Breakdown of De fallar el medidor, se revisará la presión.
la
the (feminine)
revisar
to check
se
(impersonal) one / passive marker
fallar
to fail (machines, plans) / to crash
la presión
pressure
de
if (+ infinitive)
el medidor
gauge
Questions & Answers about De fallar el medidor, se revisará la presión.
How does de fallar translate to "if it fails"?
Using de followed by an infinitive is a common, slightly more formal way to express a condition, replacing the usual si (if). Here, de fallar means exactly the same thing as si falla.
Why is the subject el medidor placed after the verb fallar?
In this specific de + infinitive conditional structure, the subject of the action almost always comes directly after the infinitive. You cannot say de el medidor fallar.
Could I use the perfect infinitive here, like de haber fallado?
Not without changing the meaning. De fallar (simple infinitive) refers to a present or future possibility. De haber fallado (perfect infinitive) would change the meaning to "if it had failed", referring to a past, hypothetical condition.
Why is it se revisará la presión instead of la presión será revisada?
While both translate to "the pressure will be checked", Spanish strongly prefers the passive se structure (se revisará) for inanimate objects. Using the literal translation será revisada (the true passive voice) sounds unusually stiff and is rarely used in everyday Latin American Spanish.
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