Querer in an "if" clause

Question

i'm trying to translate a question and I'm confused as to how best use the "si" clause

"If you wanted professional support, do you think you would you be able to access what you need?"

Si quisiera el apoyo de profesionales, ¿crees que serías capaz de acceder a lo que usted necesita?

I'm thinking of it in terms of "If you were to want" support....

Can't help you with the Spanish but I can say that "if you wanted" & "if you were to want" have the exact same meaning, "If you were to want" is just a strange tentative thing that we say to make something sound more polite. I assume it doen't translate. - rabbitwho, Sep 20, 2010

Answer 1

There is only one problem: "quisiera" uses "usted", which is formal, while "crees" uses "tú", which is informal. They don't mix well together like that.

Answer 2

Thanks for all your input!

I've decided on:

"Si quisiera el apoyo de profesionales, ¿cree usted que sería capaz de acceder a lo que usted necesita?"

Answer 3

Contrary to fact doesn't mean that the person being addressed doesn't want help, but that their future need for help is hypothetical and cannot be declared. The sentence looks correct to me.

Answer 4

Since you chose the subjunctive (and the past tense in English for future time) for the if clause you are saying that it is contrary-to-fact (that you do not want the help of a professional). Remember that the present tense subjunctive is not used in if clauses.

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