Si me acerco al centro, descubriré museos y parques que nunca he visto.

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Breakdown of Si me acerco al centro, descubriré museos y parques que nunca he visto.

• el: the
• a: to
• y: and
• el parque: the park
• que: that
• ver: to see
• haber: to have
• ,: comma
• descubrir: to discover
• acercar: to approach
• el centro: the center
• el museo: the museum
• nunca: never

Questions & Answers about Si me acerco al centro, descubriré museos y parques que nunca he visto.

Why is the verb in the if-clause (me acerco) in the present tense rather than a future tense?

In Spanish conditionals of this type (first conditional), the if-clause typically takes the present tense, while the main clause uses the future tense. In this case, me acerco is in the present tense, and it pairs with descubriré in the future tense.

Why does the sentence use a reflexive verb (me acerco) instead of acerco without 'me'?

Acercarse is a pronominal verb in Spanish, meaning it is expressed with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, etc.) to indicate moving oneself closer. Using acerco alone would change the meaning and sound unnatural in this context.

Why does the main clause use descubriré instead of voy a descubrir?

Both forms (descubriré and voy a descubrir) are grammatically correct to express the future in Spanish. Descubriré is the simple future tense and is slightly more formal. Voy a descubrir is the periphrastic future and often sounds more immediate or colloquial. Either one would make sense, but the simple future in descubriré is perfectly suited to a conditional sentence like this.

What is the purpose of que in ...museos y parques que nunca he visto?

Que is a relative pronoun linking museos y parques to the subordinate clause describing them (nunca he visto). It functions similarly to that in English, though in Spanish it’s more essential and cannot be omitted in this type of clause.

Why is the present perfect (he visto) used instead of a simple past tense like vi?

In Spanish, he visto (present perfect) emphasizes the idea of experience in one’s lifetime or up until now. It suggests, “I have never seen them (up to this point).” Using vi would be more specific to a past event rather than reflecting the general experience.

Why is it al centro rather than a el centro or en el centro?

Al is the contracted form of a + el, meaning to the. You use a to express movement or direction towards something. Si me acerco al centro literally indicates “If I move toward the center.” If you wanted to say “If I go downtown/into the center,” al centro is the standard way to express that movement toward the city center in Spanish.