What are the different types of si clause?

There are four main types of si clause in Spanish, and they are as follows:

Si + Present + Present - This is used to convey a habitual action where one action is a direct consequence of another. In all of the following examples, the position of the si clause and the action clause are interchangeable as they are in English. E.g.:

Si hace sol, juego al fútbol - if it is sunny, I play football

Me levanto a las seis y media si tengo clases - I get up at 6.30 if I have school

Si + Present + Future - This is used to convey an action that has not happened yet, but is an open condition (an open condition is one that is possible and neither likely nor unlikely.) E.g.:

Si llueve mañana, no jugaré al fútbol - if it rains tomorrow, I will not play football

No podré salir si sigue nevando - I will not be able to go out if it continues snowing

Si + Imperfect subjunctive + Conditional - This is used to convey a hypothetical situation that has not happened but could happen at some point in the future. E.g.:

Si lloviera, no jugaría al fútbol - if it rained, I would not play football (It is not raining yet, but there is a chance of rain)

Tendría más tiempo si me levantara más temprano - I would have more time if I got up earlier

Si + Pluperfect subjunctive + Conditional perfect - This is used to convey a hypothetical closed condition (where the condition is in the past and we already know that it did not happen) E.g.:

Si hubiera llovido, no habría jugado al fútbol - If it had rained, I would not have played football (This is in the past. It did not rain, I did play football.)

Si me hubiera levantado, habría aprobado mi examen - If I had got up, I would have passed my exam

Answered by Fergus Y. Spanish tutor

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