citar Conditional Conjugation
citar — to make an appointment
The conditional ('citaría', 'citarías') is used for polite requests to make an appointment or for hypothetical situations.
citar Conditional Forms
When to Use the Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests ('Would you schedule me?'), hypothetical situations ('If I had time, I would meet him'), or to express future actions from a past perspective ('He said he would call').
Notes on citar in the Conditional
'Citar' is regular in the conditional tense. The stem is the infinitive 'citar-', and the endings are added: citaría, citarías, citaría, citaríamos, citaríais, citarían.
Example Sentences
Yo te citaría para comer, pero estoy muy ocupado.
I would meet you for lunch, but I'm very busy.
yo
¿Tú me citarías en tu oficina mañana?
Would you schedule me in your office tomorrow?
tú
Él dijo que nos citaría la próxima semana.
He said he would schedule us next week.
él/ella/usted
Ellos nos citarían si tuvieran tiempo.
They would invite us if they had time.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the future tense 'citará' instead of the conditional 'citaría' for polite requests.
Correct: Use '¿Me citaría usted?' for politeness, not '¿Me citará usted?'.
Why: The conditional softens a request, making it more polite than a direct future statement.
Mistake: Confusing conditional with imperfect subjunctive in hypothetical clauses.
Correct: Use 'Si tuviera tiempo, te citaría' (Imperfect Subjunctive + Conditional), not 'Si tuviera tiempo, te citara'.
Why: The structure for hypothetical 'if' clauses often pairs the imperfect subjunctive with the conditional.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cito
The present tense ('cito', 'citas', 'cita') is used for habitual actions like regularly making appointments or for general truths about meetings.
Preterite
yo: cité
The preterite of 'citar' ('cité', 'citaste', 'citó') is regular and used for completed actions like making or attending an appointment in the past.
Imperfect
yo: citaba
The imperfect tense ('citaba', 'citabas') describes habitual or ongoing past actions, like frequently making appointments or background settings.
Future
yo: citaré
The future tense ('citaré', 'citarás') is used to state with certainty that an appointment will be made or someone will be summoned.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cite
The present subjunctive ('cite', 'cites') is used after expressions of doubt, desire, or emotion when talking about making appointments.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: citara
The imperfect subjunctive ('citara', 'citase') expresses hypothetical or unreal situations related to making appointments in the past.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cita
Use imperative forms like 'cita' (you singular) and 'citen' (you plural) to give direct commands for making appointments.
Negative Imperative
yo: no cites
Use negative imperative forms like 'no cites' (you singular) and 'no citen' (you plural) to forbid making appointments.