Frases condicionales I, II

Si tuviera tiempo, aprendería portugués

Si tengo un billete, iré a San Sebastián – If I have a ticket, I’ll go to San Sebastian

Si tuviera un billete, iría a San Sebastián – If I had a ticket, I would go to San Sebastian

Spanish has conditional sentences, as any other language. The key element in these sentences is the si conjunction, which means if.

si – if

Conditional sentences are made of two parts – the part where a condition is set, and the part with a consequence, which will take place, if the condition is true.

If I meet Ana, I’ll tell her everything

We’ll stay home, if it rains

There are three types of conditional sentences in Spanish. In this lesson we are going to take the first two, and we’ll talk about the third type in the next lesson.

Frases Condicionales I

The first type refers to the actions in the future. It has quite simple forms.

Si me pides, te ayudaré – If you ask me, I’ll help you

Hernán no podrá entrar en casa, si no encuentra la llave – Hernan won’t be able to get in the house, if he doesn’t find the key

All you need to keep in mind, is that the si-part of the conditional sentence has to stay in the present tense. The consequence-part should be expressed with Futuro Simple.

Si + Presente, Futuro Simple

Don’t say: Si me pedirás, te ayudaré

Si llueve mañana, el fin de semana iremos a recoger setas – If it rains tomorrow, at the weekend we’ll go to pick mushrooms

Los López vendrán, si los invitas tú – The Lopezes will come, if you invite them

Try it yourself:

If we learn Spanish, we’ll see this movie in the original

If I have money, I’ll go to Barcelona

We’ll live better, if we find a well-paid job

As you can see, the order of the si-clause and the consequence-clause can be changed, and doesn’t really matter.

Si llueve, iremos a recoger setas = Iremos a recoger setas, si llueve

The first type of conditional sentences is very simple. Just use Presente in the si-clause, and Futuro Simple in the consequence-clause.

Frases Condicionales II

The second type of conditional sentences refers to the present. It’s about unreal actions. These are actions that could be produced, if the condition was met, but it’s impossible.

Si estuviera en América Latina, iría a los Andes – If I were in Latin America, I would go to the Andes

Si ella me quisiera, yo no sufriría tanto – If she loved me, I wouldn’t suffer so much

To build these sentences you need to remember two tenses – Imperfecto de Subjuntivo and Potencial.

The si-clause is expressed with Imperfecto de Subjuntivo. The verb in the consequence-clause is expressed with Potencial.

Si + Imperfecto de Subjuntivo, Potencial Simple

Si estudiaras en la Universidad, conocerías a mucha gente – If you studied at the University, you would know many people

Si fuera azafata, volaría cada día – If I were a stewardess, I would fly every day

Nos veríamos más a menudo, si viviéramos en la misma ciudad – We would see each other more often, if we lived in the same city

Try it yourself:

I would kiss you, if you were here

If our children were older, we would be calmer

If you had a sister, would you teach her Spanish?

Condicional I vs. Condicional II

The main difference between the two types of conditional phrases is that the first type is about quite real events, that can take place in the future.

Si tengo un coche, iré a Málaga – If I have a car (in the future), I’ll go to Malaga

The events in the second type of conditional phrases are unreal, and the condition itself refers to the present, not the future.

Si tuviera un coche, iría a Málaga – If I had a car (right now, but I don’t), I would go to Malaga

Try it yourself:

If you build a house, I’ll be your neighbour

If you had a house, I would be your neighbour

If you (usted) go to the theater, I’ll go to the cinema

If I worked at school, I would play with children every day

Some notes about Condicional II

As Imperfecto de Subjuntivo has an alternative set of endings, it can also be sometimes applied in conditional sentences.

Si fuese ministro, haría muchas reformas – If I were a minister, I would do many reforms (fuese = fuera)

Sometimes to build conditional sentences, you don’t need the si-clause, but can use such phrases as yo en tu lugar or you que tú, instead.

Yo en tu lugar me pondría un jersey – If I were you, I would put on a sweater

¿Qué harías en mi lugar? – What would you do in my place?

Yo que tú buscaría otro piso – In your place I would look for another flat

Try it yourself:

Would you (ustedes) read the contract in my place?

If I were you, I would open the window

Sentences where Imperfecto de Subjuntivo and Potencial meet, are quite common in Spanish. This applies not only to conditional phrases.

Me gustaría que + Imperfecto de Subjuntivo

Me gustaría que me trajera la carta – I’d like you to bring me the menu

Nos gustaría que nos entendierais – We’d like you to understand us

¿Te gustaría que nos casáramos? – Would you like us to get married?

Try it yourself:

I’d like you to listen to me attentively

You wouldn’t like the summer to end

In fact, Potencial may be considered another Subjuntivo marker, that requires Imperfecto de Subjuntivo.

Te agradecería que me ayudaras – I would be grateful to you for your help

Nos vendría bien, que ustedes nos pagaran la semana próxima – It would suit us, that you pay to us next week

Now, using all this information and you imagination, you can say a lot about what would happen, if…, and what you would like to happen.