Futuro vs Condicional — Side by Side
📚 Futuro vs Condicional — Side by Side
| Pronombre | hablar — futuro | hablar — condicional | tener — futuro | tener — condicional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaré | hablaría | tendré | tendría |
| tú | hablarás | hablarías | tendrás | tendrías |
| él/ella | hablará | hablaría | tendrá | tendría |
| nosotros | hablaremos | hablaríamos | tendremos | tendríamos |
| ellos/ellas | hablarán | hablarían | tendrán | tendrían |
Same stem, different endings: future = -é / -ás / -á / -emos / -án | conditional = -ía / -ías / -ía / -íamos / -íais / -ían
⭐ Irregular stems — same as the future
The irregular stems are identical for the future and the conditional. Learn them once; apply the conditional endings to use them in both tenses.
| Infinitivo | Stem (future & conditional) | Condicional yo |
|---|---|---|
| tener | tendr- | tendría |
| poder | podr- | podría |
| querer | querr- | querría |
| hacer | har- | haría |
| salir | saldr- | saldría |
| venir | vendr- | vendría |
| poner | pondr- | pondría |
| saber | sabr- | sabría |
| decir | dir- | diría |
The conditional has three main uses at GCSE. All three can appear in Paper 4 (writing) and Paper 2 (speaking) — and recognising them in Paper 3 (reading) and Paper 1 (listening) is also tested at Higher tier.
Earn the mark scheme marks
⚠️ Common Conditional Mistakes
These two errors appear regularly in GCSE scripts. Knowing why they are wrong is as important as knowing the correct form.
❌ Error 1: Me gustaría que él fue al mercado.
✅ Correcto: Me gustaría que él fuera al mercado.
Why it costs marks: After me gustaría que, the next verb must use the imperfect subjunctive (fuera), not the preterite (fue). The preterite fue is a simple past statement of fact; fuera expresses a wish or hypothesis. At GCSE, recognising this distinction in reading and listening is sufficient — but writing fue after que clauses following the conditional will be penalised under AO3 (accuracy).
❌ Error 2: En el futuro seria médico. (missing accent)
✅ Correcto: En el futuro sería médico.
Why it costs marks: All conditional endings carry a written accent on the í — without exception: -ía / -ías / -ía / -íamos / -íais / -ían. Omitting the accent changes the meaning entirely: seria (no accent) means serious (feminine adjective), while sería (with accent) means would be. An examiner reading En el futuro seria médico sees "In the future, serious doctor" — a completely different and nonsensical sentence. Always write the accent.
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 13
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