Si passes el drap per la taula, la pols ja no hi és.

If you wipe the table with the cloth, the dust is no longer there.

Breakdown of Si passes el drap per la taula, la pols ja no hi és.

• ser: to be
• la taula: the table
• si: if
• ja no: no longer

Questions & Answers about Si passes el drap per la taula, la pols ja no hi és.

Why is there no subject pronoun before passes?

Catalan often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

So passes by itself means you pass / you wipe and implies tu.

• Si passes el drap... = If you wipe/pass the cloth...
• Tu passes el drap... is possible, but it adds emphasis, like you in English.

Here the sentence is addressed to one person informally: tu.

Why is it si passes and not a future form?

After si meaning if, Catalan normally uses the present indicative for real or likely conditions.

So:

• Si passes el drap... = If you wipe the cloth... / If you wipe the table...

Not:

• si passaràs... for this meaning

This is very similar to English, where we also say:

• If you do that, ... not
• If you will do that, ...

A detail that often confuses learners: passes looks like a subjunctive form, but in this sentence it is understood as present indicative because of the si conditional structure.

Is passes singular, plural, formal, or informal?