Be careful! If the verb is reflexive, then the pronouns “me, te, se, nos, os, se” are always placed before the verb when forming the Condicional simple:

• Me quedaría en esta ciudad para siempre. – I would stay in this city forever.
• Nos gustaría ir al cine. – We would like to go to the cinema.

When to use Condicional Simple?

As with other verb forms, the easiest way to learn the conditional is to memorize the specific situations in which it is used. The Spanish Сondicional simple corresponds to English Conditional sentence type 2. Let’s look at these situations:

1. Polite invitation (using the verbs querer, gustar):

¿Querrías ir al teatro? – Would you like to go to the theatre?

¿Te gustaría tomar un café conmigo? – Would you like to have coffee with me?

2. Polite request (using the verb poder):

¿Podríais ayudarnos a pintar la casa? – Would you be able to help us paint the flat?

3. Wish (using the verbs gustar, encantar):

Me gustaría ir de vacacciones. – I would love to go on holidays.

A Carmen le encantaría trabajar contigo. – Carmen would really like to work with you.

4. Advice (using the verb deber) in the sense of “if I were you…”:

Estás un poco gordo. Deberías hacer ejercicio. – You are a bit chubby. You should exercise.

Yo que tú no iría a esta discoteca. – If I were you I wouldn’t go to this club.

5. Assumption (using the verbs decir, pensar):

¿Cuánto mide esta mesa? Yo diría que unos 2 metros. – How long is this table? I would say about 2 metres.

¿Сrees que Mónica va a ganar el concurso? Yo pensaría que sí. – Do you think Monica is going to win the competition? I should think so.

6. Appeal or surprise (using the verbs deber, tener que):

¿No deberías estar en el cole? – Shouldn’t you be at school?

¿Antonio no tendría que pagar por la comida? – Shouldn’t Antonio pay for the food?

¡Deberían haberlo dicho antes! – They should have said this before!

7. Reported speech:

Pablo nos dijo que compraría el pan. – Pablo said that he would buy bread.

No sabíamos que llegaría tan tarde. – We didn’t know that s/he would arrive so late.

If the main clause is in the past tense (Pablo dijo), the future clause must be in the Condicional simple (que compraría el pan).

8. In conditional sentences (combined with Imperfecto de subjuntivo):

Si tuviera dinero compraría un yate. – If I had money I would buy a yacht.

Si el niño tuviera hambre me pediría comida. – If the boy were hungry he would ask me for food.

Exceptions. Many verbs have irregular forms in Condicional simple. In the table below you will find the most important irregular forms. However, we advise you to check each new verb in the dictionary to make sure you are using it correctly.