Inside: Engaging conditional tense Spanish practice activities. Teach and review el condicional in Spanish class.
Author: Allison Wienhold
Published: May 23, 2025
Teaching the conditional tense in Spanish can feel like a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right mix of practice and context, students can start to understand and use this verb tense with confidence. Whether you’re introducing polite requests or exploring hypothetical situations, this post will give you practical conditional tense Spanish practice activities that actually work in real classrooms.
What is the Conditional Tense in Spanish?
The conditional tense (el condicional) is used to talk about what would happen in a certain situation. It often shows up in polite requests, hypothetical scenarios, and sentences that express desires, possibilities, or imagined events. Some example sentences.
- Yo viajaría por el mundo si ganara la lotería.
- ¡Me gustaría una taza de café, por favor!
For Spanish grammar, this structure is simple: start with the full infinitive form of the verb and add the conditional endings. Most verbs use the same endings, but there are a few irregular stems to watch out for. It’s also common to see the conditional used with the imperfect subjunctive to form complex si clauses.
Why Teach the Conditional Tense?
Teaching the conditional tense helps students expand their communication skills. They can express:
- Polite requests: “¡Podrías ayudarme con esto?”
- Hypothetical scenarios: “Si yo fuera invisible, iría a todos los conciertos.”
- Desires and possibilities: “Me gustaría vivir en España.”
- I would situations. These are perfect for a book review or to discuss music “Recomendaría el libro porque…” “Cambiaría..” etc
I casually taught this Spanish tense early on since it is a simple tense. The best way I taught students to use conditional tense verbs when discussing a book or music. My Spanish learners used the conditional form recomendaría very early on. In the particular situation of discussing if they would recommend a song or a book Spanish student uses simple conditional tense.
Pop up grammer of a new tense does not have to be a big production. With a very basic overview, my students knew in the Spanish language they would say “I would” adding ía to the end of the infinitive.
Later you can go more in depth if you need or want to. Teaching conditional statements also sets the stage for more advanced grammar and compound conditionals. It also connects naturally with lessons on the imperfect tense, future actions, and even the subjunctive mood.
Easy Spanish Conditional Tense Practice Activities
Here are some ideas to practice the conditional tense in Spanish class.
1. Would you rather questions
Give specific situations with a specific condition that students have to pick between. Or use what would you do or ¿Qué harías?
- Ask students would you rather questions and have them move to each side of the room. To help with input, you could have slides ready to project and click through.
- Once at that side of the room students could discuss why they feel that way. They could then respond in the WE form as a group. They have the other side summarize and state using the THEY form.
- As the teacher you could circle and get lots of repetitions of each form of the verb.
- They students could write about what they would rather do. They could also include other verb endings of we, they, he, etc.
- You could do one what would you rather question as a class starter on a certain day of the week. This would be a casual intro to conditional Spanish verbs. Or it could be a way to keep spiral reviewing and keep up this language skill.
- To save time, use my ready to go Spanish Conditional Tense Practice Slides
2. What do you prefer questions ¿Qué preferías?
- Give students two options and ask what they would prefer.
- Want movement? Project slides & students go to each side of the room based on which item they would do. Then once at that side they can chat in Spanish.
- Or just project ¿Qué preferías? slides & click through. Students could discuss with partners &/or the class. Or have students write their answers first. Then later they could discuss with a small group.
- Then have students use a speaking chart &/or writing prompt using el condicional. They could explain who prefers what.
- You could do one what would you prefer question as a class starter on a certain day of the week. This would be a casual intro to conditional Spanish verbs. Or this is another way to spiral review effective communication.
- To save time, use my ready to go Spanish Conditional Tense Practice Slides
3. Group Discussions
Use Conditional Tense Spanish Conversation Cards to support conversation.
If you have upper level students, give a few discussion questions that lead to hypothetical answers:
- ¿Qué harías si tuvieras más tiempo libre?
- ¿Adónde viajarías si pudieras ir a cualquier parte del mundo?
Or give students sentence starters like:
- Si ganara la lotería…
- Si pudiera viajar a cualquier lugar…
These get students thinking creatively and using the conditional in a low-pressure way.
If you have novice students just learning the conditional, give them the support of conversation cards. These question cards differentiate the interpersonal speaking activity for Spanish class.
My cards have the options of sentence starters to support all students communicating.
You could have students interview partners using conditional conversation cards.
You could also post the larger Spanish Conditional questions on a whiteboard & have students answer them.
Quiz, Quiz, Trade
Or students walk around and interview many students using quiz, quiz, pass trading cards. Each student starts with one card. They each ask a partner their questions. Then they switch their cards. Now they have a new question to ask their next partner. Repeat this as many times as you would like.
There are many ways to use these Conditional Spanish conversation cards.
There is an optional extension to have students write about their classes as well using the Conditional Spanish tense.
Learn more about how to support students with conversation cards.
4. Find Someone Who
My Spanish Conditional Find Someone Who people search or people hunt activity was designed as an interpersonal communicative activity to get Spanish students talking using el condicional and ¿Qué harías? It would be great for students who have some Spanish background knowledge to talk about what they would do using the conditional tense forms of verbs.
As always my PDF Find Someone Who contains multiple differentiated versions to fit a variety of class needs & reach all students where they are.
For interpersonal questions there is the option to have the yo form provided. This is the most support using el condicional. Or I have interpersonal questions for more advanced Spanish conditional practice.
As an extension it includes presentational writing about friends. The most support writing about ¿Qué harías? has sentence starters. Or there is differentiated support with a word bank for writing. Or an open ended writing for native speakers or advanced classes.
Get my print & go Spanish Conditional Find Someone Who.
5. Writing Their Own Sentences
Beyond the find someone who, ask students to write their own sentences using the conditional. Start with guided ones, then move to open-ended. Try:
- Write 3 conditional sentences about your future dreams.
- Write a “si clause” using the imperfect subjunctive.
Or give students sentence starters with imaginary scenarios like:
- Si ganara la lotería…
- Si pudiera viajar a cualquier lugar…
These get students thinking creatively and using the conditional in a low-pressure way.
Spanish Conditional Bundle has multiple supported writing opportunities included.
Make Grammar Stick with Context
The conditional tense makes more sense when students see it in authentic resources. Use stories, real-world examples, TV Shows, and in context examples. Compare it with other tenses like the imperfect or future tense to show how Spanish verb tenses work together.
Use examples from native speakers and the Spanish-speaking world so students get used to how the conditional sounds in real conversations. Movies can introduce useful phrases if you pause to point them out.
My #1 suggestion for a current authentic show to use in upper level Spanish class is Tierra Incógnita. Grab a freebie to introduce the show below.
Recap: Key Ideas for Teaching the Spanish Conditional Tense
- The conditional tense uses the full infinitive + specific endings.
- Use it for polite requests, hypothetical situations, and expressing desires.
- Connect the conditional to other tenses like the imperfect and future.
- Use speaking, writing, reading and listening activities to build fluency.
- Encourage students to use the conditional in context like recommendations
Get Ready-to-Go Resources
Want printable and digital resources to make planning easier? Grab my Spanish Conditional Tense Practice Bundle with slides, speaking prompts, and activities that work in any classroom setting. Great for middle and high school Spanish students to go along with any conditional unit.
These conditional tense Spanish practice activities will help your students build confidence and use Spanish in real ways. Let me know how it goes in your class!
