The Conditional Mood of lavarse is used to express hypothetical or imagined situations in the present or future, for example: Me lavaría las manos antes de comer. (I would wash my hands before eating.)

Lavarse is a regular verb, meaning its conjugations in the Conditional Mood follow the typical pattern for -ar verbs.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Lavarse (to wash oneself) in the Conditional Mood tense (Castilian Spanish):

The conditional mood of lavarse expresses what would happen under certain conditions or hypothetical situations.

To wash oneself: For example, Me lavaría las manos antes de comer. (I would wash my hands before eating.)

To clean oneself: For example, Me lavaría después de trabajar en el jardín. (I would clean myself after working in the garden.)

To bathe: For example, Me lavaría con agua caliente después de un día frío. (I would bathe with hot water after a cold day.)

To wash one’s hair: For example, Me lavaría el pelo antes de una cita importante. (I would wash my hair before an important date.)

To cleanse oneself (figuratively): For example, Me lavaría las manos de ese asunto. (I would wash my hands of that matter, meaning to dissociate oneself from something.)

To clear one’s name (colloquial): For example, Me lavaría la cara después de ese escándalo. (I would clear my name after that scandal, meaning to restore one’s reputation.)

Examples

Examples of Lavarse in the Conditional Mood

Antes de salir de casa, me lavaría las manos para evitar propagar gérmenes. (Before leaving home, I would wash my hands to avoid spreading germs.)

Si fueras al gimnasio, te lavarías después de hacer ejercicio, ¿verdad? (If you went to the gym, you would wash up after exercising, right?)

Un niño bien educado se lavaría las manos antes de comer. (A well-mannered child would wash their hands before eating.)

Después de un día de trabajo duro, nos lavaríamos para relajarnos. (After a hard day’s work, we would wash up to relax.)

¿Os lavaríais las manos antes de cocinar? Es muy importante por razones de higiene. (Would you wash your hands before cooking? It’s very important for hygiene reasons.)

Los mecánicos se lavarían las manos con un desengrasante especial después de trabajar en los autos. (Mechanics would wash their hands with a special degreaser after working on cars.)

Oye, amigo, te lavarías las manos antes de comer esa hamburguesa, ¿no? (Hey, buddy, you would wash your hands before eating that burger, wouldn’t you?)

En el hospital, los doctores y enfermeras se lavarían cuidadosamente las manos entre pacientes. (In the hospital, doctors and nurses would carefully wash their hands between patients.)

Después de jugar con la tierra en el jardín, nos lavaríamos bien para no ensuciar la casa. (After playing in the dirt in the garden, we would wash up thoroughly to avoid making a mess in the house.)

¡Os lavaríais las manos antes de preparar la comida! ¡Es una regla básica de higiene! (You would wash your hands before preparing food! It’s a basic hygiene rule!)

Los pintores se lavarían muy bien las manos después de un día de trabajo con pintura al óleo. (Painters would thoroughly wash their hands after a day of working with oil-based paints.)

Después de cambiar el aceite del coche, papá se lavaría las manos con un limpiador de manos especial. (After changing the car’s oil, dad would wash his hands with a special hand cleaner.)

Antes de empezar a cocinar, me lavaría muy bien las manos y los antebrazos. (Before starting to cook, I would thoroughly wash my hands and forearms.)

Los niños se lavarían las manos cantando la canción del “abecedario” para asegurarse de que se lavan durante el tiempo suficiente. (Children would wash their hands while singing the “alphabet song” to make sure they wash long enough.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Lavarse (to wash oneself) in the Conditional Mood tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Conditional mood is also known as the Simple Conditional, Conditional Simple, Would Tense, or Future of the Past in English, and as Condicional Simple, Pospretérito, Potencial Simple, or Condicional de Indicativo in Spanish.