Conditional vs. Imperfect

Question

If the endings in the imperfect and the conditional are same how do you tell the difference in the context of a sentence?

Answer 1

The is no confusing the conditional tense and the imperfect tense....One adds the ending to the verb stem while the other adds to the verb infinitive (for regular verbs).

1st conjugation...hablar (3rd person singular used for example)

Hablaba=imperfect

hablaría=conditional

2nd and 3rd conjugation...comer & vivir

comía, vivía=imperfect

comería, viviría=conditional

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Are you perhaps referring to the fact that the 1st person and 3rd person singular have the same form in both the imperfect and conditional tenses.

yo comía, él comía (imperfect tense)

yo comería, él comería (conditional tense)

You can tell whether the subject of the verb is 1st perston or 3rd person (also 2nd person formal) from the context of previous sentences or by including the personal subject pronoun if ambiguity arises.