conditional vs. future tense. (usage difference)
Hola todos!
i study spanish on my own and i am starting to have some confusions regarding grammar. Especially about the difference of the usage of conditional and future tense.
i tried to look it up on the internet but i still have not gotten a good answer. so i would like to ask you guys to help me out if you can!
My question is " what is the difference on the usage of conditional and future tense?"
well, according to what i read on one of these spanish dict language guide, they said I am supposed to use conditional for "hypothetical situations and probabilities and to make polite requests." on the other hand, they use simple future tense for "talking about what a person will do, it can also be used to talk about conjecture, possibilities, and probabilities in the present, make predictions about the future, and give solemn commands. it is used to talk about what will or shall happen. also, to express the possibility of what someone might or may be doing in the present."
So, from what i understood, both are used usually for talking about the probabilities in the future. But what if i wanna say "i will buy that shirt." And i meant to say i surely will! and that is not a probability but a certain claim of knowing what would happen in the future?
i am even more confused because i noticed people say (for example) "comería manzanas." when they mean to say they actually will eat apples.
pls help me out with this!
thank you very much
3 Answers
Since you speak English, I'm going to offer a simpler solution.
The conditional tense in English is marked by the word "would".
The future tense is marked by the word "will" or in some regions " shall.' I was taught "shall" for I and we, but "will" for other persons. In the US, everybody uses "will." Some
words will contract with "will" and you'll see things like "you'll" 
Here are some examples.
He said that he would go. Dijo que iría. (conditional)
He said that he will go. Dijo que "irá." (Future)
If you will go (future) to the main page, click on "menú" then click on "language guide" you can keep scrolling down to "verbs" and from there you can find the various tenses such as the future and conditional. You will also find all the forms. There are some irregular verbs in the Future and Conditional, but they're not too difficult There will also be explanations with example sentences.
Buena suerte.
Hi Girl.
It's probably worth considering the informal future option too (ir + a + infinitive) as it could be what you are looking for. I think Spanish is similar to English in these respects:
Voy a comprar esa camisa - I am going to buy that shirt (It's definitely going to happen)
Compraré esa camisa - I will buy that shirt (I intend to buy that shirt)
Compraría esa camisa - I would buy that shirt (If it is a possibility / meets a condition)
However, please wait for our native Spanish speakers, or advanced users, to clarify when to use what, as I am just a learner and cannot guarantee the above is accurate.
It's probably also worth noting that all three options (particularly "am going to" vs "will") can have overlapping uses in English and the same is probably true in Spanish.
Cheers
Girl:
I can understand your confusion. If you try to take all of the possible uses of the future and the conditional, in either language, they can seem very similar and overlapping. For that reason, I will focus on some situations where only one could be used.
To talk about the (almost) certain future: (future)
I will turn 18 next month. (future tense)
Now, unless you die in a few days, you will be 18 next month. You would never use the conditional in this situation.
To talk about future plans...things you are committed to: (future)
I will continue to study Spanish for at least 3 more years.
You would probably only change this into conditional if there was some obstacle (a condition, get it?) in your way.
I would continue to study Spanish for three years, but I'll probably run out of money before then.
Here you could rephrase and use future tense:
I will continue to study Spanish for three years unless I run out of money first.
Compared with the prior sentence using the conditional, it seems much less likely that you will run out of money. When the event (being able to continue studying Spanish) is more likely, use the future. If it is less likely, use the conditional.
To make a polite request (conditional)
I would like a glass of milk. (never, I will like a glass of milk)
But you could say: I will have a glass of milk. Not as polite, right?
To talk about something which is contrary to fact in the present: (conditional)
If I were president (now) I would not twitter my thoughts and daily activities. (cond)
There is no way I can think of to use the future tense in this situation.
To talk about a highly unlikely event in the future: (conditional)
If I were elected president, I would choose a cabinet of mostly women. (cond)
You could use the future here, but unless you are already a senator or a governor you would sound a little nuts.
When I am elected president, I will choose a cabinet of mostly women.
To talk about the past, regarding something that didn't happen: (conditional)
I if had seen her at the party, I would have talked with her. (conditional)
This sentence states that you didn't see her at the party. The second clause say what you would have done if you had. There is no way to use the future tense in this situation.
I hope you get the idea. There is no choice between tenses when talking about the past, or making polite requests. The main area of conflict is when talking about the future. Highly likely events in the future are normally expressed with the future tense. Highly hypothetical events are expressed with the conditional.
In almost all, or possibly all, of the above cases the Spanish choice of tense is the same as the English, so if you understand your choice of tenses in English, choosing between future and conditional isn't that difficult in Spanish.
It is only the "unusual uses" (to English Speakers) of conditional and future in Spanish that can be tricky for us Spanish learners. Such as:
(in Spanish): John?... well he will be in his office. (meaning right now!) In this case the Spanish future is used to mean "he probably is" something we would never do in English.
There are a few other "unusual uses" of the future and conditional which I won't go into here. My advice is .... just forget about them for now. Eventually you can study them or if you start to read in Spanish you will learn them by osmosis / context. Keep things simple right now and learn a bunch of sentences using both conditional and future tenses where you couldn't swap them for each other very easily. That way you will learn about their core usages.
And, as Dani explained, if we would use would in English you could generally use the conditional if Spanish. Some other "English trigger words" include "could" and "might" but in certain cases these would be better expressed with the Spanish subjunctive or in other ways. which is a matter for as more advanced lesson.
