Si hubiera llovido, me habría quedado en casa: Conditional Sentences in Spanish (II)
n this article we will look at other types of conditional sentences in Spanish that allow us to express hypothetical or unreal situations in the present, future, or past. The structures we will cover are widely used in both spoken and written language. We will examine their basic structure, usage examples, and some common colloquial variants that break the basic rules for forming these sentences, which could be considered errors, although some of these variants have been accepted by the RAE. Let's go!
Type II conditional sentences: Type II conditional sentences are used to talk about hypothetical situations in the present or future that are contrary to current reality, unlikely, or simply imaginary. When we use this type of conditional, we are implicitly acknowledging that the condition is not met in reality. For example, when someone says Si tuviera un millón de euros, dejaría mi trabajo (If I had a million euros, I would quit my job), it is clear that the person does not have a million euros. The condition is unreal or very unlikely.
Grammatical structure.
Si + pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo + condicional simple. This structure is used for different purposes. Let’s look at some examples:
Situations contrary to present reality:
Si viviera en París, visitaría el Louvre cada semana. (If I lived in Paris, I would visit the Louvre every week.) But I don’t live in Paris.
Si fuera bilingüe, trabajaría como traductor. (If I were bilingual, I would work as a translator.) But I’m not bilingual.
Si no tuviera miedo de volar, viajaría más a menudo. (If I weren’t afraid of flying, I would travel more often.) But I am afraid of flying.
Impossible or unlikely wishes:
Si pudiera volar, no necesitaría coche. (If I could fly, I wouldn’t need a car.) Impossible: humans cannot fly.
Si me tocara la lotería, compraría una isla. (If I won the lottery, I would buy an island.) Very unlikely.
Si fuera invisible, entraría gratis al cine. (If I were invisible, I would get into the cinema for free.) Impossible: I cannot be invisible.
Advice:
Si yo fuera tú, hablaría con tu jefe sobre ese problema. (If I were you, I would talk to your boss about that problem.)
Si estuviera en tu lugar, no me preocuparía tanto. (If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t worry so much.)
Si yo fuera tú, estudiaría más para ese examen. (If I were you, I would study more for that exam.)
Imaginary situations:
Si el mundo fuera perfecto, no habría guerras. (If the world were perfect, there would be no wars.)
Si los animales hablaran, ¿qué nos dirían? (If animals could talk, what would they tell us?)
Si pudieras cambiar algo de tu pasado, ¿qué sería? (If you could change something about your past, what would it be?)
As in all cases of usage of the pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo, both verb endings (comiera/comiese) are valid with no difference in meaning.
Variante coloquial: in some varieties of Spanish, the pretérito imperfecto de indicativo is used instead of the condicional simple: instead of si me tocara la lotería, me compraría una isla (If I won the lottery, I would buy an island), you may hear si me tocara la lotería, me compraba una isla.
Type III Conditional Sentences: these sentences are used to talk about hypothetical situations in the past, that is, situations that did not happen. They express what would have happened if the circumstances had been different. It is the perfect structure for expressing regret, reproach, speculation about the past, and reflection on missed opportunities.
Grammatical structure.
Si + pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo + condicional compuesto. Here you can read about the pretérito pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo and here about the condicional compuesto. Let’s look at some usage examples.
Expressing regret:
Si te hubiera visto, te habría saludado. (If I had seen you, I would have said hello.) But I didn’t see you.
Si me hubiera levantado más temprano, no habría perdido el tren. (If I had gotten up earlier, I wouldn’t have missed the train.) But I got up late.
Si hubiera ahorrado más dinero, habría comprado esa casa. (If I had saved more money, I would have bought that house.) But I didn’t save enough.
Reproaches or criticism:
Si me hubieras escuchado, no habrías cometido ese error. (If you had listened to me, you wouldn’t have made that mistake.) But you didn’t listen to me.
Si hubieran estudiado, habrían aprobado el examen. (If they had studied, they would have passed the exam.) But they didn’t study.
Si hubieras llegado a tiempo, habrías conocido a mi hermana. (If you had arrived on time, you would have met my sister.) But you arrived late.
Speculations about the past:
Si los dinosaurios no se hubieran extinguido, habrían evolucionado a diferentes especies. (If the dinosaurs hadn’t gone extinct, they would have evolved into different species.)
Si Colón no hubiera descubierto América, otro explorador lo habría hecho. (If Columbus hadn’t discovered America, another explorer would have.)
Si hubiera nacido en otra época, mi vida habría sido completamente diferente. (If I had been born in another era, my life would have been completely different.)
Variantes.
In some varieties of Spanish, the pretérito pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo is used instead of the condicional compuesto: instead of si Colón no hubiera descubierto América, otro explorador lo habría hecho (If Columbus hadn’t discovered America, another explorer would have), you may hear si Colón no hubiera descubierto América, otro explorador lo hubiera hecho. This usage is accepted by the RAE.
In other variants the opposite occurs: the condicional compuesto is used instead of the pretérito pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo: instead of si me hubieras escuchado, no habrías cometido ese error (If you had listened to me, you wouldn’t have made that mistake), you may hear si me habrías escuchado, no habrías cometido ese error. This usage is not recommended.
Condicional mixto.
Sometimes we find conditional sentences made up of a condition in the past, in the pretérito pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo, and a consequence in the present, in the condicional simple.
Si hubiera estudiado medicina, ahora sería doctor. (If I had studied medicine, I would now be a doctor.) Studying was in the past; being a doctor is the present.
Si no hubieras roto con María, ahora estarías casado con ella. (If you hadn’t broken up with María, you would now be married to her.) Breaking up was in the past; being married would be now.
Si me hubiera mudado a Barcelona, ahora viviría cerca del mar. (If I had moved to Barcelona, I would now live near the sea.) Moving was a past option; living is a present situation.
At first glance, this topic may seem very complicated to understand. As I have already written about other aspects of the Spanish language, there is one piece of good news: these structures are extremely common in both written and spoken language, which makes this a very easy topic to practice in any context. Here are some exercises to practice and, as always, thanks for reading!
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