unreal conditionals
TRANSCRIPT
Unreal conditionals
are called "unreal" because they
communicate hypothetical cases
referring to the present or the past.
Si tuviera dinero, compraría un auto.
Si tuviera dinero, compraría un
auto.The sentence above very clearly communicates the reality
that I don't have money, and so I'm not buying a car.
ButSi tuviera dinero (right now), compraría un auto (right now).
This is a present unreal conditional, because it refers to a
hypothetical case right now, in the present.
So you're thinking...
"Yeah, well.. that's just great. You showed me
something I already know, in my own language... How is
that going to help?"
It helps because in English we express unreal
conditionals in the exact same way by the
exact same logic. In other words, if you know
what you're doing in Spanish when you express
an unreal conditional, you can automatically know
what you're doing in English when trying to
express the same.
Si tuviera dinero,
If I had money
compraría un auto.
I would buy a car.
Si tuviera dinero, compraría un
auto.
If I had money, I would buy a car.
Si no tuviera bici, no sé qué haría.
If I didn't have a bike, I don't know
what I would do.
Si tuviera dinero, compraría un
auto.
If I had money, I would buy a car.
Si no tuviera bici, no sé qué haría.
If I didn't have a bike, I don't know
what I would do.
Indirect Questions Review
¿Qué haría?
What would I do?
No sé qué haría.
I don't know what I would do.
Remember that?
Si supiera la respuesta, te la daría.
If I knew the answer, I would give it to you.
Si no comieras tanto, tal vez serías más delgado.
If you didn't eat so much, maybe you would be
thinner.
Me encantaría el menudo si su olor no me hiciera
vomitar.
I would love menudo if its smell didn't make me
throw up.
Si te pagaran, les ayudarías?
If they paid you, would you help them?
Okay, so far we've been looking at
present unreal conditionals:
Si tuviera dinero, compraría un auto.
But what about past unreal
conditionals?
Si hubiera tenido dinero, habría comprado un
auto.
Si hubiera tenido dinero,
If I had had money,
habría comprado
I would have bought
un auto.
a car.
Si hubiera tenido dinero, habría
comprado un auto.
If I had had money, I would have bought a
car.
Si no hubiera gastado todo la lana en
alcohol y mujeres, habría tenido dinero
para la renta.
If I hadn't spent all the cash on booze and
women, I would have had money for rent.
Si hubiera tenido dinero, habría
comprado un auto.
If I had had money, I would have bought a
car.
Si no hubiera gastado todo la lana en
alcohol y mujeres, habría tenido dinero
para la renta.
If I hadn't spent all the cash on booze and
women, I would have had money for rent.
Si hubiera sabido la respuesta, te la habría dado.
If I had known the answer, I would have given it to
you.
Si no hubieras comido tanto, tal vez habrías
dormido mejor.
If you hadn't eaten so much, maybe you would
have slept better.
Me habría encantado el menudo si su olor no me
hubiera hecho vomitar.
I would have loved the menudo if its smell hadn't
made me throw up.
Si te hubieran pagado, les habrías ayudado?
If they had paid you, would you have helped them?
Si hubiera sabido la respuesta, te la habría dado.
If I had known the answer, I would have given it to
you.
Si no hubieras comido tanto, tal vez habrías
dormido mejor.
If you hadn't eaten so much, maybe you would
have slept better.
Me habría encantado el menudo si su olor no me
hubiera hecho vomitar.
I would have loved the menudo if its smell hadn't
made me throw up.
Si te hubieran pagado, les habrías ayudado?
If they had paid you, would you have helped them?