AP Spanish Study Sheet: Si Clauses

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AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Si Clauses
Figure It Out!
Si tenemos dinero, lo compramos.
Si tuviéramos dinero, lo compraríamos.
Si hubiéramos tenido dinero, lo habríamos comprado.
Carefully read the three previous sentences. Do you understand what they mean? Is there a
logical progression from one sentence to the next? If so, try to discover the principle that
underlies it.
Introduction
One of the things that sets you humans (and us skeletons) apart from lesser forms of
intelligence is that we can think and talk about hypothetical situations. In other words, we
can ask the question "what if," and propose answers to those questions. Here you'll learn
how to use the indicative and subjunctive moods with the word si to talk about situations
that might come about, and what will happen if they do.
Types of "if" clauses
Not all "if" (or hypothetical) clauses are created equal. There are three main types that you
should be aware of:
•
•
•
possible conditions
contrary-to-fact conditions
past conditions
Let's look at each of these types of conditions, and how they are expressed grammatically.
Possible conditions. A possible condition is something that has a reasonable chance of
happening. These conditions are normally expressed using si followed by a present tense
indicative verb. The clause beginning with si is a dependent clause, and the main clause of
the sentence is usually in present or future indicative tense, or it's an imperative:
Si tengo tiempo, con mucho gusto te ayudaré mañana.
If I have the time, I'll be glad to help you tomorrow.
Si el vuelo no es directo, prefiero buscar otro.
If the flight isn't direct, I prefer to look for another one.
Si no le gusta el programa de televisión, cambie el canal.
If you don't like the television program, change the channel.
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No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
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Page 2 of 4
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Si Clauses
Sometimes a possible condition can be made slightly more hypothetical by putting it in the
subjunctive mood. But note that the present subjunctive is virtually never used to express
such clauses. You must use the imperfect subjunctive, even though you are talking about a
potential event in the present or future. The main clause of such statements appears in the
conditional tense:
Si invirtieras tu dinero en acciones de Ceralux, ya no tendrías que preocuparte.
If you invested your money in Ceralux shares, you wouldn't have to worry any more.
Si este país desarrollara su red de carreteras progresaría mucho más.
If this country were to develop its highway network it would progress a lot more.
Contrary-to-fact Conditions. Expressions of this type express a situation in the "if" clause
that is clearly contrary to the actual state of affairs, and is not really seen as immediately
possible, though it might be remotely possible at some future time. Expressions of this type
use the imperfect subjunctive in the "if" clause and the conditional tense in the main clause.
Si estuviera disponible el servicio DSL en este pueblo, se contaría con un acceso
mucho más rápido a los servicios de Internet.
If DSL service were available in this town, a person could have much faster access to
Internet services.
Si las computadoras no fueran tan caras, todos tendríamos una.
If computers weren't so expensive, we'd all have one.
Past Conditions. These are conditions that existed in the past and can't be changed. The
"if" clause is in the pluperfect subjunctive (formed with helping verbs such as hubiera,
hubieran, hubiesen, hubiésemos, etc.) and the main clause is in the perfect conditional
(formed with helping verbs such as habría, habrían, etc.). However, in sentences of this
type the main clause can also be expressed in the pluperfect subjunctive (-ra forms only),
as a stylistic variant.
Si tan sólo hubiéramos sabido, habríamos/hubiéramos podido evitar el
problema.
If only we had known, we would have been able to avoid the problem.
Si yo hubiera estado allí, habría/hubiera dicho algo.
If I had been there, I would have said something.
Important Note
Note that clauses beginning with si virtually never use the present subjunctive. This might
seem odd to English-speaking students of Spanish, since the word si sets up a clause that is
"unreal," but Spanish really works just like English in this regard: "if" is followed by a
subjunctive verb only if it is contrary-to-fact, and in this case the past subjunctive is used:
If I were you. . . (rather than "if I was you. . .", which is all right as colloquial
speech but not in formal speaking or writing)
Additional Facts About Conditional Statements
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No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
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Page 3 of 4
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Si Clauses
Don't drop verbs after si. In English, we can sometimes abbreviate conditional
statements by dropping out the verb in the conditional clause:
If [it is] necessary, we can take the old car.
If [it turns out to be] true, the news will cause uproar in the community.
You can't drop the verb out of Spanish conditional statements this way. So, the Spanish
equivalents to the previous examples in English would be something like:
Si es necesario, podemos manejar el auto viejo.
Si resultan ser verdaderas, las noticias causarán furor en la comunidad.
Emphatic sí. Sometimes, the word si does nothing but give emphasis to a statement. In
these cases, you can't really translate it with the word "if."
Pero, ¡si ya te lo he dicho cien veces!
But I've already told you a hundred times!
¡Qué si eres incorregible!
You're just incorrigible!
Conditional clauses with de. If the subject of the main clause and that of the subordinate
("if") clause are logically the same, you can sometimes substitute si with de, followed by an
infinitive. This is a stylistic variant that applies only to hypothetical situations, not to
immediate possibilities:
De haberlo sabido, no te habría/hubiera llamado tan temprano.
If I had known, I wouldn't have called you so early.
Summary
Conditional clauses are formed in Spanish with the word si ("if").
There are three main types:
•
Possible conditions. These are expressed with the present indicative tense in the
"if" clause, and a present-tense, future-tense or imperative verb in the main clause.
Example: Si eso es cierto, iré contigo.
•
Contrary-to-fact conditions. Conditions of this type are expressed using the
imperfect subjunctive in the "if" clause and the conditional tense in the main clause.
Example: Si eso fuera cierto, yo iría contigo.
© 2008 powerspeaK12. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK12.
Page 4 of 4
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Si Clauses
•
Past conditions. Conditions that were in that past and cannot be changed are
expressed with the pluperfect subjunctive in the "if clause" (with hubiera,
hubiéramos, etc.) and the perfect conditional in the main clause (with habría,
habríamos, etc.). Alternatively, you can also use the pluperfect subjunctive in the
main clause.
Example: Si eso hubiera sido cierto, yo habría/hubiera ido contigo.
Remember, also, that you cannot abbreviate conditional clauses by dropping the verb as
you can sometimes do in English.
A stylistic variant of conditional clauses can be created by using the preposition de followed
by an infinitive.
© 2008 powerspeaK12. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK12.