If-clauses in Spanish ("Si...") Share Copied!
Spanish
Learn how to correctly use if-clauses in Spanish with this easy grammar sheet. Let's get into it!
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What are "if"-clauses or conditional sentences?
“If”-clauses, also called conditional sentences, indicate possibilities, which may or may not become true.
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Si llueve, me quedaré en casa. (If it rains, I will stay at home.)
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Si tuviera más tiempo, viajaría por el mundo. (If I had more time, I would travel the world.)
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Si hubieras estudiado más, habrías aprobado el examen. (If you had studied more, you would have passed the exam.)
Forming conditional tenses in Spanish
Conditional sentences are formed by two parts:
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The first part is the condition, and includes the “if”-clause.
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The second part is the result if the condition is met.
"Si..." in the present simple (indicative) in Spanish
This first type of “if”-clause is used when the outcome is seen as possible.
Condition | Result | Spanish | English |
Simple present (indicative) | Present |
Si hace calor, vamos a la playa. Si hace ... vamos |
If it is warm, we go to the beach. If it is ... we go |
Si quieres, te acompaño a la cena. Si quieres ... te acacompaño |
If you want, I join you for dinner. If you want ... I join |
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Future |
Si el tren llega tarde, perderemos la conexión. Si llega tarde ... perderemos |
If the train arrives late, we will miss the connection. If it arrives late ... we will miss |
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Si el precio sube, la demanda disminuirá. Si sube ... disminuirá |
If the price goes up, the demand will decrease. If it goes up ... it will decrease |
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Imperative |
Si tienes sed, bebe agua. Si tienes ... bebe |
If you are thirsty, drink water. If you are ... drink |
"If"-clauses in the simple present can be combined with the present, future or imperative tenses.
Listening exercise
You can practice the use of the "if"-clauses in different tenses with this exercise.
Spanish | English | |
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Daniel |
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If you study every day, you will pass the exam. |
María |
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I always study, but sometimes I struggle to concentrate. |
Daniel |
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If you organise yourself better, you can improve your concentration. |
María |
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You are right, I will try to have a more structured schedule. |
Daniel |
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If you do that, you will see positive results quickly. |
"Si..." in the imperfect past (subjunctive) in Spanish
The end result of this second type of "if"-clause is seen as impossible or unlikely. The following table will show you example sentences in the simple conditional.
Condition | Result | Spanish | English |
Imperfect past (subjunctive) | Conditional (simple) |
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If I had more money, I would buy a house. |
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If we lived at the beach, we would go swimming every day. |
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If they knew how to cook, they wouldn't eat out so often. |
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If he was more organised, he wouldn't waste so much time. |
"If"-clauses in the imperfect past tense are followed by the simple conditional tense.
Listening exercise
Let's put into practise the "if"-clause in the imperfect past (subjunctive).
Spanish | English | |
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Daniel |
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If it didn't rain so much, we could enjoy nature more. |
Maria |
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Exactly, if the weather was more predictable, we could plan more outdoor activities. |
Daniel |
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And if the temperatures were higher, we could go on longer hikes. |
María |
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It's true! If the weather were more cooperative, it would be much more pleasant. |
"If"-clauses in Spanish: past perfect (subjunctive)
This third form of if clauses, refer back to unreal results in the past.
Condition | Result | Spanish | English |
Past perfect (subjunctive) | Conditional (compound) |
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If I had studied medicine, I would have been a good doctor. |
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If we had arrived early, we wouldn't have missed the train. |
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Past perfect subjunctive |
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If she had practised more, she would have won the competition. |
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If you had exercised more, you would have felt better physically. |
"If"-clauses in the past perfect can be combined with the compound conditional or past perfect subjunctive.
Listening exercise
You can practise how to form "if"-clauses in the past perfect (subjunctive) with this exercise.
Spanish | English | |
---|---|---|
Daniel |
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What would you have done if you had won the lottery? |
María |
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If I had won the lottery, I would have travelled around the world. |
Daniel |
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If you had had the opportunity to reside in another country, which one would you have chosen? |
María |
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If I had had the opportunity, I would have chosen to live in Spain. |
Key takeaways
Here is a quick summary of this lesson.
- Conditional sentences are formed by two parts. The first part is the condition, and includes the “if”-clause. The second part is the result if the condition is met.
- There are three main types in Spanish, each showing how likely or certain something is.
- “If”-clauses, also called conditional sentences, indicate possibilities, which may or may not become true.
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