Conditional: Irregular verbs

1. What is the irregular conditional?

• Meaning: it usually means “would …” in English.
• Form: an irregular stem + the regular conditional endings:

-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían (same for -ar, -er, -ir).

Examples:

• saber → sabr- → sabría (I would know)
• tener → tendr- → tendría (I would have)
• hacer → har- → haría (I would do / make)

In this unit, you mainly need to notice how the stem changes. The endings stay regular.

2. The three stem patterns (quick overview)

At A2, it is enough to memorise the full family of the verbs you actually use:

• haría, harías, haría, haríamos, haríais, harían
• diría, dirías, diría, diríamos, diríais, dirían
• querría, querrías, querría, querríamos, querríais, querrían
• sabría, sabrías, sabría, sabríamos, sabríais, sabrían
• podría, podrías, podría, podríamos, podríais, podrían
• tendría, tendrías, tendría, tendríamos, tendríais, tendrían
• saldría, saldrías, saldría, saldríamos, saldríais, saldrían
• vendría, vendrías, vendría, vendríamos, vendríais, vendrían
• habría (there would be – usually used only in 3rd person)

3. How to build it: 3 clear steps

1. Find the infinitive.

   Example: tener, venir, poder.

2. Change to the irregular stem.

   • tener → tendr-
   • venir → vendr-
   • poder → podr-

3. Add the regular conditional ending for the subject.

   • yo tendr-ía → tendría
   • tú vendr-ías → vendrías
   • él / ella podr-ía → podría

Important: you never add endings to the full infinitive with these verbs. You always use the irregular stem.

✅ Correct: vendrías  ❌ Incorrect: venirías

4. Meaning: when do we use this form?

• Polite requests / soft questions

¿Me podrías ayudar con este informe? – Would you be able to help me with this report?

• Hypothetical situations (often with si = if)

Si tuviera más tiempo, iría más a la biblioteca.
If I had more time, I would go to the library more often.

• Wishes and preferences in a soft, polite way

Querría un despacho más tranquilo.
I would like a quieter office.

In English, you usually translate these with would, would like, or could.

5. What you really need to memorise

Focus on this small core list. These are very frequent and practical.

Tip: learn them as short “blocks” with yo. Then add other endings:

• From haría you get → harías, haríamos…
• From podría you get → podrías, podríamos…

6. Typical mistakes to avoid

• 1) Using the infinitive instead of the irregular stem

  ❌ veniría → ✅ vendría

  ❌ tenería → ✅ tendría

• 2) Forgetting the accent on the ending

  All persons in the simple conditional have an accent on the í.

  ❌ vendrias → ✅ vendrías

  ❌ tendrias → ✅ tendrías

• 3) Mixing conditional and future

  Future: tendré = I will have.

  Conditional: tendría = I would have.

  Check the meaning: “will” → future; “would” → conditional.

• 4) Adding unnecessary prepositions in English-influenced structures

  ❌ Ella sabría a recomendarte…
  ✅ Ella sabría recomendarte…

7. Mini self-check: can you do this?

1. Form test

   Cover the table. Write the yo form of:

   • tener → tendría
   • venir → vendría
   • hacer → haría
   • poder → podría
   • querer → querría

   If 4/5 are correct (including accents), you control the forms.

2. Meaning test

   Can you explain each sentence in English?

   • Yo haría la reserva. → I would make the reservation.
   • ¿Vendrías a la biblioteca conmigo? → Would you come to the library with me?
   • Con tu ayuda podría terminar el informe. → With your help I could finish the report.
   • Ellos querrían más tiempo libre. → They would like more free time.

3. Communication test

   Try to say these ideas in Spanish (check later in a dictionary or with your teacher):

   • I would like a coffee.
   • Could you tell me where the library card office is?
   • If I had more time, I would read more novels.

8. What to pay attention to while speaking

• Sound the accent:
  • tendría, podrías, vendrían – keep the stress on -drí- / -drí- / -drí-.
• Use conditional for politeness:
  • Querría… sounds softer than quiero…
  • ¿Podrías…? sounds softer than ¿puedes…?
• Notice the English “would” in your idea first, then choose the Spanish conditional.

If you can recognise and build these irregular conditionals, you are ready to use them in conversation: to make polite requests, express wishes, and talk about hypothetical situations with confidence.