I am confused with Conditional Tense

Question

Hello people, I am confused with conditional tense. I think the conditional tense is useless because it only appear in the unreal "if clause." such as "si tuviera dinero bastante, iría a comprar un país" In the real "if clause", we don't use it: "si tengo tiempo, voy contigo." Also, in the question clause we can use future tense to replace conditional clause such as : tendrás tiempo después que termines la clase? (tendrás instead of tendrías)

I can not find a situation that can only use the conditional tense. Can someone show me what is the usage of conditional tense? and what situation es necesario for using conditional tense? Thank you.

Answer 1

I think the conditional tense is useless because it only appear in the unreal "if clause."

It is not useless and it does appear in more than just "if clauses".

Me gustaría is a very polite way of asking for something.

Quiero says the same thing but it can have a more demanding context depending on the intonation of the speaker.

This difference of nuance is very important, especially when you request food in a restaurant, or when you want something prepared in a special way. After all, you are going to eat what they prepare for you, so you do not want to anger the cook or the waiter. Who knows what will end up in your food? This nuance is the same in both Spanish and English.

:) - FELIZ77, Apr 25, 2017

Julian: There may be regional differences here. I have heard teachers from Spain and Mexico say that "Me gustaría" instead of Quiero is unusual in Spanish for asking someone to do part of their job. They suggested quiero or quisiera - DilKen, Apr 25, 2017

And they were very aware of the English "I would like" They emphasized this as a major difference between the languages. - DilKen, Apr 25, 2017

I agree that "quisiera" is more commonly used than "me gustaría" and more natural in this context, however, they both are conditional - 005faa61, Apr 25, 2017

Julian: I suspect you mean that quisiera is being used with a conditional meaning. As I'm sure you know, it is imperfect subjunctive - DilKen, Apr 25, 2017

Yes, this is what I mean: they are used as the same meaning in these contexts - 005faa61, Apr 25, 2017

Thanks Julian. I always learn something from you. :) - rac1, Apr 25, 2017

Answer 2

Very, very similar to English "would."

I would like to eat an apple. Me "gustaría " comer una manzana.

Me tomaría una Coca-Cola. I would drink a Coke.

Jamás besaría a un león. I would never kiss a lion.

etc. etc. etc.

Polenta: you're right about would...also, in some cases could, should and might are used. Some of these are because would cannot be used with can. - DilKen, Apr 25, 2017

Right, podría, debería - polenta1, Apr 26, 2017

Answer 3

Here's another example which is not given in the link.

He said he would buy the car but he didn't have the money.

Dijo que compraría el carro pero no tenía el dinero.

This is a construction very common in both English and Spanish.

Answer 4

Here are two very good videos on conditional statements in Spanish. Many different verb tenses are used. I would say that, in general, the various constructions of conditional statements in English and Spanish are very similar.

condiciones reales

condiciones poco probables y imposibles

Thanks for sharing the links, I will look at that - Pancho-Huang, Apr 26, 2017

Answer 5

Hello Pancho,

Welcome to our Spanishdict community forum

Would you like some more examples of when you can use the conditional (indicative) tense without using the word: if?

1.Would you prefer to take a walk or read the newspaper? = ¿Preferirías dar un paseo o leer el periódico?

2.Would you be willing to take a look at my essay, please?

= ¿Estaría dispuesto a echar un vistazo a mi ensayo, por favor?

3.Would the person who parked their car in our swimming pool today, please remove it because our children wish to swim! = ¿Podría quitar su coche de nuestra piscina la persona que hoy ha aparcado su coche en nuestra piscina porque nuestros niños les gustaría nadar!

4.I would love to go out with Sarah. = ¡Me encantaría salir con Sara!

These are just a few examples of the versalitity of the conditional indicative tense...you can actually use it in many more situations than you probably thought (imagined) possible!

My friends here have also provided you with some great examples!

I hope these help

Corrijan mi español si es necesario, por favor

Feliz: Great post. "a" nuestros niños :) - DilKen, Apr 25, 2017

Answer 6

I would like to answer your question, but I'm busy right now.

Seriously, here's a link for you that describes several uses of the conditional. There are many similarities and just a few differences between its use in Spanish and English.

conditional tense

Very good answer, ken - CarterTF, Apr 25, 2017

Answer 7

Could, should and might can also be used with a conditional sense.

Here are some example with could:

If I had more time, I could travel around the world.

If I had had more time, I could have traveled around the world.

If I had more time this winter, I could travel around the world.

In general, I think:

could = podría

should = debería (I've also seen tendría que used for should)

what are the differences between future and conditional? I think they are almost doing the same faction. such as : "tendría dinero la próxima semana" and "tendré dinero la próxima semana" - Pancho-Huang, Apr 26, 2017