Conditional sentences have two parts: the condition and the consequence. The condition starts with «Si» that means «if» in Spanish.
There are different types of conditionals:
First of all we have the zero conditional or «condiciones seguras». By using this kind of conditional we are saying that we are sure that the consequence is going to take place everytime the condition happens.
They are used to talk about how something works, to offer help or assistance or to give an advise.
It is the most simple construction, we only need to use the presente de indicativo or imperative.
Let’s practice the zero conditional with this exercise:
The first conditional is used for situations where we are not sure if the condition will take place, but in the case it does, we are sure that the consequence is going to happen.
It is very similar to English, we use presente de indicativo for the condition and futuro simple or «ir a + infinitive» for the consequence.
It is used to talk about future plans under a condition, to make promises and to warn about something.
The second conditional is used for unlikely or imposible conditions and the consequences that would happen in that hypothetical case.
For this conditional in English we use the past tense «If I had money». In Spanish, we need the past tense of subjuntivo, which is imperfecto de subjuntivo. For the consequence, we use condicional simple.
It is used to talk about imaginary situations in the present, to guess what consequences would have a situation in the future or to suggest a change.
Let’s see an example of a story with this conditional type 2:
El Sueño de la Lechera
Érase una vez, una joven llamada Mari. Mari era una chica con muchos sueños y una jarra de leche fresca que llevaba a vender al mercado. Mientras caminaba por el campo, empezó a soñar despierta.
«Si vendiera esta leche, ganaría algunas monedas,» pensó.
Y su imaginación voló:
«¡Ah, sí! Si ganara esas monedas, no compraría solo huevos. ¡No! Si comprara quinientas gallinas, en poco tiempo tendría una granja llena de aves.
Y si tuviera una granja enorme, vendería muchísimos huevos. Si vendiera quinientos huevos cada semana, me haría rica, ¡muy rica!
Si fuera rica, podría comprarme el vestido más hermoso del pueblo, un vestido elegante y nuevo.
Y si tuviera ese vestido, iría a la fiesta principal del pueblo. ¡Todos los chicos guapos me mirarían!
Si los chicos me miraran y me pidieran bailar, yo les diría que no. Simplemente movería mi cabeza con elegancia, así…»
Y en ese momento, Mari, que estaba tan concentrada en su sueño de mover la cabeza para decir «no», ¡movió la cabeza de verdad!
La jarra de leche cayó al suelo y toda la leche se derramó.
¡Adiós, vestido nuevo! ¡Adiós, granja de gallinas! ¡Adiós, sueños!
Mari suspiró y se dijo: «Si no hubiera soñado tanto y hubiera mirado el camino, no lloraría ahora por la leche.»
The third conditional type is used for imposible conditions. Why are they imposible? Because they are conditions in the past, that have never happen.
For this kind of conditionals the condition is formed with pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo and for the consequence we use condicional compuesto.
They are used to talk about imaginary situations in the past. Sometimes they can indicate regret.
Last but not least, it is also possible to mis the conditionals in Spanish. This happens when the condition and the consequence don’t happen at the same time.
Therefore, we can mix the second and the third conditional. A past condition can have an effect in the present. If I had studied medicine I would work in a hospital now.
And also, a general condition that’s still ongoing could have had a consequence in the past. If she was a doctor, he would have known what to do.
