Breakdown of Si hubiera riesgo de huracán durante la entrevista, la compañía la pospondría.
de
of
si
if
durante
during
haber
to have
posponer
to postpone
la compañía
the company
la
it
el riesgo
the risk
la entrevista
the interview
el huracán
the hurricane
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Questions & Answers about Si hubiera riesgo de huracán durante la entrevista, la compañía la pospondría.
Why is hubiera used in the “if” clause instead of a present tense like hay or hubiese habido?
Spanish uses si + imperfect subjunctive to express a hypothetical or unlikely situation in the present (or future). Here, hubiera functions as the imperfect subjunctive of haber meaning “if there were.” You don’t need hubiese habido because you’re not referring to a completed past action, but to a hypothetical risk at the time of the interview.
What’s the difference between hubiera and hubiese?
Both hubiera and hubiese are interchangeable imperfect-subjunctive forms of haber. Usage is mostly a matter of regional or stylistic preference: hubiera is more common in Latin America, while hubiese might appear more in parts of Spain. They both trigger the same conditional result clause.
Why is the result clause in the conditional tense pospondría?
In Spanish conditional sentences of type II (“unreal” or “hypothetical”), when the “si” clause uses imperfect subjunctive, the main clause uses the conditional to show the outcome. Thus pospondría = “would postpone.”
Why is there a la before pospondría? What does it refer to?
That la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun replacing la entrevista. In Spanish, object pronouns generally precede a conjugated verb, so la pospondría literally means “would postpone it.”
Could the company just say la compañía pospondría la entrevista without the pronoun?
Yes, you could say pospondría la entrevista, but adding la as a pronoun avoids repeating la entrevista and makes the sentence flow more naturally.
Why is there a comma after the “si” clause?
When the si clause comes first in Spanish, it’s standard to separate it from the main clause with a comma:
Si … , [main clause].
Why “riesgo de huracán” instead of something like “riesgo del huracán” or “riesgo a huracán”?
Use de to indicate the type of risk—“risk of hurricane.” Saying del huracán (“of the hurricane”) would treat huracán as a specific event already occurring. Riesgo de huracán is the neutral way to talk about any potential hurricane.
Could I use mientras instead of durante here?
Not in that exact form. Durante + noun (“during the interview”) is concise and correct. Mientras is a conjunction meaning “while,” so you’d need a verb clause: mientras dure la entrevista or mientras se realice la entrevista. You can’t say mientras la entrevista on its own.
What kind of conditional sentence is this in Spanish?
It’s a Type II (or second) conditional: si + imperfect subjunctive, main clause with the conditional. It expresses an unlikely or hypothetical situation in the present/future and its probable result.