La bengala era esencial por si no nos veían.
The flare was essential just in case they didn't see us.
Breakdown of La bengala era esencial por si no nos veían.
ser
to be
no
no, not
ver
to see / to look / appear
nos
to us
Questions & Answers about La bengala era esencial por si no nos veían.
Why does por si use the imperfect indicative (veían) instead of the past subjunctive here?
In Spanish, por si (in case) is almost always followed by the indicative, not the subjunctive. This often surprises learners because a similar phrase, en caso de que, strictly requires the subjunctive. Since the main action was in the past (era), we use the imperfect indicative (veían) to describe the hypothetical background situation.
Could we use the preterite (vieron) instead of the imperfect (veían) after por si?
Can I use por si acaso instead of just por si here?
Yes, absolutely! por si acaso no nos veían means exactly the same thing. When followed by a conjugated verb, por si and por si acaso are interchangeable. However, if you drop the verb and just say 'just in case' at the end of a sentence, you must use the full phrase: La bengala era esencial, por si acaso.
Does bengala have other meanings besides 'flare'?