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IF Clauses

. Si" (if") is an adverbial conjunction, but it's different from all other adverbial conjunctions. It NEVER gets the PRESENT subjuntive:Juan siempre almuerza si tiene tiempo.Juan va a almorzar si tiene tiempo.In these sentences, the present INDICATIVE follows si." The present subjuncti

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IF Clauses

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    1. IF Clauses

    2. Si (if) is an adverbial conjunction, but its different from all other adverbial conjunctions. It NEVER gets the PRESENT subjuntive: Juan siempre almuerza si tiene tiempo. Juan va a almorzar si tiene tiempo. In these sentences, the present INDICATIVE follows si. The present subjunctive never does. However, the IMPERFECT subjunctive frequently does follow si.

    3. Some si clauses are called contrary to fact clauses: If it were raining (but its not), we would leave. If I were you (but Im not), I would study more. If I had a million dollars (but I dont), Id buy a Ferrari. All of these if clauses are contrary to fact, and you use the imperfect subjunctive in them: Si lloviera, saldramos. Si yo fuera t, estudiara ms. Si tuviera un milln de dlares, comprara un Ferrari.

    4. Look carefully at the verbs in these sentences from the previous page: Si lloviera, saldramos. Si yo fuera t, estudiara ms. Si tuviera un milln de dlares, comprara un Ferrari. In all three sentences, the verb after si is in the imperfect subjunctive, and the main verb is conditional. Those two tenses are MARRIED. If you have imperfect subjunctive in the si clause, you HAVE to have the conditional in the main clause. If you have the conditional in the main clause, you HAVE to have the imperfect subjunctive in the si clause. If you have one, you have to have the other. If you dont have one, you cant have the other.

    5. So what if its NOT a contrary-to-fact clause, you may ask. Well, then you use the indicative in whatever tense makes sense: Si _________ (salir) ahora, llegars a tiempo. If you ________ now, youll arrive on time. What tense makes sense, in both English and Spanish? Si sales ahora, llegars a tiempo. If you leave now, youll arrive on time. OK, another one: Si ________ (ir) a la escuela, comieron perritos calientes. If they ___________ to school, they ate hot dogs. Si fueron a la escuela, comieron perritos calientes. If they went to school, they ate hot dogs. (Context: I dont know if my niece and nephew went to school today, so I dont know what they had for lunch. The school served hot dogs, so if they went to school, I know they ate hot dogs.)

    6. So there are only two really big rules with if clauses: Conditional in the main clause and imperfect subjunctive in the if clause are MARRIED. Otherwise, use whatever tense makes sense, and that tense will be in the indicative.

    7. Click here to go to your homework.

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