Breakdown of Si la cisterna no se arregla hoy, llamaré otra vez a la fontanera.
Questions & Answers about Si la cisterna no se arregla hoy, llamaré otra vez a la fontanera.
What does cisterna mean here?
In this sentence, la cisterna most naturally means the toilet cistern / toilet tank in a bathroom.
In Spain, that is a very common meaning, especially because the sentence also mentions la fontanera (the plumber). So the idea is that something is wrong with the toilet’s water tank or flushing mechanism.
What does fontanera mean, and why is it feminine?
Why is it se arregla instead of just arregla?
Here se arregla means gets fixed or is fixed.
Spanish often uses se when the important thing is the result, not who does the action. So:
This is very natural in Spanish.
If you wanted to mention people more directly, you could also say:
- Si no arreglan la cisterna hoy... = If they don’t fix the cistern today...
Both are possible, but se arregla sounds very natural when the agent is unknown or unimportant.
Why is the verb after si in the present tense, even though the sentence talks about the future?
Because Spanish normally uses this pattern for a real future condition:
- si + present indicative, then
- future in the main clause
So:
- Si la cisterna no se arregla hoy, llamaré...
This is the normal structure for if X happens, I will Y.
English does something very similar:
- If it doesn’t get fixed today, I’ll call again
Notice that English also uses the present after if, not will.
Can I say Si la cisterna no se arreglará hoy?
Normally, no.
In standard Spanish, after si for a real future condition, you do not use the future tense. So:
- ✅ Si la cisterna no se arregla hoy, llamaré...
- ❌ Si la cisterna no se arreglará hoy, llamaré...
That second version sounds wrong in normal modern usage.
Why is llamaré in the future tense? Could I also say voy a llamar?
Why is there an a in a la fontanera?
What does otra vez mean? Is it the same as de nuevo?
Otra vez means again or one more time.
So:
- llamaré otra vez = I’ll call again
Yes, de nuevo is very similar:
- Llamaré de nuevo a la fontanera
Both are correct. In everyday speech, otra vez is extremely common.
Depending on tone, otra vez can sometimes sound slightly like again, yet again, but in this sentence it just means again.
Could I also say volveré a llamar?
Can the word order change?
Why is there a comma in the sentence?
Because the si clause comes first.
In Spanish, when a conditional clause comes before the main clause, it is normally separated by a comma:
If you reverse the order, you normally do not use a comma:
- Llamaré otra vez a la fontanera si la cisterna no se arregla hoy
Why is si written without an accent?
Is arreglar the same as reparar here?
More or less, yes.
Both can mean to fix / to repair:
- arreglar
- reparar
But arreglar is often a bit more everyday and common in conversation. Reparar can sound a bit more technical or formal.
So these are both possible:
In everyday Spanish in Spain, arreglar sounds very natural here.
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