Spanish conditional sentences hang together on a single conceptual axis: how real does the speaker think the condition is? Every grammar rule about si-clauses falls out of that question. If the condition is treated as a general truth, both clauses go in the indicative. If it is a real future possibility, the si-clause goes in the present indicative and the main clause looks ahead with the future or an imperative. If it is hypothetical and unlikely, the si-clause shifts to the imperfect subjunctive and the main clause to the conditional. If it is counterfactual — describing a past that did not happen — the si-clause uses the pluperfect subjunctive and the main clause uses the conditional perfect.
This page is the reference map for the whole family. Each type gets a brief overview here, with a dedicated page going deeper. The structure of the system is not arbitrary; once you see the reality-axis behind it, the tense choices become predictable rather than memorised.
The master table
The whole family at a glance, with the peninsular template for each type:
| Type | Reality status | Si-clause | Main clause | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | General truth | present indicative | present indicative | Si hace sol, salgo a correr. |
| 1 | Real future | present indicative | future / ir a / imperative / present | Si llueve mañana, no saldremos. |
| 2 | Hypothetical present | imperfect subjunctive | conditional | Si tuviera tiempo, viajaría. |
| 3 | Counterfactual past | pluperfect subjunctive | conditional perfect | Si hubiera estudiado, habría aprobado. |
| Mixed | Past cause + present result, or vice versa | varies | varies | Si hubiera estudiado, ahora sería médico. |
Type 0: general truths
Both clauses in the present indicative. The si here is closer to whenever than to if — it introduces a recurring or always-true condition, not a hypothesis. Used for scientific facts, habitual routines, and rules of thumb.
Si calientas agua a cien grados, hierve.
If you heat water to a hundred degrees, it boils.
Si veo una serie española, siempre la veo en versión original.
If I watch a Spanish series, I always watch it in the original version.
Si tomas café por la noche, luego no duermes.
If you have coffee at night, you can't sleep afterwards.
In Type 0, si and cuando are nearly interchangeable: cuando tomas café por la noche, luego no duermes says almost the same thing. The difference is that cuando foregrounds the recurring time-frame ("every time"), while si keeps a faint "if-then" reading. Both are natural in Spain.
See sentences/conditionals/type-0 for a deeper treatment.
Type 1: real future
The si-clause is in the present indicative. The main clause looks forward, in one of four shapes:
- Future: Si llueve mañana, no *saldremos.*
- Ir a
- infinitive: Si llueve, *vamos a quedarnos en casa.*
- Imperative: Si tienes tiempo, *llámame.*
- Present indicative (near future, planned events): Si quieres, *te ayudo mañana.*
This is the conditional you use to talk about things that genuinely might happen — tomorrow's weather, a possible visit, a request that the listener might or might not honour. The speaker treats the condition as a real possibility, not a hypothesis.
Si llueve mañana, no saldremos a la sierra.
If it rains tomorrow, we won't go out to the mountains.
Si tienes un momento, pásate por mi despacho antes de comer.
If you have a moment, drop by my office before lunch.
Si os apetece, podemos quedar a tomar algo el sábado.
If you fancy it, we can meet up for a drink on Saturday.
The critical rule: never si + future, never si + conditional. The si-clause stays in the present indicative for the real-future reading. Si tendré tiempo is one of the most persistent learner errors and signals English influence immediately.
See sentences/conditionals/type-1 for the full treatment.
Type 2: hypothetical present
The si-clause goes into the imperfect subjunctive; the main clause goes into the simple conditional. This is the conditional of hypothesis — the condition is unlikely, contrary to fact, or framed as a thought experiment.
Si tuviera más tiempo, aprendería a tocar el piano.
If I had more time, I'd learn to play the piano.
Si fuera tú, no le contestaría a ese mensaje.
If I were you, I wouldn't reply to that message.
¿Qué harías si te tocara la lotería?
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Two imperfect-subjunctive endings exist in modern peninsular Spanish: -ra (tuviera, fuera, hubiera) and -se (tuviese, fuese, hubiese). In everyday speech and most writing, the -ra form dominates. The -se form survives in legal, literary, and very formal contexts (si yo fuese tú sounds slightly more old-fashioned or written than si yo fuera tú). Both are correct; pick -ra for natural-sounding conversation.
See sentences/conditionals/type-2 for the details.
Type 3: counterfactual past
The si-clause is in the pluperfect subjunctive (hubiera/hubiese + participle); the main clause is in the conditional perfect (habría + participle). Used for regret, hindsight, and alternative-history musing — the condition didn't happen, so the result didn't happen either.
Si hubiera estudiado más, habría aprobado el examen.
If I had studied more, I would have passed the exam.
Si me lo hubieras dicho antes, te habría echado una mano.
If you had told me earlier, I would have helped you out.
In spoken peninsular Spanish, you will hear hubiera/hubiese in both clauses very often — si hubiera estudiado, hubiera aprobado. Prescriptive grammar prefers habría in the main clause, but the double-hubiera form is widespread, fully native, and accepted in informal writing. It is one of the few cases where everyday peninsular usage and the textbook diverge openly.
Si hubiera sabido que venías, hubiera preparado algo de cena.
If I'd known you were coming, I'd have made some dinner. (colloquial peninsular double-hubiera form)
See sentences/conditionals/type-3 for the full picture.
Mixed conditionals
The four classical types can be cross-combined when the cause and the effect sit on different points of the timeline. The most common mixed pattern is past cause + present result: a counterfactual past condition (si hubiera…) with a present-time consequence in the simple conditional.
Si hubiera estudiado medicina, ahora sería médico.
If I had studied medicine, I'd be a doctor now.
Si no me hubiese mudado a Madrid, no conocería a la gente que conozco hoy.
If I hadn't moved to Madrid, I wouldn't know the people I know today.
The reverse pattern — present cause + past result — is rarer but possible:
Si tuviera más paciencia, no habría discutido con él anoche.
If I had more patience (as a trait), I wouldn't have argued with him last night.
The logic is mechanical: the si-clause carries the tense appropriate for its own time-frame, and the main clause carries the tense appropriate for its time-frame. Each half is independent.
The fundamental rule
The single most important constraint on Spanish conditional sentences:
If you remember nothing else from this page, remember that. It rules out the four most common learner errors at a stroke:
- ❌ Si tendré tiempo… — future in si-clause
- ❌ Si tendría tiempo… — conditional in si-clause
- ❌ Si tenga tiempo… — present subjunctive in si-clause
- ❌ Si habría estudiado… — conditional perfect in si-clause
The peninsular variant: double hubiera
Spoken peninsular Spanish allows the pluperfect subjunctive to replace the conditional perfect in the main clause of a Type 3 conditional. Both of the following are heard daily in Spain:
Si hubiera estudiado más, habría aprobado.
If I'd studied more, I'd have passed. (prescriptive form)
Si hubiera estudiado más, hubiera aprobado.
If I'd studied more, I'd have passed. (colloquial peninsular form, equally common in speech)
The double-hubiera version is not a mistake. It's listed in the Nueva gramática de la lengua española (RAE) as a valid alternative, and it's overwhelmingly the more common form in conversational Spain. In formal writing or exams, default to habría in the main clause; in casual speech and informal writing, both are natural.
The same pattern extends to the -se endings: si hubiese estudiado, hubiese aprobado is equally available, though less common than the -ra version in modern peninsular speech.
The alternative: de + infinitive
For hypothetical and counterfactual conditions, Spanish also has a compact alternative built on de + infinitive. It replaces the si-clause entirely and is especially common in writing and in deliberate speech.
De haberlo sabido, te habría llamado.
Had I known, I would have called you. (= si lo hubiera sabido)
De tener tiempo, iría contigo.
Were I to have time, I'd go with you. (= si tuviera tiempo)
The construction is the closest Spanish equivalent of the English literary "had I known…" inversion. It always pairs with a conditional or conditional perfect in the main clause, never with a future. See the dedicated page on de + infinitive for the full treatment.
Word order: which clause goes first?
The si-clause and the main clause can come in either order. When the si-clause is fronted, a comma separates them; when the si-clause comes second, no comma is needed.
Si llueve mañana, no saldremos.
If it rains tomorrow, we won't go out. (si-clause first, comma)
No saldremos si llueve mañana.
We won't go out if it rains tomorrow. (main clause first, no comma)
Fronting the si-clause foregrounds the condition as the topic — "as for the rain…". Putting the main clause first foregrounds the result. The two orders share the same content but slightly different information structure.
Comparing Type 2 and Type 3 — the most common confusion
Many learners blur Type 2 (si tuviera) and Type 3 (si hubiera tenido). They are not interchangeable: they describe different time-frames.
- Type 2 is about a hypothetical present or future that you're imagining: si tuviera tiempo, iría = if I had time (now/in general), I'd go. You don't have it.
- Type 3 is about a past that didn't happen: si hubiera tenido tiempo, habría ido = if I had had time (back then), I would have gone. You didn't have it, in the past.
Si tuviera dinero, me compraría un coche.
If I had money, I'd buy a car. (hypothetical present — I don't have money now)
Si hubiera tenido dinero, me habría comprado un coche.
If I had had money, I would have bought a car. (counterfactual past — back then, I didn't have it)
The pluperfect-subjunctive auxiliary hubiera + participle is the dead giveaway for Type 3.
Common Mistakes
❌ Si voy a tener tiempo, te llamaré.
Wrong — never use the future (or 'ir a' + infinitive future) in the si-clause. Spanish reserves the si-clause for present indicative.
✅ Si tengo tiempo, te llamaré.
If I have time, I'll call you.
❌ Si tendría más dinero, viajaría más.
Wrong — never use the conditional in the si-clause. The hypothetical-time si-clause goes into the imperfect subjunctive.
✅ Si tuviera más dinero, viajaría más.
If I had more money, I'd travel more.
❌ Si tengo tiempo, viajaría por toda España.
Wrong — mixing indicative in the si-clause with conditional in the main clause. For a hypothesis, both halves must shift: imperfect subjunctive + conditional.
✅ Si tuviera tiempo, viajaría por toda España.
If I had time, I'd travel all over Spain.
❌ Si hubiera estudiado, habré aprobado.
Wrong — the main clause of a counterfactual must be the conditional perfect (habría) or the pluperfect subjunctive (hubiera), not the future perfect (habré).
✅ Si hubiera estudiado, habría aprobado. / Si hubiera estudiado, hubiera aprobado.
If I'd studied, I'd have passed.
❌ Si yo fuese tú, le diría algo. (in casual chat with a friend)
Not wrong, but the -se ending sounds slightly formal/literary in casual peninsular speech. The -ra ending is the default in modern Spain.
✅ Si yo fuera tú, le diría algo.
If I were you, I'd say something to him.
Key takeaways
- Spanish conditional sentences organise around one axis: how real is the condition? Type 0 (general truth), Type 1 (real future), Type 2 (hypothetical present), Type 3 (counterfactual past), plus mixed combinations.
- The si-clause is restricted to present indicative, imperfect indicative, preterite, imperfect subjunctive, or pluperfect subjunctive — never the future, never the conditional, never the present subjunctive.
- In modern peninsular Spanish, the -ra imperfect-subjunctive ending dominates in speech; -se survives in formal, legal, and literary registers.
- In spoken Spain, the Type 3 main clause is frequently hubiera
- participle instead of habría
- participle (si hubiera estudiado, hubiera aprobado). Both are native and acceptable in informal contexts.
- participle instead of habría
- De
- infinitive is the compact alternative to the si-clause for hypothetical and counterfactual conditions, especially in writing.
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- Condicionales tipo 0: verdades generalesA2 — Spanish zero conditionals describe general truths, habitual routines, and scientific facts. Both clauses sit in the present indicative; the 'si' is closer to 'whenever' than to 'if'.
- Condicionales tipo 1: real futuroA2 — Spanish Type 1 conditionals describe a real future possibility. The 'si'-clause goes in the present indicative; the main clause can be future, 'ir a' + infinitive, imperative, or present indicative.
- Condicionales tipo 2: hipotéticos presentesB1 — Spanish Type 2 conditionals describe hypothetical, unlikely, or contrary-to-fact present situations. The 'si'-clause takes the imperfect subjunctive; the main clause takes the simple conditional.
- Condicionales tipo 3: pasado contrafactualB2 — Spanish Type 3 conditionals describe a past that did not happen. The 'si'-clause takes the pluperfect subjunctive; the main clause takes the conditional perfect — or, in colloquial Spain, the pluperfect subjunctive in both halves.
- De + infinitivo: condicional alternativoB2 — A formal alternative to si-clauses: 'de + infinitive' compresses the conditional protasis into a non-finite phrase — concise, written-register, and beloved of journalism and oratory.
- Deseos y arrepentimientos: si hubieraB2 — How to express wishes, regrets, and counterfactuals in Spanish — ojalá, si hubiera, tendría que haber, and the constellation of structures around them.