The "if clause" in Spanish

Question

Hi everyone, could somebody tell me: How many tenses does "if clause" have? I know in English we got real situation and unreal situation in "if clause" such as: "if I hit you, you hurt"(real: present, present), "if I were you, I would go"(unreal, past, past). "if I had had enough money, I would have brought a house" (unreal in the past)

Now how about Spanish? I know it is "Si + imperfect subjunctive + conditional"

Dose the "If clause" in Spanish has only one tense? Was it the only formula that fits all the real and unreal situation?

Answer 1

There are two types of "if " clauses. The ones that use the imperfect subjunctive in the If clause followed by the conditional in the next clause. Then the present tense one that doesn't require the subjunctive.

Si tuviera más dinero, (yo) compraría un carro nuevo.

This also works with the "perfect tenses" Si (yo) hubiera sabido que vinieras, habría preparado algo de comer.

The "if" clause in the present tense doesn't require the subjunctive.

Si no me das el dinero, no compro los pasajes.

Thanks Daniela. - ray76, Apr 20, 2017

Si hubiera tenido una profesora como usted, entonces yo sabría un poco de español. Gracias. - jrschenk, Apr 20, 2017

Have a badge. :) - bosquederoble, Apr 20, 2017

does the present "if" states the things as real, the imperfect subjunctive one states the things unreal ? - Pancho-Huang, Apr 20, 2017

No, they both can be unreal--if I understand you right. Could I have an example" - Daniela2041, Apr 21, 2017

Answer 2

I find this article useful for revision - the site is good for many things

If clauses

I totally agree, this professor's explanations are generally thorough and easy to understand - DilKen, Apr 20, 2017