When do you use conditional tenses in spanish

The conditional is used when the action of the verb would happen only if a certain condition were met. The above sentence implies that the condition that must be met before Benjamin visits his grandma is that she would have to move closer to him.

In the following examples, tuviera is the past subjunctive form of the verb tener. The English language has a bad habit of using the same word to mean completely different things. Although the above explanation may sound confusing, there is an easy way to determine whether you need to use the conditional or the imperfect tense. If not, use the conditional tense. Regular verbs. To create the conditional tense of regular verbs, the conditional ending for each form is added to the entire infinitive.

The endings in Table are added to the entire infinitive of any regular verb to create the conditional tense. The 12 verbs that are irregular in the future tense are also irregular in the conditional tense. Frequently, the conditional is used to express probability, possibility, wonder or conjecture, and is usually translated as would, could, must have or probably. The student said that he would study one more hour. To conjugate regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs in the conditional, simply add one of the following to the infintive:.

What time could it have been? He must have been at home. We were probably busy when you called. The same twelve common verbs that are irregular in the future tense are also irregular in the conditional tense. Their endings are regular, but their stems change in the same way they change in the future tense.

We have also grouped them according to their patterns of change. That day they must have run more than 25 kilometers. It would be interesting to study Chinese. Could you please tell me what time the gas station opens? Which one would you buy? Juan said that he would finish the work. Would you speak English in Spain? I would speak Spanish. If I had time, I would go to the movies tonight.

Note: This last example uses a verb tense you are not yet familiar with — the imperfect subjunctive tuviera. This topic will be covered in depth in a later lesson. Finally, a few words need to be said to call attention to the contrasting uses of the future and the conditional. As previously stated, the conditional is used for conjecture and to express probability with regards to a past action, as in the following example:.

If, however, the conjecture or expression of probability is about the present , the future tense is used:. What time can it be? With regards to reported speech, notice that if the main clause is in the past , the conditional is used. But if the main clause is in the present , the future is used. Juan says that he will finish the work. Print Page Email Page.

Gender of Nouns I 2. Gender of Nouns II 3. Numbers: 4. Plural Forms of Nouns 5. Articles 6. The Verb Form "hay" 7. Subject Pronouns 8. Verbs I 9. Verbs II Verbs III Adjectives I Adjectives II Our handy Language Resources section is here to help!

Verbs, structure, expressions Improve your grasp on grammar and vocab! While the conditional tense does have some links to the future tense, it is not actually bound to a particular time period meaning past, present or future.

The conditional tense, just as its name indicates, is utilized to talk about conditional or hypothetical events. This may sound a bit confusing, but don't worry- we'll try to clear it up a bit. Like the future tense, the conditional tense is extremely easy to conjugate in that all three verb forms -ar, -er and -ir use the same endings; these endings are added on to the end of the infinitive.

The conditional has several uses.