un coche.

If she had more money, she would buy a car.

 

More about the imperfect subjunctive in chapter 3.11.

 

In indirect questions starting with the conjunction si, the conditional can be used.

Ella no está segura si Carlos aceptaría la oferta.

She is not sure if Carlos would accept the offer.

No sé si mis vecinos oirían el ruido.

I don’t know if my neighbours would hear the noise.

The conditional form of the verb querer (to want) is commonly used in polite requests:

Querría un café, por favor.

I would like a coffee, please.

Learn Spanish
Beginning 3.10 Affirmative and Negative Commands
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