The Conditional Tense
The conditional tense is used to talk about hypothetical situations, specifically what you would do or what would happen under certain circumstances.
Forming the regular conditional is very straightforward: you simply attach the conditional endings directly to the infinitive of the verb (the full verb ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). The endings are exactly the same for all three verb types!
| Pronoun | Ending | Example (comprar) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -ía | compraría |
| tú | -ías | comprarías |
| él / ella / usted | -ía | compraría |
| nosotros / nosotras | -íamos | compraríamos |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | -ían | comprarían |
| With a million dollars, what would you buy? | Con un millón de dólares, ¿qué comprarías? |
| With that million, I would buy an extremely expensive mansion. | Con ese millón, compraría una mansión carísima. |
| With the prize, we would buy a mansion and live in luxury. | Con el premio, nosotros compraríamos una mansión y viviríamos en el lujo. |
Using the Conditional
Notice that the yo and él / ella / usted forms are identical in the conditional tense. You can usually rely on context to know who is being talked about, but you can always include the subject pronoun to avoid confusion.
Here are a few more examples of how you might spend (or invest) your hypothetical wealth:
| She would not spend her money on an exclusive diamond. | Ella no gastaría su dinero en un diamante exclusivo. |
| Would you all buy a quite expensive yacht? | ¿Ustedes comprarían un yate bastante caro? |
| They would invest too much in those luxuries. | Ellos invertirían demasiado en esos lujos. |
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