the conditional in italian - il condizionale

Formation

parlare	prendere	sentire
parlerei	prenderei	sentirei
parleresti	prenderesti	sentiresti
parlerebbe	prenderebbe	sentirebbe
parleremmo	prenderemmo	sentiremmo
parlereste	prendereste	sentireste
parlerebbero	prenderebbero	sentirebbero

Conditionals have the same irregular stems as the future. For example, the future of andare is andrò, andrai, etc. The conditional is andrei, andresti, etc. Also, notice the -are and -ere endings are indentical.

Uses

The most common use of the conditional for beginners is making polite requests – the so called softening effect – or expressing wishes.

Examples

Vorrei una bottiglia di acqua per favore. (I’d like a bottle of water please.)

Verrei volentierei! (I’d gladly come.)

Preferirei il vino rosso. (I’d prefer the red wine.)

It’s also used to make contrary-to-fact statements.

Uscirei ma fa freddo. (I’d go out but it’s cold.)

Here what you’re in fact saying is you’re not going out, even though you’re using the verb “to go out” without a negation.

Some more examples:

Scriverei una lettera a la nonna, ma non ho tempo. (I’d write a letter to grandma, but I don’t have time.)

Mi comprerei una casa nuova, ma non ho i soldi. (I’d buy myself a new house, but I don’t have the money.)