Las cláusulas con “si” “Si” clauses

Las cláusulas con “si” “If clauses” in Spanish contain the word “si.” These clauses may introduce: CONDITION or PROMISE If it rains, he will not come. HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION If she were taller, she would be happier. Two categories of IF CLAUSES in Spanish -one uses indicative -the other uses subjunctive

1. Si clauses that use the indicative Describe a situation from a scientist’s perspective. A situation is described as fact (condition), then the consequence of the situation is stated (promise). Let’s look at a few examples…

A. The PRESENT with the FUTURE Si llueve mañana, no podremos jugar al béisbol. If it rains tomorrow, we will not be able to play baseball. Iremos a la finca si tenemos tiempo. We will go to the farm if we have time. (*Si can be in the first or second part of the sentence.) Si Catalina viene, hablaré con ella. If Cathy comes, I will speak with her. No compraremos el sofá si cuesta demasiado. We will not buy the sofa if it costs too much. Si no llega el correo antes de las tres, tendré que irme. If the mail doesn’t get here before three, I’ll have to leave.

If “x” happens, what will be the consequence? The sentences you just saw use the present indicative after “si” with a form of the future in the other clause.

B. The PRESENT with the PRESENT Another possible construction for these sentences uses the present tense in both parts of the sentence. These sentences may present habitual actions. The word “si” in these sentences has the feeling of “when.”

The PRESENT with the PRESENT Si llueve, no jugamos al béisbol. If (when) it rains, we don’t play baseball. Vamos a la finca si tenemos tiempo. We go to the farm if (when) we have time. Si Catalina viene, hablo con ella. If (when) Cathy comes, I speak with her. No debes comprar un sofá si cuesta demasiado. You shouldn’t buy a sofa if (when) it costs too much. Si no llega el correo antes de las tres, me voy. If (when) the mail doesn’t arrive before three, I (normally) leave.

If “X” happens, then “Y” always happens. The examples you just saw express habitual activities

2. Si clauses that use the subjunctive In these sentences, a hypothetical situation is presented. The situation is explained in a way that makes it seem doubtful, unlikely to happen, or even contrary to fact. For this reason, the subjunctive is used along with the conditional. Which form of the subjunctive? Either the imperfect or the pluperfect.

A. The Imperfect subjunctive with the conditional Si lloviera, no jugaríamos al béisbol. If it were to rain (which it probably won’t), we would not play baseball. Iríamos a la finca si tuviéramos tiempo. We would go to the farm, if we had time (which we don’t). Si Catalina viniera, hablaría con ella. If Cathy were to come, I would speak with her. No compraríamos un sofá si costara demasiado. We wouldn’t buy a sofa if it were to cost too much. Si no llegara el correo antes de las tres, me iría. If the mail were not to arrive before three, I would leave.

¡Ojo! Remember: the present subjunctive or present perfect subjunctive is NEVER used in a “si clause.” The sentences we just saw may be read as excuses for not doing something now, or for not having done something in the past. The same sentences can be rewritten using the pluperfect (past perfect/pluscamperfecto) subjunctive along with the conditional perfect.

B. The pluperfect subjunctive and the conditional perfect Si hubiera llovido, no habríamos jugado al béisbol. If it had rained, we would not have played baseball. Habríamos ido a la finca si hubiéramos tenido tiempo. We would have gone to the farm if we had had time. Si Catalina hubiera venido, habría hablado con ella. If Cathy had come, I would have spoken with her. No habríamos comprado un sofá si hubiera costado desmasiado. We woudn’t have bought a sofa if it had cost too much. Si no hubiera llegado el correo antes de las tres, yo me habría ido. If the mail had not arrived before three, I would have left.

*It is also acceptable to use two pluferfect (past perfect) subjunctives in these sentences. Si hubiera llovido, no habríamos jugado al béisbol. o Si hubiera llovido, no hubiéramos jugado al béisbol. If it had rained, we would not have played baseball.

Como si = as if Como si will always require a past subjunctive. It introduces an idea that appears to be contrary to fact.

Frases con como si… Los chicos hablan como si lo supieran todo. The kids talk as if they knew everything. Gastan dinero como si fueran millonarios. They spend money as if they were millionaires. Conducías el coche como si hubieras bebido demasiado. You were driving the car as if you had drunk too much. Esos turistas se comportan como si no tuvieran interés en la historia del país. Those tourist are acting as if they weren’t interested in the history of the country.

(contrary to fact/excuse) 1. Present & Present (habit) – Si recibo dinero, lo invierto. (If I receive money, I invest it.) 2. Present & Future (scientfic analysis/ condition-promise) – Si recibo dinero, lo invertiré. (If I receive money, I will invest it.) 3. Imperfect subj. & Conditional (contrary to fact/excuse) – Si recibiera dinero, lo invertiría. (If I were to receive money, I would invest it). 4. Pluperfect subj. & Conditional Perfect (contrary to fact/excuse) Si hubiera recibido dinero, lo habría invertido. (If I had received money, I would have invested it. – Se comportan como si tuvieran dinero. Se comportaban como si hubieran tenido dinero. (They act as though they had money. They acted as though they had had money). 5. Past subj. after Como si (contrary to fact)