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Si evitamos ese peaje, tardaremos más pero gastaremos menos gasolina.

Si evitamos ese peaje, tardaremos más pero gastaremos menos gasolina.
If we avoid that toll, we’ll take longer but we’ll spend less gas.
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Questions & Answers about Si evitamos ese peaje, tardaremos más pero gastaremos menos gasolina.

Why does the sentence use Si evitamos (present tense) instead of a subjunctive form like si evitemos?

In Spanish, after si (meaning if), you generally do not use the present subjunctive. For real or likely conditions, Spanish uses:

  • Si + present indicative → future (or imperative, etc.)

So Si evitamos ese peaje, tardaremos... = If we avoid that toll, we will take longer...
Si evitemos is not used in standard Spanish.

Why is the second part in the future tense: tardaremos and gastaremos?

This is the common “real future condition” pattern:

  • Si + present indicative → result in the future

So:

  • Si evitamos... (if we avoid...)
  • tardaremos... / gastaremos... (we will take... / we will spend...)

It’s like English: If we do X, we will do Y.

What’s the difference between Si evitamos... and Si evitáramos/evitásemos...?

They express different likelihood/attitude:

1) Si evitamos ese peaje, tardaremos...
A realistic possibility: If we avoid it (which we might), we’ll take longer.

2) Si evitáramos/evitásemos ese peaje, tardaríamos...
Hypothetical/less certain: If we avoided it, we would take longer.

So the second one usually pairs with the conditional (tardaríamos, gastaríamos).

What does peaje mean, and is it masculine or feminine?

Peaje means toll (a toll you pay on a toll road).
It’s masculine: el peaje, ese peaje.

Even though it ends in -e, grammatical gender is masculine here.

Why does it say ese peaje and not este peaje or aquel peaje?

Spanish has three common demonstratives (in many Latin American varieties, this three-way distinction still exists in usage, though ese is very common):

  • este = this (near me / the speaker)
  • ese = that (near you / or not close to me; often the default “that”)
  • aquel = that over there (far from both)

ese peaje = that toll (the one we’re talking about / not right here).

Why is there a comma after peaje?

It’s normal to place a comma after an introductory si clause when it comes first:

  • Si X, Y.

So: Si evitamos ese peaje, tardaremos más...
(English does the same: If..., ...)

What does tardar mean here? Is it “to be late”?

Here tardar means to take (time) / to take longer.

  • Tardaremos más = It will take us longer / We’ll take longer.

Tardar can relate to “being late” in some contexts, but in this structure (tardar + más/menos) it’s about duration.

Why is más accented, but menos is not?
  • más (with accent) = more
  • mas (no accent) = a formal/literary but (similar to pero)

So the accent distinguishes meanings.
menos only has one common meaning (less) and doesn’t need an accent.

Why does it say pero and not sino?

Use pero when you’re contrasting two true ideas:

  • We’ll take longer, but we’ll spend less gas. (Both can be true.)

Use sino after a negation to mean but rather:

  • No iremos por la autopista, sino por la carretera. = We won’t go via the highway, but rather via the road.

This sentence isn’t structured that way, so pero is correct.

Why is it gastaremos menos gasolina without de (like “less of”)?

With quantities in Spanish, you typically say:

  • más/menos + noun (no de)

So:

  • menos gasolina = less gas
  • más tiempo = more time

You might see menos de + number/amount with numerals:

  • menos de 10 litros = less than 10 liters
Do we need to include nosotros (we) in Spanish here?

No. Spanish usually drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows it.

  • evitamos, tardaremos, gastaremos clearly indicate we.

You could add nosotros for emphasis or contrast:

  • Si nosotros evitamos ese peaje... = If we (as opposed to others) avoid that toll...
Does evitar mean “avoid” in the same way as English?

Mostly yes. Evitar commonly means:

  • to avoid (a thing, a situation, a route)
  • to prevent (something from happening), depending on context

Here it’s straightforward: avoid that toll = choose a route that doesn’t include it.