Is there such thing as a conditional subjunctive?

Question

I've never heard of there being a conditional subjunctive, but wouldn't it make sense to have one? For example, with the following sentence:

I doubt that he would drive drunk.

Theoretically, the main clause "I doubt" would invoke the subjunctive because it expresses uncertainty, but since there doesn't seem to be a conditional subjunctive, how would the verb "to drive" be translated? Would it have a regular conjugation as manejaría or conduciría?

Any help is appreciated!

Answer 1

Conditional tense only exists in the indicative mood. Use the imperfect subjunctive for unlikely hypothetical events in this kind of context:

Dudo que (él) manejara ebrio.

The imperfect subjunctive is often translated as "would..." See IV.c in this article: http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/condic.htm - 0074b507, Mar 20, 2011