Breakdown of Con un salario más alto, viajaría a varios países cada año.
yo
I
con
with
cada
each, every
más
more
a
to
viajar
to travel
el año
the year
el país
the country
varios
several
alto
high
el salario
the salary
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Questions & Answers about Con un salario más alto, viajaría a varios países cada año.
Why is con used here instead of starting with si?
In Spanish, you can express a condition with con + noun phrase as a concise alternative to si + verb clause.
- Con un salario más alto ≈ “If I had a higher salary…”
- Alternatively, you could say Si tuviera un salario más alto, but omitting si makes the sentence shorter and equally correct.
Why do we say un salario más alto and not just salario alto?
Más alto is the comparative form, meaning “higher.”
- salario alto = “a high salary” (describes the salary’s level)
- salario más alto = “a higher salary” (compares to your current salary)
Why is the adjective alto placed after the noun salario?
In Spanish, adjectives can go before or after the noun. Placing alto after salario follows the typical pattern for descriptive adjectives.
- un gran coche vs. un coche grande
Here, un salario más alto sounds natural because the comparative phrase más alto normally follows the noun it modifies.
Why is viajaría in the conditional tense and not in the future or present tense?
The conditional (-ía ending) expresses a hypothetical action dependent on an unreal or unlikely condition.
- viajaría = “I would travel” (imaginary scenario)
If you stated it as a plan or certainty, you’d use the future (viajaré) or present (viajo), but here you’re saying “I would travel if I had more salary.”
What does the accent on viajaría indicate?
The accent on the -ía ending marks the stressed syllable and distinguishes the conditional form from other similar endings. All conditional forms in Spanish (yo viajaría, tú viajarías, etc.) carry that accent to show the correct stress pattern.
Why do we use a varios países instead of por varios países?
- viajar a indicates destination: “to go/travel to” specific places.
- viajar por would emphasize traveling around or through places.
Since the sentence lists the countries you’d visit as destinations, a is the correct preposition.
What does varios mean?
Varios means “several” or “a number of.” It suggests more than two but not necessarily a large amount. So varios países = “several countries.”
What is the nuance between cada año and al año?
- cada año = “every year,” stressing repetition (“year after year”).
- al año = “per year,” often used in statistics or averages (e.g., “tres viajes al año”).
In your sentence, cada año fits because you’re imagining a repeating annual habit.