Las cláusulas con 'si'
(If clauses)


Sentences with 'if' are given a separate section in descriptions of Spanish grammar because they follow a certain set of rules when it comes to the choice of verb form and tense. Actually, the same is true of English. Think about the difference between these two sentences:

If I have time this summer, I will travel to Costa Rica.
If I had time this summer, I would travel to Costa Rica.

In the first sentence, the speaker is simply stating a fact - if he has time (he might), then he will travel. In the second sentence, the speaker is expressing what's called a contrary-to-fact condition - the speaker does not have time, but if he did, he would travel.

Spanish forms if-clauses in a similar way, but uses the imperfect subjunctive for the second type of sentence. Here's how you would translate the two sentences above into Spanish:

Si tengo tiempo este verano, viajaré a Costa Rica.
Si tuviera tiempo este verano, viajaría a Costa Rica.

Notice that the first sentence is very much parallel to to English, using the present and future tenses to express a simply fact. The second sentence, again a contrary-to-fact type of statement, is expressed in Spanish using the imperfect subjunctive and the conditional. While both English and Spanish use the conditional in this type of if clause, English normally uses a simple past tense (If I had time) while Spanish uses the imperfect subjunctive (Si tuviera tiempo).