Subjunctives, Conditional Phrases Question!Help!
Ever since I got back from my lifelong dream - a trip to South America, I've been trying to perfect my spanish. (It sucks because after taking classes in Peru and Bolivia - I crossed over to Paraguay and then to northern Argentina, maybe it was just me or did everything sound closer to brazilian portuguese than spanish - and then I kind of gave up.)
I don't know, maybe I'm just whining but after a couple of months the going is getting slow, I can understand most of the reading material I'm using (I'm reading the 'Twilight' series in spanish - don't pick on me because it was the only contemporary fiction I could get a copy of in Spanish) and I can say what I want, but all those spanish TV programs I've been watching - I can't seem to understand them. (I'm watching The Simpsons in spanish, and also 'Reina del Sur') Those cartoon characters seem to speak so much faster than the people I've met in real life. And they seem sooo intent on speaking in such long sentences.
Well anyways, I'm missing the point. I've been working on my subjunctives and conditions, but I'm not really sure if I'm getting the gist. Could you check if I'm using them correctly? I'm not really sure because I'm learning spanish by myself, and so most of my studying has been googling sentences and taking them apart. It would really help me, thanks.
Gracias de antemano.
Si ganes mas dinero, viajaria contigo a Estados Unidos.
If you earn more money, I would go with you to the States.
Si llores, yo no sabria hacer.
If you cry, I wouldn't know what to do.
Iria contigo.
I would go with you.
Te amaria, cuando cerdos vuelan.
I would love you when pigs fly.
Yo seria un hombre completamente solo contigo.
I would be a complete man only with you.
Dudo que ellos te mataren.
I doubt that those guys will kill you.
Si fuera mas inteligente, no habria comprado esta chaqueta.
If I were smarter, I wouldn't have bought this jacket.
Si no estoy ocupado, ayudare hacerte tus deberes.
If I'm not busy, I will help you do your homework.
Si yo supiera eso, no te habria molestado.
If I knew that, I wouldn't have bothered you.
Si yo hubiera venido, no podrias haber dormido.
If I hadn't come, you couldn't have slept.
Aunque si el gobierno me ponga en una isla desierta, sobrevivire.
Even if the government puts me on a deserted island, I will survive. (I'm kind of confused on this one. Can't it also be 'Aunque si el gobierno me pondria en una isla desierta, todavia sobreviviria.' 'Even if the government would put me on a deserted island, I would still survive.)
So in the 'si' clause, if it's something that might happen, I use the indicative mood, and after that it's usually a clause in future tense? And if it's something that I'm assuming or will not happen, I use the subjunctive, right? And the conditional 'gustaria', 'habria' words just mean 'would'? Am I getting this right? Thanks.
Eh, BTW, por favor, don't tell me to search more on the internet because I've been searching for so long - and I really don't understand all the about.com articles, sorry. :(
6 Answers
I would say:
Si ganaras más dinero, viajaría contigo a Estados Unidos.
If you earn more money, I would go with you to the States.
Si lloraras, no sabría qué hacer.
If you cry, I wouldn't know what to do.
Iría contigo.
I would go with you.
Te amaría cuando los cerdos volaran / Te amaré cuando los cerdos vuelen.
I would love you when pigs fly.
(Yo) sería un hombre completo únicamente contigo.
I would be a complete man only with you.
Dudo que aquellos hombres te maten.
I doubt that those guys will kill you.
Si fuera mas inteligente, no habría comprado esta chaqueta.
If I were smarter, I wouldn't have bought this jacket.
Si no estoy ocupado, te ayudaré a hacer tus deberes.
If I'm not busy, I will help you do your homework.
Si hubiera sabido eso, no te habría molestado.
If I knew that, I wouldn't have bothered you.
Si yo no hubiera venido, no podrías haber dormido.
If I hadn't come, you couldn't have slept.
Incluso si el gobierno me pone en una isla desierta, sobreviviré.
Even if the government puts me on a deserted island, I will survive.
Incluso aunque el gobierno me pusiera en una isla desierta, sobreviviría.
Even if the government would put me on a deserted island, I would still survive.
You know much more than I do, but I am not sure about the sentence that reads Dudo que ellos te mataren. I am pretty sure that the future subjunctive is rarely used, and I believe there is a better translation for that sentence. Though not a literal translation, it may be better to stick with the present subjunctive with that sentence. However, I am not 100% sure. Hopefully someone else could verify my thoughts. Also there is a sentence with an "if clause" that uses supiera, when I believe it should be supe.
This is a common construction in Spanish where the imperfect subjunctive is followed by the conditional tense, or vice versa, and usually invoked by the word "if".
Si fueras rico, yo te casaría - If you were rich, I would marry you
o
Yo te casaría si fueras rico - I would marry you if you were rich
Always remember, the future is to the present…what the conditional is to the subjunctive.
Si ganes mas dinero, viajaria contigo a Estados Unidos. If you earn more money(but you haven’t…thus subjunctive) , I would go with you to the States.
Si llores, yo no sabria hacer. If you cry(but you haven’t yet), I wouldn't know what to do. Iria contigo….(if)
I would go with you. (if) subordinate claus would have to have a subjunctive)
Te amaria, cuando cerdos vuelan. I would love you when pigs fly (But they don’t…thus subjunctive [unreality].
Yo seria un hombre completamente solo contigo. I would be a complete man only with you. (if you include a subordinate clause…it will have to be a subjunctive)
Dudo que ellos te mataren. I doubt that those guys will kill you. (My doubt about a subordinate action concerning others…has to have a subjunctive)
Si fuera mas inteligente, no habria comprado esta chaqueta. If I were smarter (but I’m not), (conditional to subjunctive)…(subjunctive to conditional) I wouldn't have bought this jacket.
Si no estoy ocupado, ayudare hacerte tus deberes. If I'm not busy( in this sentence…the si is assuming a positive (no douubt) + (there is no change in the subject…in both clauses…thus, no subjunctive), I will help you do your homework.
Si yo supiera eso, no te habria molestado. If I knew that (but I didn’t [denial], I wouldn't have bothered you.
Si yo hubiera venido, no podrias haber dormido. If I had come (but, I didn’t) , you couldn't have slept.
Aunque si el gobierno me ponga en una isla desierta, sobrevivire. This last sentence is incorrectly written. I even catch myself saying the same?.
If someone were to do something…you would (not will…[bad English] do something)?
Aungue si el gobierno me pusiera en una isla desierta, sobreviviría. Even if the government were to put me on a desert island (but, they’re not going to), I would survive.
Even if the government puts(as in…were to???) me on a deserted island, I will (would) survive. (I'm kind of confused on this one. Can't it also be 'Aunque si el g
Always remember, the future is to the present…what the conditional is to the subjunctive. Si ganes mas dinero, viajaria contigo a Estados Unidos. If you earn more money(but you haven’t…thus subjunctive) , I would go with you to the States. Si llores, yo no sabria hacer. If you cry(but you haven’t yet), I wouldn't know what to do. Iria contigo….(if) I would go with you. (if) subordinate claus would have to have a subjunctive) Te amaria, cuando cerdos vuelan. I would love you when pigs fly (But they don’t…thus subjunctive [unreality]. Yo seria un hombre completamente solo contigo. I would be a complete man only with you. (if you include a subordinate clause…it will have to be a subjunctive) Dudo que ellos te mataren. I doubt that those guys will kill you. (My doubt about a subordinate action concerning others…has to have a sunjunctive) Si fuera mas inteligente, no habria comprado esta chaqueta. If I were smarter (but I’m not), (conditional to subjunctive)…(subjunctive to conditional) I wouldn't have bought this jacket. Si no estoy ocupado, ayudare hacerte tus deberes. If I'm not busy( in this sentence…the si is assuming a positive (no douubt) + (there is no change in the subject…in both clauses…thus, no subjunctive), I will help you do your homework. Si yo supiera eso, no te habria molestado. If I knew that (but I didn’t [denial], I wouldn't have bothered you. Si yo hubiera venido, no podrias haber dormido. If I had come (but, I didn’t) , you couldn't have slept. Aunque si el gobierno me ponga en una isla desierta, sobrevivire. This last sentence is incorrectly written. I even catch myself saying the same?. If someone were to do something…you would (not will…[bad English] do something)? Aungue si el gobierno me pusiera en una isla desierta, sobreviviría. Even if the government were to put me on a desert island (but, they’re not going to), I would survive. Even if the government puts(as in…were to???) me on a deserted island, I will (would) survive. (I'm kind of confused on this one. Can't it also be 'Aunque si el g
Also, I have another quick question regarding the subjunctives, I'm also listening to a lot of songs in the spanish language, and the song by J.Lo and Marc Anthony, "No Me Ames" I'm not really sure why the title is "No me ames" in the subjunctive tense. Why can't it be "no me ame"? Shouldn't it be more like an order? What does it imply in the spanish language? Is it a weaker form of an imperative? I'm not sure I understand the difference.
