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The Spanish Verb - Part 5
The English verbs "shall," "will," "should," "would," "may," "might," when used as auxiliary verbs (viz., as mere signs of the future tense, conditional or subjunctive moods respectively) are rendered by the corresponding terminations of the Spanish verb
[1]:
- I shall go: Iré.
- Thou wilt go: Irás.
- We should go: Iríamos.
- You would go: Vs. irían.
- I hope he may succeed: Deseo que tenga buen éxito.
- I wished he might come: Deseaba que viniese.
Footnote 1: "Shall," "should," "will," "would," are also rendered by the Subjunctive Mood when according to the Spanish rules the verb should be Subjunctive. Example:
- It is (was) possible that he will (would) have to work late: Es (era) posible que tenga (tuviese) que trabajar tarde.
When they are used as principal verbs they are translated by
Deber (shall, should),
Querer (will and would), and
Poder (may and might), as:
- You shall go: V. debe ir.
- You may speak: V. puede hablar.
- I will not buy more: No quiero comprar más.
- You should accept our terms: Vs. deberían[2] aceptar nuestras condiciones.
- We would willingly see that done: Quisiéramos mucho verlo hacer.
Footnote 2: The Imperfect Indicative
debía, podía, quería, is often used for "debería," "podría," and "querría." This occurs also with other verbs, colloquially: Yo se lo daba si estuviese aquí
for Yo selo daría si estuviese aquí.
"Can" is translated by the pres. or future of
Poder:
- I can do it now: Puedo hacerlo ahora.
- I can do it next month: Puedo or Podré hacerlo el mes próximo.
"Could" is translated by the imperfect indicative or the conditional mood of Poder:
- I did it whenever I could: Lo hacía siempre que podía.
- I could do it if I had the necessary means: Podría hacerlo si tuviese los medics necesarios.
"Would," meaning "used to," is, of course, translated by the imperfect indicative:
- When he was in Paris he would sit in the cafés for hours: Cuando estaba en Paris se pasaba horas enteras en los cafés.
"Should he do," etc., is translated "if he should do," etc. (si lo hiciese).[3]
