Presente subjuntivo + condicional

Question

In an exercise:

Salvo que [repetir – élla] los exámenes, no podría pasar de curso con estas notas.

the correct answer is supposed to be:

Salvo que repita los exámenes, no podría pasar de curso con estas notas.

Is this really correct? With podría I'd use repitiera. But for me it would sound even better:

Salvo que repita los exámenes, no podrá pasar de curso con estas notas. (but in the exercise I can change only repetir)

Answer 1

I agree with you. The tenses in which subjunctive and indicative cases are used in these kinds of sentences must match.

Answer 2

This is an interesting post. I wouldn't normally doubt the answer given in a textbook, but I tend to think you're right.

Salvo que (unless) is an adverb clause that would seem to require the subjunctive. For example, A menos que llegues temprano por la mañana, la fila para el desayuno será aproximadamente una hora =Unless you arrive early in the morning, the wait for breakfast can be about an hour.

I hope more people join this discussion. I would love to see examples of adverb clauses like "a no ser que" or "a menos que"used with conditional tense.

wait a second. I see that the correct answer in the textbook DID use the subjucrive (repita). I somehow missed that. So, now I'm thinkinking that the answer in the textbook was right. - malbecblend, Mar 6, 2016

and please forgive my typos in my comment. I was having problems with the keyboard on my tablet. - malbecblend, Mar 6, 2016