Si estudias, aprobarás el examen.
English: If you study, you will pass the exam.
- Language
- Spanish
- Level
- B2
- Unit
- Oraciones complejas y subordinadas
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
In Spanish, 'oraciones condicionales reales e irreales' are conditional sentences that talk about what might happen (real) or what could have happened (unreal). They use specific verb forms to show if the condition is possible or impossible.
When to use it
Use real conditionals to talk about possible or likely situations in the present or future. Use unreal conditionals to talk about hypothetical or impossible situations, either now or in the past.
Key forms
- Si + presente de indicativo, futuro simple / imperativo (real condition)
- Si + imperfecto de subjuntivo, condicional simple (unreal/present impossible condition)
- Si + pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo, condicional compuesto (unreal/past impossible condition)
Examples
Si tienes tiempo, ven a mi casa.
English: If you have time, come to my house.
Si tuviera dinero, viajaría por el mundo.
English: If I had money, I would travel around the world.
Si hubieras venido, habríamos comido juntos.
English: If you had come, we would have eaten together.
Tips
- Remember: Use the subjunctive after 'si' for unreal conditions.
- Do not use the future tense directly after 'si'.
- Pay attention to the difference between real and unreal conditions; the verb changes!
Exceptions and edge cases
- Sometimes, in spoken Spanish, people use the imperfect indicative instead of the imperfect subjunctive for unreal conditions, but this is not standard.