if / then phrase in future tense, is this grammatically correct?

Question

Usually when we learn Spanish grammar we are exposed to one of the uses for the imperfect subjunctive tense with if/then phrases, or hypothetical sentences

Me molestaría si no tuvieras ganas. It would bother me if you weren´t in the mood.

BUT I am wondering about the future version of this, if it is grammatically correct, what it might be called in grammaresque, etc. If you know, please share.

Here are some examples. It WILL bother me if you haven´t been in the mood. Me molestará si no hayas tenido ganas.

I will be disappointed if we haven't lent her the bike before Friday. Me sentiré decepcionado si nosotros no le hayamos prestado la bicicleta antes del viernes..

We will be worried if they haven´t eaten dinner with us before the weekend. Nos preocuparemos si ellos no hayan cenado con nosotros antes del fin de semana.

This "tense" seems to work well with the present perfect subjunctive tense: haya cenado, hayas hablado, hayamos cagado, etc. And the English sounds perfectly normal. I just haven't encountered it in my grammar books.

Me muero de curiosidad. THANKS!

Answer 1

I see no problem with saying "I will be disappointed THAT we haven't lent her the bike" in English or Spanish. "Me sentiré decepcionado que no le hayamos prestado la bicicleta."

it sounds like it could be correct, but if you think about it, you wouldn't feel something in the future hypothetically for something that has already happened in the past. Kinda hurts the brain to think about it. - antonioquieto, Apr 18, 2012

Answer 2

No these are not grammatically correct. No form of the present subjunctive can follow "si" when "si" means "if". You will see the present subjunctive used after "si" when it means "whether". Por ejemplo: "No sé si vaya o no" - "I don't know whether I should go or not". Furthermore, your examples are not expressing any type of doubt, unreality or hypothetical situations. You are expressing how you (we) will feel when a given action does or does not takes place. In these situations a present or future tense is used.

Ah, so expressing how I will feel in the future, is more a statement. There's no doubt that I will feel this way if such and such happens. Got it! - antonioquieto, Apr 18, 2012

Agreed, all of antonioquieto's phrases need to use the present tense in the "if" clauses. - kimmeister, Apr 18, 2012

Exactly! - pescador1, Apr 18, 2012

Answer 3

I'm not all that sure of what you're asking, but the sentences seem to be correct for what I can tell. They have a "correlation of tenses"; or, in other words, the tenses math up correctly. Future is indicative, which can go with either present of present perfect subjunctive.

Hope this helps! If not, be sure to clarify your question real quick!

Answer 4

I have been thinking that maybe you could change it a little to use the future perfect:

  Habré sentindo decepcionado si no le hayamos prestado la bicicleta.

I'm not sure, just a thought. Just putting this out there. It seems to be right at least in that the correlation of tenses might (?) match up, indicative with present perfect of the subjunctive.

Answer 5

OK, I understand that the future hypothetical sentences in my original question do not express doubt. But we are also taught that the subjunctive comes after expressions of emotion. Using one of my examples above in the present tense:

I am disappointed that we haven't lent her the bike. Me siento decepcionado de que nosotros no le hayamos prestado la bicicleta.

To express this in the future, you wouldn't say: "I will be disappointed THAT we haven't lent her the bike." Rather we would say "I will be disappointed IF we haven't lent her the bike." Hence we have a hypothetical situation.

So the question is how to express this in Spanish. Is the subjunctive used? Again here is my original translation: Me sentiré decepcionado si nosotros no le hayamos prestado la bicicleta antes del viernes.. (I added "before Friday" to the end so that it makes more sense.)

Are there any other opinions or clarifications that can be made as to the grammatical correctness or lack thereof of this translation?

Gracias

Answer 6

Just to clarify my question,

Are my examples grammatically correct? What is this called grammatically? Usually the hypothetical if/then sentences use the conditional tense with the imperfect subjunctive. My examples use the FUTURE tense with the present perfect subjunctive. Maybe this could be called the future hypothetical vs. the conditional hypothetical?

Thanks!