Weekend Subjunctive Practice 13: Si clauses
¡Bienvenido a nuestro hilo! Each weekend, Cordobesa and I will present a different topic on everybody’s favorite subject… the subjunctive!
We will give an explanation of the topic, and a couple of examples.
Write sentences at least 5 words long. Write your Spanish sentence, and include the English translation as well. Make the corrections suggested by Cordobesa in the comments section. Use your own words! (Don't use a translator, copy from a book, use song lyrics, etc.)
Post pictures if you’d like, and don’t forget to vote on the sentences you like best. The winner will be chosen based upon the correct use of the topic as well as the number of votes.
¡Vamos allá!
Weekend Subjunctive Practice 13: Si clauses
Explanation:
As with “Como si”, from Weekend Subjunctive Practice 11, this weekend we will be using the Imperfect Subjunctive. If you’d like to brush up on how to form the Imperfect Subjunctive, click HERE.
A very common construction in both English and Spanish is “If something were to happen, then this would happen”. In Spanish, the verb following “si” is in the Imperfect Subjunctive (as it is talking about something hypothetical or unlikely to happen), and the verb describing what “would happen” is in the Conditional.
Examples:
Si me tocara el Gordo, compraría un coche muy caro.
If I won the lottery (the big one), I would buy a very expensive car.
Si estuvieses aquí conmigo, te daría un beso grandísimo.
If you were here with me, I would give you a huge kiss.
¡Prestad atención!
“Si” doesn’t always come in the beginning of the sentence:
Todos los colegios se cerrarían si nevara mucho mañana.
All of the schools would close tomorrow if it snowed a lot.
¡Os toca a vosotros!
Click here for last weekend’s subjunctive practice: Es bueno que
10 Answers
Si no lloviera, podría ir a nadar.
If it wasn't raining, I could go swimming.
If I were younger, I would like to take up rock climbing.
Si fuera más joven, me gustaría practicar la escalada en roca.
Si fuera menos friolero, me gustaría más el invierno.
If I were less cold-sensitive, I’d like winter more.
If I took lessons, I would play the flute by now.
Si tomara las clases, ya tocaría la flauta.
Si mi esposa no hubiera coordinado que tantos de sus amigos estuvieran en Maui al mismo tiempo que nosotros, yo habría podido hacer snorkel/esnórquel (bucear con tubo, esnorquelear) más.
If my wife had not arranged that so many of her friends would be on Maui at the same time as us, I would have been able to snorkel more.
Hay una superstición en nuestro país: si el sol brillara el segundo día de febrero el oso volvería a su cueva porque el invierno va a durar todavía mucho tiempo.
There is a superstition in our country: if the sun were shining on the second February the bear would return to its cave because the winter is going to last still for a long while.
Si escribieras un libro, yo lo leería.
If you wrote a book, I would read it.
Si el sol saliera mañana lavaría mi coche.
If the sun comes out tomorrow I would wash my car.
Si el clima de Suecia no fuera tan malo , iría de visita con más frequencia.
If the climate of Sweden wasn't so bad I would visit more often.
Esta noche mi marido se ha ido a su club de tiro y normalmente no me importa nada de nada, pero desafordunatmente la calefacción central no calienta, pero si la de agua funcionara creo que tengo que pasar el resto de la tarde en el baño.
This evening my husband has gone to his shooting club as usual , which is something that normally doesn't bother me at all, but unfortunately the central heating boiler is not working, but if the water heater is still working I think I will have to spend the rest of the evening in the bath.
