Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Probablemente lleguemos tarde si no salimos en cinco minutos. - We will probably arrive late if we don't leave in five minutes.

Spanish often uses the subjunctive after adverbs of probability or doubt like probablemente, posiblemente, tal vez, etc., especially in more careful or formal speech/writing.

Probablemente lleguemos tarde = We’ll probably be late (with a nuance of possibility / not certainty).
Probablemente llegaremos tarde is also heard, especially in everyday speech. It treats being late as more of a straightforward prediction (future indicative) rather than something uncertain.

Using lleguemos fits the pattern:

Idea of possibility/uncertainty (introduced by probablemente) → subjunctive.

Is Probablemente lleguemos tarde the only correct option, or can I say Probablemente llegaremos tarde?

Both are grammatically possible, and both are used by native speakers:

Probablemente lleguemos tarde
- More in line with traditional grammar rules.
- Sounds a bit more careful or formal.
- Emphasizes uncertainty / possibility.
Probablemente llegaremos tarde
- Very common in spoken Spanish.
- Treats it more as a straight prediction.

For a learner, using lleguemos here is a good habit because it helps you internalize the subjunctive after expressions of probability. But don’t be surprised or think it’s wrong if you hear llegaremos in real-life speech.

Why is it si no salimos (present) and not something like si no saldremos (future), like English if we won’t leave?

In Spanish, real or likely conditions usually follow this pattern:

Si + present indicative → future (or command) in the main clause

So here we have:

si no salimos en cinco minutos (if we don’t leave in five minutes) → condition
probablemente lleguemos tarde (we’ll probably be late) → result

You normally do not use the future tense after si in this kind of sentence. So:

✅ Si no salimos en cinco minutos, probablemente lleguemos tarde.
❌ Si no saldremos en cinco minutos… (sounds wrong to native speakers in this context).

Why is salimos (present indicative) instead of a subjunctive form like salgamos in si no salimos en cinco minutos?

After si in a real/possible condition (something that could actually happen), Spanish uses the present indicative, not the subjunctive:

Si salimos temprano, llegamos a tiempo.
Si no estudias, repruebas.

You would see subjunctive with si mainly in hypothetical or contrary-to-fact conditions, like:

Si saliéramos antes, no llegaríamos tarde.
(If we left earlier, we wouldn’t be late.)

In your sentence, it’s a realistic possibility (you might or might not leave in five minutes), so the present indicative salimos is correct.

What exactly does en cinco minutos mean here? Is it in five minutes or for five minutes?

In this context, en cinco minutos means in five minutes (from now):

Si no salimos en cinco minutos = If we don’t leave within the next five minutes / in five minutes’ time.

It does not mean for five minutes. If you wanted to say for five minutes, you would usually use por:

Tenemos que esperar por cinco minutos.
(We have to wait for five minutes.)

Sometimes you might also hear dentro de cinco minutos with almost the same meaning as en cinco minutos (in five minutes’ time). Both are fine in Latin American Spanish.

Why is tarde used without an article? Is it a noun (like “afternoon”) or something else here?

In lleguemos tarde, tarde is functioning as an adverb, meaning late, not as a noun.

Llegar tarde = to be late / to arrive late.

Adverbs in Spanish (like bien, mal, pronto, tarde) do not take articles:

Llegó tarde. (He/She arrived late.)
Nos acostamos tarde. (We go to bed late.)

When tarde is a noun, it usually means afternoon and can take an article:

La tarde está muy bonita. (The afternoon is very nice.)

In your sentence, it’s adverbial, so no article.

What verb form is lleguemos, exactly, and why does it have a gu instead of g?

Lleguemos is:

Verb: llegar
Person/number: 1st person plural (we)
Tense/mood: present subjunctive

The spelling change (g → gu) happens to keep the hard g sound before e:

llegar
- llegamos (present indicative, we arrive)
- lleguemos (present subjunctive, that we arrive / we might arrive)

Without the u, legemos would sound like it has a soft heh sound, not the gue in gay.

So gu keeps the hard sound: lle-GUE-mos.

Can I move probablemente to another position, like in English We’ll probably be late?

Yes. Spanish allows some flexibility with adverb placement. All of these are natural:

Probablemente lleguemos tarde si no salimos en cinco minutos.
Lleguemos probablemente tarde si no salimos en cinco minutos. (less common, a bit marked)
Si no salimos en cinco minutos, probablemente lleguemos tarde.
Si no salimos en cinco minutos, lleguemos probablemente tarde. (again, less common)

The most natural/typical choices are:

Probablemente lleguemos tarde si no salimos en cinco minutos.
Si no salimos en cinco minutos, probablemente lleguemos tarde.

Putting probablemente right before lleguemos or at the beginning of the sentence sounds most idiomatic.

Could I say Vamos a llegar tarde si no salimos en cinco minutos instead?

Yes, that is also very natural:

Vamos a llegar tarde si no salimos en cinco minutos.
(We’re going to be late if we don’t leave in five minutes.)

Differences in nuance:

Probablemente lleguemos tarde…
- Interpreted as We’ll probably be late…
- Expresses probability/uncertainty.
Vamos a llegar tarde…
- Sounds more like a straightforward prediction or almost a certainty: We’re going to be late…
- No explicit probablemente, so less hedged.

You could even combine them:

Probablemente vamos a llegar tarde si no salimos en cinco minutos.
(Common in speech, though mixing probablemente with vamos a + infinitive is slightly more colloquial than with lleguemos.)

Why is no placed before salimos and not somewhere else? Could I say si salimos no en cinco minutos?

In Spanish, no (as a sentence negator) usually goes directly before the conjugated verb:

No salimos. (We don’t leave / we’re not leaving.)
Si no salimos… (If we don’t leave…)

You cannot move no away from the verb like si salimos no en cinco minutos. That would be ungrammatical.

The structure is:

si + no + [conjugated verb] + …
→ Si no salimos en cinco minutos…

What’s the difference between si and sí? Why is it si here without an accent?

Spanish has two different words:

si (without accent) = if
- Used for conditions:
  - Si no salimos en cinco minutos… (If we don’t leave in five minutes…)
sí (with accent) = yes, or sometimes a reflexive/emphatic pronoun
- Sí, quiero ir. (Yes, I want to go.)
- Se lo dijo a sí mismo. (He told it to himself.)

In your sentence, you’re expressing a condition (if), so it must be si without an accent.

How do you pronounce probablemente and lleguemos?

Probablemente

Syllables: pro-bla-ble-men-te
Stress: on men → pro-bla-BLE-men-te
Roughly: proh-blah-BLEH-men-teh

Lleguemos

Syllables: lle-gue-mos
Stress: on gue → lle-GUE-mos
In many parts of Latin America, ll sounds like y in yes:
- yeh-GUE-mos

So, putting it together:
Probablemente lleguemos tarde si no salimos en cinco minutos.
→ proh-blah-BLEH-men-teh yeh-GUE-mos TAR-deh see noh sah-LEE-mos en SEEN-koh mee-NOO-tohs (approximate guide).