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Si clauses and ‘como si’

Hypothetical situations

When you are referring to hypothetical situations in Spanish or situations that might not be happening right now, do you find it a

little confusing knowing when to use the subjunctive mood, or not?

This lesson is going to look at a few ways to talk about hypothetical situations, sometimes

using the indicative mood and others the subjunctive.

Si + present subjunctiveOne tip that is good to start with is that  'si' 

is very rarely followed by the present subjunctive.

(Note that I said ‘present’ subjunctive not just ‘subjunctive’ because ‘si’ is often followed by the past subjunctive.)

Ejemplo:   No sé si él está en casa o no.I don't know if  he is home or not.

*See note at end of lesson re: si and the present subjunctive. 

So let's take a look at some different 'si' clauses and see how your choice of tense or mood can impart quite different meanings.

When something is likely!

Also known as – 1st Conditional Sentences

Use ‘si’ + the present tense + the present tense

FOR THINGS THAT HAPPEN REGULARLY WHEN A CONDITION IS MET

(NB:  In these kind of sentences 'si' / 'if' could be replaced with 'cuando' / 'when' with little change of meaning.)

Eg. If it rains.... I don't go out

EVENTRESULT

Si + present indicative + the present indicative Si llueve ... (If it rains...) no salgo (I don't go out)

These 'si' clause kinds of sentences can have their order reversed but remember that the event follows the si and the result is in the other clause.

EVENT RESULT

Si llueve, … no trabajamos.If it rains, … we don't work.

RESULT EVENT

No trabajamos … si llueve.We don't work … if it rains.

Use ‘si’ + the present tense + the present tense

FOR THINGS THAT ARE LIKELY OR ARE CONSIDERED LIKELY TO TAKE PLACE

Eg. If you understand Spanish (it's likely or I think you can) you can read the Nicaraguan newspaper, 'La Prensa'.

Si entiendes español puede(s) leer el periodico nicaragüense, 'La Prensa' .

Use ‘si’ + present tense + future tense

FOR EVENTS THAT WILL OCCUR (IN THE FUTURE) IF THE CONDITION IS MET IN THE PRESENT.

If it rains … I will still go out.

Si llueve ... todavía saldré*

*(seen as a likely, or very likely event.)

Use ‘si’ + present tense + imperative/command form

FOR GIVING ORDERS (IN THE IMPERATIVE MOOD) BASED ON A CONDITION BEING MET (IN THE PRESENT)

Si llueve ... (If it rains …) no salgas! (don't go out!)

Here’s an example of something that happens regularly when a condition is met. Can you choose the right verb conjugation to

complete the sentence?

Los marineros ______ (contar) con un faro .... si ______ (haber) niebla.

The sailors rely on a lighthouse … if it is foggy.

Well done if you used the present tense in both clauses!

Los marineros cuentan con un faro .... si hay niebla.

The sailors rely on a lighthouse … if it is foggy.

Now how about this one?Here’s an example of a likely future outcome if a condition is met. Which

tenses will you choose this time?

Si _____ (yo/tener) dinero .... me ____ (yo/ir) de viaje.

If I have money .... I'll go on a trip.

That’s right, well done, present and future is the correct combination

for likely future events.

Si tengo dinero .... me iré de viaje.If I have money .... I'll go on a trip.

Now, let’s say you want to give a command that is dependent on a condition being met in the present? Can you fill the gaps with the

correct verb conjugations?

Si ______ (tu´/poder), _____ (tú/llamar) mañana. If you can, call tomorrow.

or

______ (tú/llamar) mañana si ______ (tú/poder). Call tomorrow, if you can.

If you used the present tense with the imperative (command) form, you’re exactly right, bien hecho!

Si puedes, llama mañana. If you can, call tomorrow.

or

Llama mañana si puedes. Call tomorrow, if you can.

Now let’s move into the realms of the hypothetical, unlikely or contrary to fact

(aka ‘the 2nd conditional).

Use ‘si’ + the imperfect subjunctive + the conditional

FOR HYPOTHETICAL SITUATIONS IN THE FUTURE AND FOR PRESENT SITUATIONS THAT ARE CONTRARY TO THE FACT OR HIGHLY UNLIKELY

Si lloviera ...no saldría.If it were to rain …. I would not go out.

(contrary to fact or seen as fairly unlikely – I don’t think for one minute that it’s going to rain ;) )

Why the past subjunctive?

The past subjunctive tense is used even when the condition refers to the present or the future - just like we do in English even though you probably don't realize that you're

doing it

Yo le daría la respuesta si la supiera.I would give you the answer if I knew it.

So how would you translate the following ‘contrary to fact’ sentence?

If I had money, I’d go with you.

Si tuviera dinero, iría contigo

If I had money, I’d go with you.

That is to say, I don’t so I can’t.

Use si + pluperfect subjunctive + the conditional perfect or pluperfect subjunctive

FOR HYPOTHETICAL SITUATIONS ‘IN THE PAST’ THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE OR CONTRARY TO FACT (AKA THE 3RD CONDITIONAL)

Si yo hubiera ganado yo lo habría (or hubiera) comprado.

If I had won (were to have won), I would have bought it.

So try filling the gaps with these ones.

Si ________ llovido ... no ______ salido. (or no ______ salido.)If it had rained (it didn't) I wouldn't have gone out.

(contrary to fact or impossible)

Si lo _______ sabido, ________ ido (or _______ ido) contigo.If I had known, I would have gone with you.

I didn’t know so I didn’t go. 

Si _______ hablado, te _______ creído.If you had spoken they would have believed you.

You didn't speak so they didn't believe you.

How did you do?Si hubiera llovido ... no habría salido. (or no hubiera salido.)

If it had rained (it didn't) I wouldn't have gone out. (contrary to fact or impossible)

Si lo hubiera sabido, hubiera ido (or habría ido) contigo.If I had known, I would have gone with you.

I didn’t know so I didn’t go. 

Si hubieras hablado, te habrían creído.If you had spoken they would have believed you.

You didn't speak so they didn't believe you.

Ready for some more practice?1) Yo (tener) pesadillas si (ver) esa película.

I would have nightmares if I saw that movie.

2) Si ustedes (estar) cansados, (poder) descansar un poco aquí. If you are tired (and I think it's likely that you are), you can rest a little here.

3) Si el cartón (estar) vacío, (poner)lo en el basurero. If the carton is empty, put it in the wastebasket.

4) (Yo traer) paraguas por si acaso (llover). I'm bringing an umbrella just in case it rains.

5) Me trataba como si yo (ser) una niña. He treated me as if I were a child.

Hopefully you said …1) Yo tendría pesadillas si viera esa película.

2) Si ustedes están cansados, pueden descansar un poco aquí.

3) Si el cartón está vacío, ponlo en el basurero. If the carton is empty, put it in the wastebasket.

4) Traigo paraguas por si acaso llueve.

(Nb. the 'llueve' is optional in this type of sentence, without it the sentence would simply mean - I'm bringing an umbrella just in case.)

5) Me trataba como si yo fuera una niña.

and a little more practice just for fun

6) Yo me (haber) paseado por el parque si no (haber llover) tanto.I would have walked through the park if it hadn't rained so much.

7) El hombre (sonreír) como si (haber ganar) la lotería.

The man was smiling as if he had won the lottery.

8 ) Si (tú ganar) , (ir a llorar).If you win, I'll cry.

9) No (yo hacer) eso si (ser) tú.I wouldn't do that if I were you.

10) Ella (hablar) como si (haber vivir) en Ecuador. She talks as if she had lived in Ecuador.

Not that hard was it?

6) Yo me habría paseado por el parque si no hubiera llovido tanto.

7) El hombre sonreía como si hubiera ganado la lotería.

8 ) Si tú ganas, voy a llorar.

9) No haría eso si fuera tú.

10) Ella habla como si hubiera vivido en Ecuador.

A LITTLE EXTRA! - ‘COMO SI’

Como si is always followed by a past subjunctive.

Follow 'como si' by the imperfect subjunctive for a present time hypothesis.

Los adolescentes hablan como si tuvieran todas las respuestas.

Teenagers talk as if they have all the answers.

Follow 'como si' by the past perfect subjunctive for a past time hypothesis.

Juan hablaba como si nadie lo hubiera visto.

John was talking (talked) as if no one had seen him.

WHEN TO BREAK THE RULES!

A note on 'si' being followed by 'the present subjunctive’

Have you heard that you can never use the 'present subjunctive' after 'si'? You may even be told this by a native speaker or a teacher of Spanish and you will likely read this in many Spanish

language books.

But, if there's one thing I've learnt from learning Spanish it's that there are very rarely rules that can be applied in every situation and more often than not there will be exceptions. Using the

present subjunctive following si is one of these cases.

After receiving some helpful information from some generous native speakers here are some thoughts on where you might find the present subjunctive following 'si'.

Negative ‘si’ clauses

Especially with negative 'si' clauses (such as - no sé si ... ) you will likely to hear native speakers use the present subjunctive when the 'si' takes on the meaning of 'whether' more than 'if' .  

For the example given at the beginning of the lesson - I don't know if he's at home, let's say you wanted to convey that

you were somewhat pessimistic about the person being at home you could say

No sé si él esté en casa. I don't know whether he'll be at home.

Some ‘native’ examplesHere are some other negative examples (along with some positive variations

using the present indicative tense) these were kindly provided by a native speaker:

No sé si vaya a la fiesta. No sé si deba ir a la fiesta.Positive: Luego te digo si voy a la fiesta. Decidiré si debo ir a la fiesta.

No sé si sea lo mejor . No sé si esto sea lo mejor.

Positive: Decide si es lo mejor para ti. Ya veremos si eso es lo mejor.

No sé si quiera conocerle.Positive: Espero el reporte para decidir si quiero conocerle.

PS.  The use of the subjunctive in examples such as these may be more common in Latin America than in Spain.

The present tense subjunctive after 'si’ often refers to the future.

Eg. ‘I don´t know if she is going or not.’ ‘No sé si vaya o no.’

 (The meaning of the subordinate clause is future, but the verb is conjugated in present tense).

But if it’s the past …When the past is spoken of you're much more likely to use the indicative mood rather than the

subjunctive - such as the following example using the conditional.

No sabía si me podrían ayudar.I didn't know if they would help me.

I'm no grammarian so don't quote me but I believe the reasoning for this is that with saber in the past tense you are actually declaring what you didn't know (the outcome is now known, unlike when you use saber in the present tense) so the indicative is used for declarations.

A pattern?

Have you started to see a pattern here for when you might see 'si' followed by 'the present subjunctive'?

Yes, all of these examples involve the verb 'saber' and expressions of negation or doubt and more often than not, refer to present or future

actions/events but not so much for past events.

Just an option!

We need to remember though that in the examples that we’ve discussed, the subjunctive is usually just one of the possible options. The present or future

indicative will likely be an equally valid option:

No sé si vengan (vendrán, vienen) Jose y María.I don't know if Jose and Maria will come.

¿Quién sabe si tales cosas siquiera existen (existan).Who knows if such things even exist.

Nuance

Each choice will likely have a slightly difference nuance, especially to a native speaker’s ear.

No sé si tengan hambre = I don't know if they are going to be hungry.No sé si tienen hambre = I don't know if they are hungry.

No sé si tendrán hambre = I don't know if they will be hungry

The End

Hopefully this information has helped you to understand one of the trickier parts of Spanish

grammar.

If you’d like some more practice why not participate here with

our sentence game using ‘si’ clauses.