Would, Could, Should in Spanish

Conditional Tense

The Spanish equivalent for would is most often expressed in the conditional tense. The conditional tense for regular verbs is formed by adding the following endings to the infinitive: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
For instance, the verb “comer” (to eat) in the conditional is “comería, comerías, comería, comeríamos, comeríais, comerían” (I would eat, you would eat, he/she/it would eat, we would eat, you all would eat, they would eat).

The equivalents for could and should are expressed through the modal verbs “poder” and “deber” respectively.
“Poder” is conjugated in the conditional to express “could”, while “deber” is used in the present followed by an infinitive to say “should”.
For example, “podría” means “I could”, and “debes estudiar” means “you should study”.

Be aware that there are many irregular verbs in the conditional, which are also common in the future tense.
Some common examples include: tener (would have), venir (would come), decir (would say), hacer (would do/make), poder (could), salir (would leave), and poner (would put).

“Deber” can also be used to express obligation or expectation.
In the present tense, it’s equivalent to “must” or “have to”, and in the past, it can express “ought to have” or “should have”.
For example, “debo irme” (I must go), “debiste llamar” (you should have called).

“Podría” can also be used to make polite requests. It is the conditional form of “poder” and can be translated to “could” in English.
For instance, “¿Podrías pasarme la sal?” (Could you pass me the salt?)

Being confident with these forms is a matter of practice.
Regular practice will help to reinforce these patterns and make using them in conversation natural and instinctive.