ayudaría
ah-yoo-dah-REE-ah
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
Si tuviera tiempo, yo te ayudaría con la mudanza.
B1If I had time, I would help you with the move.
¿Usted me ayudaría a encontrar el camino?
A2Would you help me find the way?
Él dijo que ese dinero no le ayudaría mucho.
B1He said that money wouldn't help him much.
Creemos que estudiar más nos ayudaría a pasar el examen.
A2We believe that studying more would help us pass the exam.
💡 Grammar Points
The 'Would' Tense
The conditional form ayudaría is like adding 'would' before the verb 'help' in English. It describes an action that is not certain, but dependent on something else.
Polite Requests
Using ayudaría (the conditional tense) is a very polite and indirect way to ask for help, much softer than using the present tense.
Who is Helping?
Ayudaría can mean 'I would help' (yo), 'he/she/it would help' (él/ella), or 'you would help' (usted/formal). You must look at the rest of the sentence to know who the subject is.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Mixing Future and Conditional
Mistake: "Using the future tense instead of the conditional: 'Si tuviera tiempo, ayudaré' (I will help)."
Correction: Use the conditional for hypothetical situations: 'Si tuviera tiempo, ayudaría' (I would help). The future tense is for definite future actions.
⭐ Usage Tips
The 'Si' Clause Pattern
When talking about hypothetical situations, Spanish often pairs the imperfect subjunctive (like tuviera) in the 'if' part with the conditional (ayudaría) in the result part.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: ayudaría
Question 1 of 2
Which English phrase best captures the meaning of 'Yo ayudaría a mi madre si pudiera'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'ayudaría' a past or future tense?
Neither, exactly! It is the conditional tense. Think of it as the 'future of the past' or the 'hypothetical future.' It describes an action that *would* happen under certain conditions, not an action that definitely happened or definitely will happen.
How do I know if 'ayudaría' means 'I' or 'he/she/it'?
In Spanish, the 'yo' (I) and 'él/ella/usted' (he/she/it/you formal) forms are identical in the conditional tense. You must look at the context, the subject pronoun (if included), or the surrounding words to figure out who is performing the action.