Asking for Favors: 'Puedes' vs. 'Podrías'

Use 'podrías' to ask someone to do something in a very polite and friendly way. It's much softer and less direct than a command.

The Polite 'Could You...?'

When giving advice, 'podrías' sounds much gentler than 'deberías' (you should). Compare: 'Podrías estudiar más' (You could study more) vs. 'Deberías estudiar más' (You should study more).

Giving Softer Advice

Extremely common. Used every day to make polite requests and give friendly suggestions.

Mixing Up Verb Forms in 'If' Sentences

'Podrías' is often used in the second half of a sentence that starts with 'Si...' (If...). It describes what would be possible in an imaginary or hypothetical situation.

Talking About 'What If'

You can use 'podrías' to state an opinion or a possibility without sounding too certain. For example, 'Bueno, podrías tener razón' means 'Well, you could be right,' which is less direct than 'Tienes razón' (You are right).

Expressing Possibility

Common in sentences that talk about what would happen if something else were true.

Learn the complete meaning of 'podrías' in Spanish. Understand how to use it for polite requests ('could you'), suggestions ('you could'), and hypothetical situations. Includes full conjugation charts, examples, and common mistakes.

podrías

Complete Conjugation Tables

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

future

imperfect

conditional

preterite

imperative

negative

affirmative

subjunctive

present

imperfect

Practice Conjugations