Como no te esfuerces un poco más, te vas a desanimar antes del examen oral.

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Breakdown of Como no te esfuerces un poco más, te vas a desanimar antes del examen oral.

• tú: you
• ir: to go
• a: to

Questions & Answers about Como no te esfuerces un poco más, te vas a desanimar antes del examen oral.

Why does como mean something like if here instead of how?

In this sentence, como is not the question word how. It is part of a common warning structure:

• Como + subjunctive, ...
• meaning: If ... / If you don't ..., then ...

So:

• Como no te esfuerces un poco más, ... = If you don’t make a bit more effort, ...

This use of como often sounds more emphatic than si. It can feel a bit like a warning:

• Como llegues tarde, me voy sin ti. = If you arrive late, I’m leaving without you.

So here como introduces a condition, not a comparison or a question.

Why is esfuerces in the subjunctive?

Because after conditional como in this warning-type structure, Spanish normally uses the present subjunctive.

• Como no te esfuerces...
• not Como no te esfuerzas...

The verb is esforzarse and te esfuerces is the present subjunctive form for tú.

This happens because the clause is presenting a possible condition, not a simple fact. Compare:

• Si no te esfuerzas, suspenderás. → neutral conditional
• Como no te esfuerces, suspenderás. → stronger, more cautionary

So the subjunctive is triggered by the structure como + subjunctive when it means if.

Could this sentence also use si instead of como?