Twelve common Spanish verbs build their conditional on a modified stem instead of the bare infinitive. The endings stay the same — -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían — but the stem is reshaped. The good news: this is the same set of 12 verbs that have irregular stems in the simple future, and the same modified stems apply in both tenses. Learn tendr- once and you can build both tendré (future) and tendría (conditional). The bad news: the stems are common, high-frequency verbs, so you cannot avoid learning them.
This page lists all 12, groups them by what changes, and addresses the spelling trap that catches almost every learner — the difference between querría (conditional, two r*s) and *quería (imperfect, one r).
The 12 irregular stems, grouped by what changes
The 12 verbs fall into three patterns. Knowing the patterns helps the stems stick.
Pattern 1: drop the -e- of the infinitive (5 verbs)
These verbs lose the -e- between the root and the infinitive ending. The infinitive ends in -er; the stem becomes root + -r-.
| Infinitive | Stem | Conditional (yo / nosotros) |
|---|---|---|
| poder | podr- | podría / podríamos |
| saber | sabr- | sabría / sabríamos |
| caber | cabr- | cabría / cabríamos |
| haber | habr- | habría / habríamos |
| querer | querr- | querría / querríamos |
Note querer keeps both r*s — the *r of the root (quer-) and the r of the infinitive (-er → -r-). The result, querr-, has a doubled r that is critically important to spell and pronounce correctly. (More on that below.)
Podría llamarte mañana sobre las cinco, ¿te va bien?
I could call you tomorrow around five, does that work for you?
No sabría decirte exactamente cuándo llegaron, pero hace ya un par de horas.
I couldn't tell you exactly when they arrived, but it's been a couple of hours now.
Pattern 2: replace -e- or -i- with -d- (5 verbs)
These verbs swap the vowel between the root and the infinitive for a -d-. The result is a stem ending in -dr-.
| Infinitive | Stem | Conditional (yo / nosotros) |
|---|---|---|
| tener | tendr- | tendría / tendríamos |
| poner | pondr- | pondría / pondríamos |
| salir | saldr- | saldría / saldríamos |
| venir | vendr- | vendría / vendríamos |
| valer | valdr- | valdría / valdríamos |
These five share a clean phonetic logic: the -er / -ir infinitive ending collides with the future/conditional -r-, and a -d- inserts to bridge the cluster. The result is the recognizable -ndr-, -ldr- shape that signals an irregular future or conditional immediately.
Si fuera más joven, tendría más paciencia con ellos, te lo aseguro.
If I were younger, I'd have more patience with them, I'm telling you.
¿A qué hora saldríais mañana si saliéramos juntos?
What time would you guys leave tomorrow if we went together?
Vendrían encantados a la boda, pero están de viaje esa semana.
They'd love to come to the wedding, but they're traveling that week.
Pattern 3: short, irregular shortenings (2 verbs)
The last two verbs simply shorten dramatically. There is no clean phonetic rule — they are old, high-frequency forms that have worn down over centuries.
| Infinitive | Stem | Conditional (yo / nosotros) |
|---|---|---|
| hacer | har- | haría / haríamos |
| decir | dir- | diría / diríamos |
These two are the most irregular — hacer loses its -ce- entirely (ha-r-ía instead of the expected hace-r-ía), and decir shrinks from a four-letter infinitive to a two-letter stem. There is no shortcut: memorize these as their own pair.
Yo en tu lugar haría las maletas esta misma noche y me iría mañana temprano.
If I were you, I'd pack tonight and leave early tomorrow.
Te diría la verdad, pero no te va a gustar.
I'd tell you the truth, but you're not going to like it.
A full reference table
For quick lookup, here are all 12 irregular conditional stems with the yo and nosotros forms side by side.
| Infinitive | Stem | yo | nosotros | Future comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| poder | podr- | podría | podríamos | podré |
| saber | sabr- | sabría | sabríamos | sabré |
| caber | cabr- | cabría | cabríamos | cabré |
| haber | habr- | habría | habríamos | habré |
| querer | querr- | querría | querríamos | querré |
| tener | tendr- | tendría | tendríamos | tendré |
| poner | pondr- | pondría | pondríamos | pondré |
| salir | saldr- | saldría | saldríamos | saldré |
| venir | vendr- | vendría | vendríamos | vendré |
| valer | valdr- | valdría | valdríamos | valdré |
| hacer | har- | haría | haríamos | haré |
| decir | dir- | diría | diríamos | diré |
Notice the structural parallel: every stem in column 2 also generates the simple future in the same way. If you have already learned the irregular futures, the conditional is free.
The querría vs quería trap
This is the single most-confused pair in intermediate Spanish, and it deserves its own treatment.
- querría = I would want (conditional of querer), pronounced with a strong, rolled double r (ke-RRÍ-a)
- quería = I wanted / I used to want (imperfect of querer), pronounced with a single r (ke-RÍ-a)
These are completely different tenses with completely different meanings. The conditional uses the irregular stem querr- (with double r), so the conditional form is querría — the first r belongs to the root, the second r is the future/conditional -r-. The imperfect uses the regular stem quer- (single r), so the imperfect form is quería.
Pronouncing them differently is essential — the strong RR sound is one of the clearest signals of which tense a peninsular speaker is using.
Querría preguntarte una cosa, si tienes un momento.
I'd like to ask you something, if you have a moment. (polite request)
Quería preguntarte una cosa, pero al final no me atreví.
I wanted to ask you something, but in the end I didn't dare. (past intention)
In peninsular Spanish, both are used to soften requests: quería (imperfect) is the colloquial, everyday option; querría (conditional) is the more polished, slightly formal variant. A barista in Madrid hears Quería un café con leche ten times an hour and Querría un café con leche occasionally — both are correct, and the choice signals register, not grammar. (See the page on the conditional of politeness for more.)
The reverse problem also exists: never write quería when you mean would want in a hypothetical context.
Si pudiera elegir, querría vivir en Cádiz.
If I could choose, I'd want to live in Cádiz. (counterfactual — conditional)
Cuando era pequeño, quería ser bombero.
When I was little, I wanted to be a fireman. (past habitual desire — imperfect)
The si clause + conditional pattern requires the conditional in the main clause. Substituting the imperfect (quería vivir) would force a habitual past reading that does not fit the context.
Spelling: same accent rules as the regular conditional
All the irregular conditionals follow the same accent rules as the regular ones:
- Every form carries an accent on -í-: podría, podrías, podría, podríamos, podríais, podrían.
- The nosotros form (podríamos) and the peninsular vosotros form (podríais) both require the accent.
- Dropping the accent is a misspelling, not a casual variant.
Os pondríais nerviosos si tuvierais que hablar delante de tanta gente.
You guys would get nervous if you had to speak in front of so many people.
No haríamos eso ni en sueños, te lo aseguro.
We wouldn't do that even in our dreams, I assure you.
Common Mistakes
❌ Tenería tiempo si me organizara mejor.
Incorrect — tener uses the irregular stem tendr-, not a regular infinitive.
✅ Tendría tiempo si me organizara mejor.
I'd have time if I organized myself better.
The verb tener does not form a regular conditional from the bare infinitive (tener + ía). It uses the irregular stem tendr-. The form tenería is not a Spanish word at all.
❌ Podia hablar contigo si tuviera tiempo.
Wrong tense — this is the imperfect, not the conditional.
✅ Podría hablar contigo si tuviera tiempo.
I could talk to you if I had time.
Podía is the imperfect of poder (I could / I was able to); podría is the conditional (I would be able to / I could, hypothetically). The two forms differ by exactly one letter and one accent, and they refer to different time frames. Confusing them is the most frequent intermediate-Spanish error with poder.
❌ Quería un café, por favor, sería tan amable de traérmelo rápido?
Inconsistent register — quería is colloquial, sería tan amable is very formal.
✅ ¿Me podría traer un café, por favor? Lo necesito rápido.
Could you bring me a coffee, please? I need it quickly.
When you go for a polite request, stay in one register. Mixing the colloquial imperfect (quería) with the elaborately formal conditional (sería tan amable) creates a tonal clash. Pick one level of politeness — quería + simple phrasing, or querría / podría + more formal phrasing.
❌ Diciría la verdad, pero es complicado.
Incorrect — decir uses the short stem dir-, not a doubled-up form.
✅ Diría la verdad, pero es complicado.
I'd tell the truth, but it's complicated.
The stem of decir in the future and conditional is dir-, not deci- or dici-. The form diría is built on this short stem + the regular -ía ending. There is no intermediate vowel.
❌ Si pudiéramos, queríamos vivir en Cádiz.
Wrong tense — imperfect cannot be the main clause of a hypothetical condition.
✅ Si pudiéramos, querríamos vivir en Cádiz.
If we could, we'd want to live in Cádiz.
In a si + imperfect subjunctive + conditional construction, the main clause needs the conditional (querríamos). The imperfect indicative (queríamos) describes a past habit, not a hypothetical desire.
❌ Habria que llamarle antes de ir.
Incorrect — habría requires the accent on -í-.
✅ Habría que llamarle antes de ir.
We'd have to call him before going.
Habría que + infinitivo is a high-frequency impersonal construction meaning one would have to / we'd have to. The accent on habría is obligatory in writing — the same diphthong-breaking accent that all conditional forms require.
Key takeaways
- 12 verbs have irregular conditional stems: poder, saber, caber, haber, querer, tener, poner, salir, venir, valer, hacer, decir.
- The same stems appear in the simple future — learn the set once, use it twice.
- All other conditional endings and accent rules stay regular: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían, always with the accent on -í-.
- Compounds inherit the irregularity: componer → compondría, retener → retendría, predecir → prediría.
- The single sharpest trap is querría vs quería: double r = conditional ("would want"), single r = imperfect ("wanted").
- Podría vs podía is the same trap with poder — different time frames, different meanings.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Condicional simple: verbos regularesB1 — Spanish's would-tense — formed by attaching -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the whole infinitive. A single set of endings for every regular verb, with an obligatory accent on every form, and a structural twin of the simple future.
- Futuro: raíces irregularesB1 — The twelve Spanish verbs with irregular future stems — tendr-, pondr-, saldr-, vendr-, valdr-, podr-, sabr-, cabr-, querr-, habr-, har-, dir- — grouped by pattern, with the same endings as regular verbs and the bonus that these stems also power the conditional.
- Condicional de cortesíaB1 — How to use the conditional to soften requests, suggestions, and opinions — Me gustaría, podría, querría — and how it differs from the equally polite imperfect (quería).
- Condicional para situaciones hipotéticasB1 — How the conditional pairs with the imperfect subjunctive to talk about counterfactual present situations — Si tuviera tiempo, viajaría más.
- Futuro simple: verbos regularesA2 — The Spanish simple future for regular verbs — endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án attached to the whole infinitive, the accents that are obligatory on every form except nosotros, and why ir a + infinitive often wins in everyday peninsular speech.