Can someone explain the conditional to me?
I know what the conditional tense is. But I'm confused- what type of subjunctive does it indicate? The present subjunctive/present perfect subjunctive, or the imperfect/past perfect subjunctive?
I have read all the reference articles and am still confused, so an explanation would be great. Thanks.
*and also, I'm confused about the Conditional Perfect. Same question.
7 Answers
The conditional tense is used for courtesy, or probability in the present or past.
Courtesy:
You usually express courtesy when you are requesting someone to do something. When that happens, what they do should be in the subjunctive.
Me gustaría que me des el teléfono = I would like you to give me the telephone.
Probability:
To state that there would have been a different outcome considering different circumstances, we use the conditional tense to express probability in the past:
Si hubieras estado aquí, yo te habría llevado al cine = If you had been here, I would have taken you to the movies. (by the way, this is conditional perfect. It has "haber" as a helping verb used in the conditional tense)
In this sentence, we have "si". You would have done it "if" the condition happened. Since, you were not here, the phrase "you were here" is contrary to reality, so the condition (verb after if) did not happen, and thus the imperfect subjunctive should be used after "if". What you "would do" is the outcome and should be in the conditional tense.
Yo te habría llevado al cine, pero no estuviste allá. = I would have taken you to the movies, but you were not there.
Notice that this example does not use the subjunctive because the condition (you not being here) is stated to have happened as a fact, and is the reason for the failure of the desired outcome (taking you to the movies). You then state that you "would" have done it. The conditional is used on what you "would have done", and the indicative is used after "but... it did/didn't happen"
The future indicative... well... it indicates the future, but it can also be used to express probability in the present or future tense.
No sé. Estarás allá, pero no estoy seguro. = I don't know. You might be there, but I'm not sure.
With this said, using the conditional tense is great for explaining excuses. 
have you tried the videos in the "learn spanish" section of the website?
The conditional requires the subjunctive in conditional clauses which refer to the present or past but not the future.
•Si brilla martes, me iré a la playa. (If the sun shines on Tuesday, I'll go to the beach.)
The above is a conditional clause which refers to the future - no subjunctive.
•Si yo que tú, tomaría el prueba. (If I were you, I would take the test.)
The above is a conditional clause which refers to the present, and it requires the subjunctive and the conditional.
•Si ella hubiera tenido dinero, compraría los zapatos. (If she had had money, she would have bought the shoes.)
The above is a conditional clause which refers to the past, and it requires the subjunctive and the conditional.
Note that in all cases, the construction is basically the same in English and Spanish, except for the explicit use of the subjunctive mood in Spanish, which is non-the-less implied on occasion in English.
Si hubieras estado aquí, yo te habría traído al cine
There is a little problem with that sentence. You can only say "traído al cine" if you are saying that from the cinema, but since you started the sentence saying "aquí", you are talking about taking the other person from the cinema (here) to here, which makes no sense. You've translated "bring" literally here; you should say "llevar". A similar problem happens with "venir ahí", which cannot be said in Spanish.
You could look at this for the English 2nd conditional in Spanish
It is the "unreal present conditional"
We did one for the Zero Conditionaland 1st Conditionalas well
but not for the 3rd conditional which is the "unreal past conditional"
First off, the conditional doesn't always indicate the subjunctive.
Yo iría al partido, pero mi madre está enojada. I would go to the game, but my mom is mad.
If I'm right, the tense of the subjunctive depends on context.
•Si brilla martes, me iré a la playa. (If the sun shines on Tuesday, I'll go to the beach.)
The above is a conditional clause which refers to the future - no subjunctive.
That is true, but just to clarify, it may need to be added that in Spanish the verb is not conjugated in the conditional tense; it is conjugated in the future tense. The future tense conjugation is used to express probability/conditions in the present/future, and that is precisely why it uses the indicative: there is still a chance in the future that it might happen, whereas in the past... it had already happened or you can't (or at least don't) change it due to difficult or impossible circumstances. Iré is a future tense conjugation, Iría would be the conditional tense conjugation.
Future tense (conjugation): Si hay sol, iré a la playa el martes. If it is sunny, I will/might go to the beach on tuesday
According to whomever said this, it's likely to him/her that the sun will shine (hence the indicative). That uses the future tense, becuase it might happen now or in the future.
Conditional tense: Yo iría a la playa si hubiera sol. I would go to the beach (right now) if the sun were to shine. (but it I'm certain the sun won't shine) (haber is not a helping verb here*)
This one is stating what you would do in the present when the condition is impossible (or at least highly unlikely). That is why "ir" is conditional and "haber" is in the subjunctive.
Conditional perfect tense:
Si no hubiera llovido, yo habría ido a la playa. = If it had not rained, I would have gone to the beach.
We use the conditional perfect tense to express a condition contrary to reality in the past tense. This is what you "would have" done in the past, but you did not.
If I have not written enough at this point, I should probably use a link.
[Check this out] (http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/conditional.htm/)
