Tense comparison
dificultar: Future vs Conditional
The future says what will happen; the conditional says what would happen. Both share the same stem for irregular verbs, making them easy to learn together.
Use the future for predictions, promises, and future events. It can also express probability in the present ("¿Dónde estará?" — "Where could he be / I wonder where he is?").
| Pronoun | Future |
|---|---|
| yo | dificultaré |
| tú | dificultarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | dificultará |
| nosotros | dificultaremos |
| vosotros | dificultaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | dificultarán |
Use the conditional for hypothetical situations ("would"), polite requests, reported speech about future events, and probability in the past ("Serían las 10" — "It must have been 10 o'clock").
| Pronoun | Conditional |
|---|---|
| yo | dificultaría |
| tú | dificultarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | dificultaría |
| nosotros | dificultaríamos |
| vosotros | dificultaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | dificultarían |
"Iré si tengo tiempo" (future — real possibility) vs "Iría si tuviera tiempo" (conditional — hypothetical). The conditional pairs with the imperfect subjunctive in if-clauses.
Future vs Conditional: common questions
What is the difference between future and conditional in Spanish?
The future expresses what will happen ("hablaré" — I will speak). The conditional expresses what would happen under certain conditions ("hablaría" — I would speak). The conditional is often used with "si" (if) clauses.
Do future and conditional share the same irregular stems?
Yes — all irregular verbs use the same modified stem for both tenses. For example, tener → tendr- (tendré / tendría), poder → podr- (podré / podría). Learn the stem once, apply it to both sets of endings.
Can I use the future tense to express probability?
Yes — the future of probability expresses a guess about the present. "¿Quién será?" means "Who could that be / I wonder who that is." Similarly, the conditional expresses probability about the past.
Practise both tenses with dificultar using spaced repetition.