Si sales ahora, llegarás antes.

Spanish often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• sales = you leave / you go out
• The ending -es tells you it is tú

So:

• Si sales ahora, llegarás antes. = If you leave now, you’ll arrive earlier.

You could say Si tú sales ahora..., but tú is usually only added for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Sales is the present indicative of salir for tú.

Conjugation of salir in the present:

• yo salgo
• tú sales
• él/ella/usted sale
• nosotros salimos
• vosotros salís
• ellos/ellas/ustedes salen

Here, sales means you leave or you go out, depending on context.

In Spanish, after si meaning if, you normally use the present indicative to talk about a real possible future condition.

So Spanish says:

• Si sales ahora, llegarás antes.

Not:

• Si saldrás ahora... ❌

This is a very common difference from what English learners sometimes expect. In English we also usually say:

• If you leave now, you’ll arrive earlier.

not

• If you will leave now... ❌

So the pattern is:

• si + present, future
• If + present, will + verb

Llegarás is the simple future of llegar for tú.

• infinitive: llegar = to arrive
• llegarás = you will arrive

The future in Spanish is formed by adding endings to the infinitive:

• llegaré
• llegarás
• llegará
• llegaremos
• llegaréis
• llegarán

The accent in llegarás is important because it shows the stress.

Here, antes means earlier.

So:

• llegarás antes = you’ll arrive earlier

It can also mean before in other contexts, often with de:

• antes = earlier / before
• antes de salir = before leaving

In this sentence, it does not mean just before by itself; it means earlier than you otherwise would.

Not exactly. They are related, but not the same.

• antes = earlier
• temprano = early

So:

• llegarás antes = you’ll arrive earlier
• llegarás temprano = you’ll arrive early

The first is comparative: earlier than another possible time. The second describes the arrival as early in general.

The comma separates the if-clause from the main clause:

• Si sales ahora, = condition
• llegarás antes. = result

This is common when the si-clause comes first.

If the order changes, the comma is often omitted:

• Llegarás antes si sales ahora.

Both versions are natural.

Yes. Salir can mean both, depending on context.

In this sentence, the most natural meaning is usually:

• to leave

So:

• Si sales ahora... = If you leave now...

But in another context, it could mean:

• If you go out now...

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

No. Salgas is the present subjunctive, and it is not used after si for a normal real condition like this.

Correct:

• Si sales ahora, llegarás antes.

Incorrect here:

• Si salgas ahora... ❌

After si, Spanish usually uses:

• present indicative for real/possible situations
  
  • Si sales ahora, llegarás antes.
• imperfect subjunctive for unlikely or hypothetical situations
  
  • Si salieras ahora, llegarías antes.

So si + subjunctive is not the normal pattern in this kind of sentence.

The first is a real or likely condition:

• Si sales ahora, llegarás antes.
• If you leave now, you’ll arrive earlier.

The second is more hypothetical, less direct, or less likely:

• Si salieras ahora, llegarías antes.
• If you left now, you would arrive earlier.

So the tense pairing changes the meaning:

• present + future = real possibility
• imperfect subjunctive + conditional = hypothetical situation

It can be omitted, but the meaning changes slightly.

• Si sales ahora, llegarás antes. = If you leave now, you’ll arrive earlier.
• Si sales, llegarás antes. = If you leave, you’ll arrive earlier.

With ahora, the sentence emphasizes right now / at this moment. Without it, the statement is more general.

In standard Peninsular Spanish, it is pronounced approximately:

• ye-ga-RAS

A few useful points:

• ll is usually pronounced like y in most of Spain
• the stress falls on the last syllable because of the written accent: -rás

So the stress is:

• lle-ga-RÁS

Yes. In Spanish, the present tense in the si-clause can refer to a future situation.

So even though sales is grammatically present, the meaning is future:

• If you leave now...

This is completely normal in Spanish conditional sentences.

The future meaning becomes especially clear because the result clause uses llegarás:

• you will arrive

Yes. You can also say:

• Llegarás antes si sales ahora.

This means the same thing as:

• Si sales ahora, llegarás antes.

The difference is mostly one of emphasis:

• starting with Si sales ahora... highlights the condition first
• starting with Llegarás antes... highlights the result first

Both are natural.