When should you use the conditional tense?

It works best to remember that the same pattern is used in English. If we remember that the conditional comes after a 'what if?' sentence, it roughly always translates as 'would'. For example, 'if you could travel anywhere, where would you go?'. The conditional is used to convey possibility and potentiality; if it helps you to remember, it's always used to say what would happen if a certain condition was set. I always find examples best to understand a new grammar point. I will put the conditional tense in bold.¿Si ganas la lotería, como lo gastarías? If you won the lottery, how would you spend it? Then you could respond with Compraría un nuevo coche o viajaría por el mundoI would buy a new car or I would travel the world. These two verbs show a possibility, as winning the lottery is not likely, and so the conditional is used to discuss the hypothetical situation.