Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan y no iremos al lago. - If this Thursday it is cloudy, we will change the plan and will not go to the lake.

Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan y no iremos al lago.

If this Thursday it is cloudy, we will change the plan and will not go to the lake.

Breakdown of Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan y no iremos al lago.

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Questions & Answers about Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan y no iremos al lago.

Why does the sentence use está nublado (present) after si instead of a future tense like estará nublado?

In Spanish, when you talk about a real, possible condition in the future, you normally use:

Present indicative in the si-clause
Future (or imperative) in the main clause

So:

Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan.
If this Thursday is cloudy, we will change the plan.

In English we sometimes use the present too (“if it is cloudy, we’ll change…”), so this is actually parallel.

Using the future after si (Si este jueves estará nublado…) is normally incorrect in standard Spanish. The present está already expresses a real, possible condition in the future when used with si and a future in the main clause.

Is “Si este jueves estará nublado” ever correct?

Practically no in this meaning.

Si este jueves estará nublado, cambiaremos de plan sounds wrong to native speakers in standard Spanish.

You use future in a si-clause only in some special, less common cases, often expressing speculation or asking about someone’s schedule, not a condition. For example:

Si estarás en Madrid mañana, nos vemos.
(Very colloquial/region-dependent; many speakers would still prefer si estás.)

For a normal conditional meaning (“if it is cloudy, we will…”), the correct and natural form is:

Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan.

Why don’t we use the subjunctive, like “Si este jueves esté nublado”?

Because this is a real, possible condition, not a hypothetical/unreal one.

Spanish si-clauses work like this in the most common patterns:

Real / likely condition (present or future):
- Si está nublado, cambiaremos de plan.
  Present indicative + future
Unreal / hypothetical present condition:
- Si estuviera nublado, cambiaríamos de plan.
  Imperfect subjunctive + conditional
Unreal / hypothetical past condition:
- Si hubiera estado nublado, habríamos cambiado de plan.
  Pluperfect subjunctive + conditional perfect

In your sentence we’re talking about something that may really happen this Thursday, so we use present indicative (está) and not subjunctive (esté).

“Si este jueves esté nublado” is ungrammatical.

What’s the difference between “este jueves” and “el jueves”?

Both can be translated as “this Thursday” in many contexts, but there are nuances:

Este jueves
- Literally “this Thursday” (the one coming up or the current week’s Thursday).
- More clearly points to the immediate upcoming Thursday.
- Feels a bit more specific and “pointing at” the date.
El jueves
- Often also means “this Thursday”, based on context.
- Can also mean “on Thursdays (in general)” or “that Thursday” depending on the situation.

In your sentence:

Si este jueves está nublado…
Emphasizes the Thursday that is just about to come, the next one on the calendar.

You could also say Si el jueves está nublado…, and in context (e.g. said earlier in the same week) it would probably still be understood as “this Thursday”. Este jueves is just a bit clearer and more specific.

Is the comma after nublado necessary? Could I leave it out?

In written Spanish, you should put a comma between the si-clause and the main clause when the si-clause comes first:

Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan…

If you reverse the order, you normally omit the comma (unless there’s some special reason to pause):

Cambiaremos de plan si este jueves está nublado.

So in the original word order, the comma is standard and recommended.

Why is it “cambiaremos de plan” and not “cambiaremos el plan”?

Spanish has a common structure:

cambiar de + noun = “to change (to a different) [something]”

Examples:

cambiar de plan – to change the plan / to switch plans
cambiar de idea – to change one’s mind
cambiar de opinión – to change one’s opinion
cambiar de ropa – to change clothes

Cambiaremos de plan means:

“We’ll switch to a different plan / We’ll change our plan (for another one).”

Cambiar el plan focuses more on modifying that plan, not necessarily replacing it with another one. In this context (“if it’s cloudy, we’ll change plan and not go to the lake”), cambiar de plan (switch plans) is the idiomatic choice.

Can I say “cambiaremos de planes” instead of “cambiaremos de plan”?

Yes, and both are common:

Cambiaremos de plan.
Cambiaremos de planes.

There’s a small nuance:

de plan – slightly more abstract: “we’ll change the plan we have.”
de planes – sounds more like “we’ll change our plans / what we’re planning to do.”

In everyday conversation, both are natural; many speakers use cambiar de planes very frequently. In your sentence either is fine.

Why is it “no iremos al lago” instead of “no vamos al lago”?

Because the speaker is talking about a future decision that depends on the condition in the si-clause:

Cambiaremos de plan y no iremos al lago.
We will change our plan and we won’t go to the lake.

Here cambiaremos and iremos are both simple future, matching the idea of what will happen if the condition is met.

No vamos al lago (present) can also express a planned future in some contexts, but in a conditional sentence about what will happen, Spanish normally uses the future tense in the main clause:

Si está nublado, no iremos al lago. ✔
Si está nublado, no vamos al lago. – Possible in some contexts, but less standard and can sound like a more fixed rule (“if it’s cloudy, we don’t go to the lake (ever)”).

Could I say “no vamos a ir al lago” instead of “no iremos al lago”?

Yes, absolutely. Both are grammatically correct:

Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan y no iremos al lago.
Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan y no vamos a ir al lago.

Difference in nuance:

Simple future (iremos)
- Slightly more formal or neutral.
- Often used in writing or for clear statements about the future.
Ir a + infinitive (vamos a ir)
- Very common in spoken Spanish.
- Often used for near or planned future.

In this sentence, both sound natural; in conversation, many Spaniards might actually prefer no vamos a ir al lago.

Why do we say “al lago” and not “a el lago”?

Because Spanish has an obligatory contraction:

a + el → al

So:

a el lago → al lago
Voy a el lago. ✘ (incorrect)
Voy al lago. ✔

This contraction happens every time a is followed by the masculine singular article el, except in a few special cases with el as a pronoun or part of a name (e.g. a El Corte Inglés). Here, lago is a normal masculine noun, so al is required.

Why is it “está nublado” and not something like “hace nublado”?

For weather, Spanish uses different verbs depending on the expression:

Hace
- noun
- Hace frío / hace calor / hace viento.
  (It’s cold / it’s hot / it’s windy.)
Está
- adjective or participle
- Está nublado. – It’s cloudy.
- Está despejado. – It’s clear.
Hay
- noun
- Hay nubes. – There are clouds.
- Hay niebla. – There is fog.

Nublado is treated like an adjective/participle, so you use estar:

Está nublado. ✔
Hace nublado. ✘ (unnatural / incorrect)

So, Si este jueves está nublado… is the correct weather expression.

Can I change the word order and say “Cambiaremos de plan si este jueves está nublado”?

Yes. Both orders are correct:

Si este jueves está nublado, cambiaremos de plan y no iremos al lago.
Cambiaremos de plan y no iremos al lago si este jueves está nublado.

Differences:

Starting with si often emphasizes the condition first.
Starting with the main clause emphasizes the result/decision, then adds the condition.

Grammatically, both are fine. In either case, the verb forms stay exactly the same.