The trick
The condicional endings never vary, whatever the verb. Only the stem is irregular, and it is irregular in exactly the same verbs, in exactly the same shape, as in the futuro simple. If you know the future stems, you already know these.
Yo podría ayudarte.
I could help you.
Ella tendría razón.
She would be right.
The three stem groups
Group 1: the vowel drops out. The vowel in front of the infinitive's r simply disappears: poder → podr-.
Vowel drops out
| Infinitive | Stem | yo form |
|---|---|---|
| poder | podr- | podría |
| querer | querr- | querría |
| saber | sabr- | sabría |
| caber | cabr- | cabría |
| haber | habr- | habría |
-er verbs without the vowel
¿Podríais ayudarnos?
Could you help us?
Querría saber más sobre el tema.
I would like to know more about the subject.
No sabría qué decir.
I wouldn't know what to say.
Group 2: the vowel becomes -d-. Instead of the vowel there is a d: tener → tendr-.
Vowel becomes -d-
| Infinitive | Stem | yo form |
|---|---|---|
| tener | tendr- | tendría |
| poner | pondr- | pondría |
| venir | vendr- | vendría |
| salir | saldr- | saldría |
| valer | valdr- | valdría |
an inserted -d-
Tendría que pensarlo.
I would have to think about it.
Tendríamos que salir ahora.
We would have to leave now.
¿Saldrías conmigo este sábado?
Would you go out with me this Saturday?
Group 3: one-off stems. Two very frequent verbs have their own shortened stems, and there is nothing to work out: hacer → har-, decir → dir-.
One-off stems
| Infinitive | Stem | yo form |
|---|---|---|
| hacer | har- | haría |
| decir | dir- | diría |
stems of their own
¿Qué harías tú en mi lugar?
What would you do in my place?
Diría que tiene razón.
I would say he is right.
Futuro or condicional?
Both tenses share the same stem. The ending decides whether you are saying will (futuro) or would (condicional), the same one-step distance English marks with those two words.
Mañana tendré más tiempo.
Tomorrow I will have more time.
Con otro trabajo tendría más tiempo.
With a different job I would have more time.
