Si clauses

Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.

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Si mañana (salir) antes, nos vemos en la estación.

If you leave earlier tomorrow, we’ll meet at the station.

The rule

Spanish has three main patterns, and each one pairs a specific tense in the si clause with a specific tense in the result clause. English works similarly, but Spanish is stricter about which combinations are allowed. You will see these constantly in stories, dialogue, and opinion writing.

The pattern

Type 1, real or likely (present + present/future):

Si llueve, me quedo en casa. (If it rains, I stay home.)

Si tienes tiempo, ven a cenar. (If you have time, come to dinner.)

Type 2, unlikely or hypothetical (past subjunctive + conditional):

Si tuviera dinero, viajaría. (If I had money, I would travel.)

Si fuera tú, no iría. (If I were you, I would not go.)

Type 3, impossible, the past already decided (pluperfect subjunctive + conditional perfect):

Si hubiera sabido, habría llamado. (If I had known, I would have called.)

Si no hubiera llovido, habríamos salido. (If it had not rained, we would have gone out.)

The si clause can come first or second: Habría llamado si hubiera sabido. In type 3 you will also meet hubiera in the result clause (Si hubiera sabido, hubiera llamado); it is accepted Spanish, common in literature.

The key rule: si never takes the present subjunctive or the conditional. Si tengo, si tuviera, si hubiera tenido. Never si tenga, never si tendría.

Examples

Si llueve, no salimosIf it rains, we do not go out
Si puedes, llámameIf you can, call me
Si tuviera más tiempo, leería másIf I had more time, I would read more
Si fuera posible, lo haríaIf it were possible, I would do it
Si hubiera llegado antes, habría visto el partidoIf I had arrived earlier, I would have seen the match
Si no hubieras dicho nada, no habría pasadoIf you had not said anything, it would not have happened

Watch out

Si tendría dinero, viajaría. Si tuviera dinero, viajaría.The si clause never takes the conditional. Use the past subjunctive.
Si tenga tiempo, iré. Si tengo tiempo, iré.The si clause never takes the present subjunctive. Use the present indicative.
Si hubiera sabido, habría llamaba. Si hubiera sabido, habría llamado.The result clause in type 3 takes the conditional perfect (habría + participle), not a mixed form.
Si llovería, me quedaría. Si lloviera, me quedaría.Same rule: si + conditional is always wrong in standard Spanish.

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