What Will and Would Be: El Futuro y el Condicional (¿Qué harías tú?)

You already know how to say what you are going to do with ir a + infinitive. Now you'll add two elegant tenses that native speakers use constantly: the simple future ("I will…") and the conditional ("I would…"). The best part is that they are twins — they share the exact same stem and only differ in their endings — so learning one teaches you most of the other.

The Simple Future (El Futuro)

Unlike every other tense, the future adds its endings to the whole infinitive, not to a stem. That means one set of endings for -ar, -er and -ir verbs alike. Every ending except the nosotros form carries a written accent.

Mañana viajaré a Sevilla. — Tomorrow I will travel to Seville.

The Conditional (El Condicional)

The conditional uses the same stem (the infinitive, or the irregular stem below) with the endings of the -er/-ir imperfect: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. It means "would."

Yo viajaría a Sevilla si tuviera tiempo. — I would travel to Seville if I had time.

The Twelve Irregular Stems (Learn Them Once, Use Them Twice)

A small group of verbs uses a modified stem — but the same stem serves both the future and the conditional. Master these twelve and you have both tenses covered.

(Two more follow the same pattern: caber → cabr- and valer → valdr-.)

The Clever Extra Use: Probability & Conjecture

Beyond "will" and "would," both tenses express a guess about the present or past — the "I wonder / it must be" idea English needs extra words for.

¿Qué hora será? — I wonder what time it is. (future = guess about now)

Serán las tres. — It must be about three o'clock.

¿Dónde estarían los niños? — I wonder where the kids were. (conditional = guess about the past)

Signal Words & Handy Phrases

Practice / Práctica

Put the verb in the future or the conditional as the meaning requires.

1. "El próximo verano nosotros (hacer) un viaje." — future: haremos.
2. "Con más dinero, yo (comprar) una casa." — hypothetical → conditional: compraría.
3. "¿Qué hora es? — No sé, (ser) las nueve." — conjecture → future: serán.
4. Write one polite request with ¿Podrías…? and one prediction about your life in ten years using the future.

Cultural / Usage Note

In casual speech across most of the Spanish-speaking world, people often prefer ir a + infinitive ("voy a viajar") for near-future plans and save the simple future for predictions, promises, and that useful "I wonder" nuance. You'll sound natural if you treat the simple future as slightly more formal or emphatic — perfect for headlines, forecasts, and solemn promises like te querré para siempre — I will love you forever.

Ejercicios interactivos / Interactive Practice