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Conditional Compound in Spanish
The compound conditional in Spanish is used to talk about situations that would have happened in the past but did not. Thus, the compound conditional in Spanish is formed with the verb haber in the conditional + the participle of the main verb.
Another tip for the compound conditional: this tense in Spanish would be an English equivalent to “would have” + past participle (I would have studied).
Examples of the compound conditional in Spanish:
- Habría estudiado más si hubiera tenido tiempo (I would have studied more if I had had the time)
- Nos habríamos ido antes, pero llovía mucho (We would have left earlier, but it was raining a lot)
Common mistakes in the use of the Spanish conditional
Many students find it difficult to differentiate between the conditional and the subjunctive in Spanish. Remember that the conditional in Spanish expresses the consequence of a hypothesis, while the Spanish subjunctive is used when an action is unreal or improbable.
Furthermore, many people who learn Spanish as a second language make these mistakes when using the conditional:
- It is incorrect to say: “Si tendría tiempo, viajaría” → The correct thing to say would be: “Si tuviera tiempo, viajaría”
- You can't say: “Dijo que vendrá más tarde” → You must say: “Dijo que vendría más tarde”
- If you want to sound more formal in a conversation, don't say: “¿Me puedes ayudar?” → Instead you can say: “¿Podría ayudarme?”
