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Ganaré en los bolos, a menos que la resaca me moleste.

Ganaré en los bolos, a menos que la resaca me moleste.
I will win at bowling, unless the hangover bothers me.
From Lesson 316:Conditional exceptions (a menos que, salvo que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Ganaré en los bolos, a menos que la resaca me moleste.

Why is moleste used here instead of the indicative molesta?
The phrase a menos que (unless) introduces a condition that hasn't happened yet and might not happen at all. Because this outcome is hypothetical and expresses a condition of exception, Spanish always requires the subjunctive mood after a menos que. Here, we use the present subjunctive, moleste.
Could I use a no ser que or salvo que in this sentence instead?
Yes! Both a no ser que and salvo que also mean "unless" and work exactly the same way here. You could say ...a no ser que la resaca me moleste or ...salvo que la resaca me moleste without changing the meaning. Just like a menos que, they both trigger the subjunctive.
The main verb ganaré is in the future tense. Does this dictate which subjunctive tense we use for molestar?
Exactly. Because the main clause is in the future tense (ganaré), the condition in the subordinate clause (a menos que...) is an open possibility referring to the present or future. To express this, we use the present subjunctive (moleste). If the main clause were in the conditional tense (like ganaría, "I would win"), we would need the past subjunctive (molestara).
Why is the preposition en used before los bolos (bowling)?
In Spanish, when talking about winning at a sport, competition, or game, you typically use ganar en. Note that while los bolos is understood everywhere, you'll also hear regional variations for "bowling" in Latin America, most notably el boliche, so you could also say Ganaré en el boliche.
A quick refresher: is molestar a false friend here?
Yes, molestar is a classic "false friend." It simply means "to bother," "to annoy," or "to be a nuisance," just like a hangover would be. It does not carry the severe criminal connotations of the English word "molest" (which is typically translated as abusar de or acosar in Spanish).

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