Breakdown of Si la marea subiera más, cerrarían la playa por seguridad.
Questions & Answers about Si la marea subiera más, cerrarían la playa por seguridad.
We use subiera because this is an unreal or hypothetical “if” clause (la protasis) referring to something that isn’t happening right now. In Spanish, for these second-type conditionals you pair the imperfect subjunctive (here, subiera) in the si-clause with the conditional in the main clause.
- sube would be present indicative, used for real or possible situations (“If the tide rises, they close the beach”).
- subiría would be conditional, but you don’t put the conditional in the si-clause; it goes in the main clause.
Since the si-clause is in the imperfect subjunctive (subiera), the main clause needs the conditional (cerrarían). This construction expresses “they would close” — a hypothetical result.
- cerrarán is simple future (“they will close”), used with a real or likely condition (present indicative).
- cierran is present indicative (“they close”), also for real situations, not for hypothetical ones.
Yes. To express a real possibility you use present indicative in the si-clause and future in the main clause:
Si la marea sube más, cerrarán la playa por seguridad.
Here you’re saying “If the tide rises more (and this is likely), they will close the beach.”
You’d use the pluperfect subjunctive in the si-clause and the conditional perfect in the main clause:
Si la marea hubiera subido más, habrían cerrado la playa por seguridad.