¡Hola, amigo! Do you remember my first post about conditional sentences? If you need a refresher, just click here!
In that post, we covered the three main types of conditional sentences. Today, we’ll explore some additional ones. But make sure you’ve got those basics down first—it’ll make this easier! Now, let’s dive in!
1. FUTURE EVENTS AS REAL POSSIBILITIES
Do you remember the first type of conditional sentences? These are used to talk about future events that are likely to occur:
SIMPLE PRESENT (INDICATIVE) + SIMPLE FUTURE (INDICATIVE)
Si Juana viene, compraré pizza.
If Juana comes, I will buy pizza.
With this structure in mind, we can create even more variations:
A. HABITS
When we discuss habits, we use a similar setup. For example:
SIMPLE PRESENT (INDICATIVE) + SIMPLE PRESENT (INDICATIVE)
If I go to Cuba, I dance salsa.
Si voy a Cuba, bailo salsa.
You can even swap “if” for “when” to indicate that it’s something you do regularly.
B. COMMANDS
Now, let’s talk about commands. If you want to give someone a command for the present or future, you might say:
SIMPLE PRESENT (INDICATIVE) + IMPERATIVE MOOD
If you go to Mexico, visit my friend María!
Si vas a México, ¡visita a mi amiga María!
C. MAKING IT PROGRESSIVE
Don’t forget, you can make it progressive in both clauses. Let’s see an example:
PROGRESSIVE PRESENT (INDICATIVE) + PROGRESSIVE PRESENT (INDICATIVE)
If I am dancing, I am always enjoying the music.
Si estoy bailando, siempre estoy disfrutando la música.
2. A PRESENT THAT ISN’T HAPPENING OR A FUTURE THAT WON’T HAPPEN
Remember this one?
IMPERFECT PAST (SUBJUNCTIVE) + SIMPLE CONDITIONAL
Si Juana viniera hoy, yo compraría pizza.
If Juana came today, I would buy pizza.
Well, we can change the aspect:
IMPERFECT PAST (SUBJUNCTIVE) + PROGRESSIVE CONDITIONAL
If i were eating less sugar, I would be losing weight.
Si estuviera comiendo menos azúcar, estaría perdiendo peso.
3. A PAST THAT DIDN’T TAKE PLACE
And this one?
COMPOUND PAST (SUBJUNCTIVE) + COMPOUND CONDITIONAL
Si Juana hubiera venido, habría comprado pizza.
If Juana had come, I would have bought pizza.
Well, we can also make it progressive:
PROGRESSIVE COMPOUND PAST (SUBJUNCTIVE) + PROGRESSIVE COMPOUND CONDITIONAL
If I had been going to the gym, I would have being gaining more muscles.
Si hubiera estado yendo al gimnasio, habría estado ganando más músculos.
4. MIXING CLAUSES
And finally, we can mix the clauses, like a past that didn’t take place + a present that is not happening:
COMPOUND PAST (SUBJUNCTIVE) + SIMPLE CONDITIONAL
If my uncle had come yesterday, I would be happy now.
Si mi tío hubiera venido ayer, yo estaría feliz ahora.
There are even more! But enough theory. From now on, I want you to employ your intuition. Let’s play these games so you can master all this like a master!
