Conditional Sentences in Spanish Grammar

1st conditional: si + present + present/future

First conditional sentences (las oraciones condicionales reales) express a present or future action that can or will only occur provided that a certain condition is fulfilled.

The condition is expressed in the si-clause and its result or outcome appears in the main clause:

Example:

Si tengo tiempo luego, te ayudaré. If I have time later, I’ll help you.

reality: I might have time later and if so, I’ll help you

First conditional sentences are formed as follows:

• si-clause: si + present
• main clause: present or future

Examples:

Si la gata tiene hambre, me despierta con un maullido. If/When the cat is hungry, she wakes me up with a meow.

present + present

Si no me levanto, se subirá a mi cama. If I don’t get up, she will climb onto my bed.

present + future

Use first conditional sentences for:

• future or immediate consequences

Example:

Si la gata tiene hambre, me despierta con un maullido. If the cat is hungry, she wakes me up with a meow.

Si no me levanto, se subirá a mi cama. If I don’t get up, she’ll climb onto my bed.

• habits

Example:

Si la gata encuentra algún ratón, lo persigue. If the cat finds a mouse, she chases it.

• universal truths

Example:

Si no llueve, el prado se seca. When it doesn’t rain, the grass dries out.

2nd conditional: si + imperfect subjunctive + conditional

Second conditional sentences (las oraciones condicionales potenciales) express an impossible/hypothetical condition condition and its imagined result in the present or future.

The condition is expressed in the si-clause and its hypothetical outcome in the main clause.

Example:

Si tuviera tiempo, te ayudaría. If I had time, I would help you.

reality: I don’t have time and I can’t help

How to form 2nd conditional sentences:

• si-clause: imperfect subjunctive
• main clause: conditional simple

Example:

Si pudiera/pudiese, dormiría toda el día. If she could, she would sleep all day.

Second conditional sentences are often accompanied by time markers to indicate whether they refer to a scenario in the present or the future.

Examples:

Si la granja fuera/fuese más grande, tendría un caballo. If the farm were bigger, I’d have a horse.

imagining the present as different

Si después de un tiempo aprendiera/aprendiese a montar a caballo, pasearía con él por el campo. If I learned to ride a horse after a while, I would ride through the countryside.

imagining the future as different

3rd conditional: si + past perfect subjunctive + conditional perfect

Third conditional sentences (las oraciones condicionales irreales) look back at a past situation and its outcome and imagine them as different.

Example:

Si hubiera tenido tiempo, te habría ayudado. If I had had time, I would have helped you.

reality: I didn’t have time and I didn’t help

How to form third conditional sentences:

• si-clause: past perfect subjunctive
• main clause: conditional perfect

Example:

Si hubiera/hubiese llovido durante el invierno, el pasto habría crecido más. If it had rained in the winter, the grass would have grown more.

So did it happen or not?

Third conditional sentences reimagine a past situation or action as different to how it really was. When they are affirmative, they refer to something that did not happen.

Example:

Si hubiera/hubiese llovido durante el invierno, el pasto habría crecido más. If it had rained in the winter, the grass would have grown more.

reality: it didn’t rain and the grass didn’t grow much

However, if both clauses are negated, the third conditional sentence refers to something that did happen in the past.

Example:

Si el tiempo no hubiera/hubiese sido tan malo, el pasto no se habría secado.

reality: the weather was bad and the grass did dry out

Mixed conditionals

Sometimes, two conditional types can appear together in one sentence. This is known as a mixed conditional (condicional mixto).

Specifically, we can take a third conditional si-clause to introduce an imagined condition in the past:

Example:

Si el vecino me hubiera regalado un gallo, … If the neighbour had given me a cockrel …

reality: the neighbour did not give me cockrel

And combine it with a second conditional main clause to imagine its hypothetical outcome in the present:

Example:

… ahora tendría un despertador. … I would have an alarm clock now.

reality: I don’t have an alarm clock, because the action in the si-clause never happened

Puncutation in conditional sentences

Just like in English, we can switch the order of the clauses with no change in meaning.

Example:

Si pudiera, dormiría todo el día. ↔ Dormiría todo el día si pudiera. If she could, she would sleep all day.
She would sleep all day if she could.

The only difference is the comma:

When the si-clause comes first, it is followed by a comma. If the order is reversed, no comma is needed.

Examples:

Si tengo un hueco libre, saldré a pasear con los perros. If I have a free moment, I’ll take the dogs for a walk.

si-clause first = comma is necessary

Saldré a pasear con los perros si tengo un hueco libre. I’ll take the dogs for a walk if I have a free moment.

main clause first = no comma needed

Related topics

Brush up on your tenses to make sure you can combine your conditional clauses perfectly every time:

• Present
• Future
• Imperfect subjunctiveConditional
• Past perfect subjunctive
• Conditional perfect