Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Si la medicina no funciona, iremos al hospital mañana. - If the medicine doesn’t work, we will go to the hospital tomorrow.

In Spanish “if” clauses that describe a real or likely condition use the present indicative after si. You’re talking about a genuine possibility—maybe the medicine works, maybe it doesn’t—so you say si la medicina no funciona. The subjunctive (e.g. funcione) would imply a more remote, uncertain, or purely hypothetical situation.

Why do we say iremos instead of vamos a ir?

Spanish offers two main ways to express the future: the simple future (iremos) and the periphrastic future (vamos a ir).

iremos is more concise and formal.
vamos a ir is equally correct and often used in everyday speech. Both mean “we will go,” so choosing one is a matter of style and emphasis, not grammar.

Why is there a comma after the si-clause?

When a si-clause comes first, you separate it from the main clause with a comma.
Example:
Si la medicina no funciona, iremos al hospital mañana.
If you invert them—Iremos al hospital mañana si la medicina no funciona—you drop the comma.

Why is hospital preceded by al?

Al is the contraction of a + el. When you say ir a el hospital, Spanish contracts it to ir al hospital. You always need that a before destinations:

Voy al cine.
Vamos al parque.

Can I move mañana to a different position in the sentence? Will that change the meaning?

Yes, position matters.

Si la medicina no funciona, iremos al hospital mañana.
– “Tomorrow we’ll go to the hospital if the medicine doesn’t work.”
Si la medicina no funciona mañana, iremos al hospital.
– “If the medicine doesn’t work tomorrow, we’ll go to the hospital.”
Notice how attaching mañana to the first clause shifts its time reference to “tomorrow” for the medicine.

Does mañana ever mean “morning” instead of “tomorrow”?

Yes. Mañana alone often means “tomorrow” in spoken Spanish. To mean “in the morning,” you usually say por la mañana or specify esta mañana (“this morning”).

What’s the difference between medicina and medicamento?

They overlap but have nuances:

Medicina often refers to the field or to medicine in a general sense (and can mean “medicine” as a substance).
Medicamento usually means a specific drug or pharmaceutical product.
In everyday speech you can use either, but el medicamento sounds more technical.

Why don’t we use cuando instead of si here?

Si means “if” (a conditional). Cuando means “when” (a certain time). You use si for uncertain events (“if the medicine doesn’t work”). Use cuando when you expect the event to happen for sure:

Cuando llegues, hablamos. (“When you arrive, we’ll talk.”)
Si no funciona, iremos al hospital mañana. (“If it doesn’t work, we’ll go…”)