Conditional and Conditional Perfect

1. Conditional and Conditional Perfect Lección 8

2. In Spanish the conditional is formed by adding the imperfect ending for –er and –ir verbs to the infinitive. The same endings are used for –ar, -er, and –ir verbs.

3. Used to state what you would do in some future or hypothetical situation. • Dijo que eliminaría el colesterol de su dieta. • She said that she would eliminate cholesterol from her diet. • ¿Comerías un arroz a la marinera? • Would you eat seafood rice?

4. It is also used when the speaker is referring to an event that is future to a point in the past. • Creía que habría más gente en el restaurante. • I thought that there would be more people at the restaurant. • Ellos me informaron que preferirían el pescado a la plancha. • They informed me that they would prefer the grilled fish.

5. It is also used to express a request in a courteous manner. • Me gustaría un vaso de agua. • I would like a glass of water. • ¿Podría pasarme la sal? • Could you pass me the salt?

6. The conditional of deber, like the present indicative, translates as should. • No deberías quemar la carne. • You shouldn’t burn the meat. • Deberían encender el horno ahora. • They should turn on the oven now.

7. The conditional has the same irregular stems as the future.

8. Probability in the past is often expressed in the Spanish with conditional. • ¿Cuándo preparó la chef el caldo? • When did the chef prepare the broth? • Lo prepararía esta mañana. • She probably prepared it this morning.

9. The conditional perfect is formed with the conditional of the auxiliary verb haber.

10. The conditional perfect is used to express an action which would or should have occurred but did not. • Habría enlatado el maíz,pero mis hijos ya se lo habían comido. • I would have canned the corn, but my children had already eaten it. • Habríamos cocido los alimentos con menos líquido, pero no teníamos las proporciones correctas. • We would have cooked the food with less liquid, but we didn’t have the correct proportions.

11. The conditional perfect is also used to express probability or conjecture. • Emril habría asistido a una escuela culinaria antes de hacerse famoso. • Emril had probably attended a culinary school before becoming famous. • ¿Habría engordado Eduardo el primer año de casado? • I wonder if Eduardo gained weight during his first year of marriage.