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Conditional Clauses in
Spanish Grammar
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What is a conditional clause?
Conditional clauses (oraciones condicionales) ex‐
press an action that will only take place under cer‐
tain conditions: if … then …
They are formed with a main clause and a condition‐
al dependent clause (often introduced by si).
In Spanish grammar, there are three types of condi‐
tional clauses: the first conditional expresses realis‐
tic/likely situations, the second conditional expresses
hypothetical/unrealistic situations and the third con‐
ditional expresses an imaginary situation in the past.
Learn about the different types of conditional sen‐
tences in Spanish grammar, then test your grammar
skills in the exercises.
Example
Mamá: «Marcos,
hoy voy a hacer un
pastel, ¿me ayu‐
das?»
Marcos: «Si tengo
tiempo esta tarde,
te ayudo.»
Mamá: «Marcos,
puedes ayudarme
a hacer un pas‐
tel?»
Marcos: «Si tuviese
tiempo, te ayuda‐
ría. Pero tengo que
hacer los deberes»
Mamá: «El pastel
está listo. ¡Me dijis‐
te que querías ayu‐
darme!»
Marcos: «Si hubie‐
se tenido tiempo,
te habría ayudado.
Pero tenía que ha‐
cer los deberes.»
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First Conditional: si + present
indicative
The first conditional expresses a real condition that
is likely to happen (maybe I’ll have time).
First conditional sentences are formed as follows:
si-clause: si + presente
main clause: presente/futuro de indicativo
Example:
Si tengo tiempo, te ayudaré.
Si tengo tiempo, te ayudo.
We use the future tense in the main clause to refer
to specific situations. We use the present tense in
the main clause to refer to things that are always or
generally true.
Second Conditional: si + imperfect
subjunctive
The second conditional expresses an impossible/hypo‐
thetical condition in the present (I don’t have time,
but if I did …).
Second conditional sentences are formed as follows:
si-clause: si + imperfecto de subjuntivo
main clause: condicional simple
Example:
Si tuviera/tuviese tiempo, te ayudaría.
To Note
This kind of conditional sentence can also express
a condition that is not fulfilled in the future.
Example:
Si tuviera tiempo mañana, te ayudaría.
Third Conditional: si + past
perfect subjunctive
The third conditional expresses an impossible situa‐
tion in the past (I didn’t have time, but if I had had
time …).
Third conditional sentences in Spanish are formed as
follows:
si-clause: si + pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
main clause: condicional perfecto or pluscuamper‐
fecto de subjuntivo
Example:
Si hubiese/hubiera tenido tiempo, te habría/hubiera/hu‐
biese ayudado.
Notes on Punctuation
We can switch the order of the clauses with no
change in meaning.
Example:
Si tengo tiempo, te ayudaré/ayudo. Te ayudaré/ayudo
si tengo tiempo.
The only difference is the comma.
Use a comma after the si-clause when it comes first;
don’t use a comma when the main clause comes
first.
Example:
Te ayudaré/ayudo si tengo tiempo.
Te ayudaría si tuviera/tuviese tiempo.
Te habría/hubiera/hubiese ayudado si hubiese/hubiera
tenido tiempo.
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Conditional Clauses – Free
Exercise
1 Conditional Clauses – free exercise
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Oraciones condicionales – Lingolia
Plus Exercises
Oraciones condicionales – reales
1 B1
(1)
Oraciones condicionales – reales
2 B1
(2)
Oraciones condicionales – reales
3 B1
(3)
Oraciones condicionales – improba‐
4 B2
bles (1)
Oraciones condicionales – improba‐
5 B2
bles (2)
Oraciones condicionales – irreales
6 B2
(1)
Oraciones condicionales – irreales
7 B2
(2)
Oraciones condicionales – reales e
8 B2
improbables
Oraciones condicionales – improba‐
9 B2
bles e irreales
Oraciones condicionales – general
10 B2
(1)
Oraciones condicionales – general
11 B2
(2)
A1 Beginner A2 Elementary B1
Intermediate B2 Upper intermediate C1
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