Si la propietaria no arregla la caldera, pondré una queja.

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Breakdown of Si la propietaria no arregla la caldera, pondré una queja.

• no: not
• si: if
• arreglar: to fix

Questions & Answers about Si la propietaria no arregla la caldera, pondré una queja.

Why is it Si + present tense + future tense here?

This is the normal pattern for a real, possible future condition in Spanish:

• Si
  • present indicative
• main clause in the future (or sometimes another form like imperative)

So:

• Si la propietaria no arregla la caldera, pondré una queja.

Literally, the structure is:

• If the landlady/owner doesn’t fix the boiler, I will file a complaint.

This is the Spanish equivalent of the English first conditional.

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Why can’t I say Si la propietaria no arreglará la caldera?

Because after si for a real future condition, Spanish normally uses the present indicative, not the future.

So these are correct:

• Si la propietaria no arregla la caldera, pondré una queja.
• Si la propietaria no viene, me iré.

These are not standard:

• Si la propietaria no arreglará la caldera...
• Si la propietaria no vendrá...

This is a very common difference from English. Even though English refers to the future with if she doesn’t fix, Spanish also uses the present: si no arregla.

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What exactly does propietaria mean?