The Challenges of Using SI in Spanish
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.พ. 2025
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I'm around a C1 level, but I always seem to learn a little something from every video you make without fail. My dude, you really are gifted at presenting info amazingly. I never miss a video you make.
Thank you!
+1 !!
I really appreciate how you sometimes go on little tangents that have nothing to do with the video title (like why we use yo when it is unclear who is doing an action)
It's very interesting to see how English speakers learn my language and what topics are more challenging. For Spaniards I would say that English sounds are challenging as there are more than in Spanish.
Btw, I think that we use subjunctive also to refer to an event taking place at a non concrete time in the future. Hence, "Avísame cuando te vayas." refers to something that will eventually happen but we don't know exactly when.
I've got to hammer that past subjunctive into my head. It's not everywhere like the present, but it's still common.
After watching this video, I began looking in English dictionaries what is the meaning of infinite, subjective, indirect pronoun etc.
Subjunctive 😊
I’m so glad i saw this comment because those throw me off too and English is my first language 🤦🏻♀️ subjunctive, indirect pronoun etc are repeated so much that it makes it harder to concentrate on the lesson he’s trying to teach. I’ll have to reteach myself English in order to understand the lessons better.
Please check his lesson series 1-8
A good song to practice this is called "Vienes y te vas" by Los Askis
(End of video song reference)
" Si no te hubieras ido" de Marco Antonio Solis
Just the other day I found myself wanting to say, "Si yo no hubiera tenido un celular, no habría podido encontrar el café." What a timely lesson, thanks! 😃
A member of my family who is learning Spanish has this question: "You mention needing to put the "yo" in these sentences that use certain conjugations that aren't clear about who the subject is. Can you do a video or maybe a series on using the "usted" form? Everyone alludes to the need to use usted for certain situations, and may give some examples of who to use it with, but what I can't find is anyone giving examples of where to put the pronoun usted in the sentence. There is so much emphasis on leaving subject pronouns out that it leaves me uncertain as to how to use usted in actual practice. How often do I need to throw in usted in a conversation to keep things clear? And thanks so much for your videos! They are a gold mine."
Hey Paul. I like how you used that avísame sentence because you just taught on that. It was like a little refresher.
You’re brilliant, I was wondering why you had the “yo” in there and right at that moment you provided a great explanation. I’m native and I assumed the first person in the sentence, but you’re so right, without context we can’t omit the pronoun.
Thanks! You are very kind.
Another great video-gracias!!!
Solo para avisarte que hay una vieja de 86 años que es una de su mas hincha (afincionado ?) ferviente. Enseño classes de español para otras viejas, pero va muy dispacio. :-) Me encanta el 'NRGMS' y entiendo mucho de gramática, pero para mí encontrando los hablantes nativos es difícil. Espero que chatGPT o los similares pueda ayudarme. Nunca piero un episodio y los escucho cach uno má que una vez. No estoy segura si todo es correcto en esta mensaje largo.... Mil gracias por su esfuerzo y espero que pronto pueda comprarle uma taza...
Your videos are so helpful and you always give a great amount of use examples. Can’t thank you enough, please keep up the good work 🙌
The Best Spanish Teaching!!!
👍
I'm always delighted with your little "info nuggets" to help me sharpen my understanding of Spanish. I've thought of a suggestion that I'd love to see you cover in a video:
I would like to better understand when (if ever) to prefer, or likewise avoid, use of the third-person impersonal form of verbs. As an example of what I mean, "I get paid tomorrow": "me pagan mañana". Translation of such constructs are almost never about the invisible "they", and I'm never sure when to use it.
Thanks for all you do!
🤯 Uff! Pero una dia . . . Ojala. Siempre tratando de aprender. Es un gran jale para este viejo.
Excellent video. I would like to add what helped me also. Si followed by the present tense it won’t trigger the subjunctive. But it can later in the sentence if in the past. EG. Si él llega a tiempo, es posible que haya alguien que lo espere [If he arrives on time, it is possible that there is someone that will wait for him]
Thanks!
Thank you!
Si no entiendo una estructura de gramática, veo un vídeo tuyo sobre este patrón para aclarar mis dudas. 🎯 Gracias Qroo Paul.👍
Gracias. :)
Your videos are among the best Paul. You should make one on the construction "que + subjunctive" to give commands like "que comiencen los juegos" or "que me dejes en paz". If you've made it and I missed it oh well just trying to give you more excuses to teach subjunctive.
Great suggestion!
Your awesome Q Paul. I have to watch it twice cause I really need to master the subjunctive and this was really helpful.
Excellent. Thank you.
Qroo, the Mood Guru. ¡Muchisimo gracias!
Con mucho gusto. Un saludo.
Hola Paul, Ned from NY now in Spain, and really enjoying the lessons they are super helpful with what I need to use when I speak Spanish. One thing, I know it's kinda late to change this now but the written example of " If you had known you didn't want..." but you said " If I had known you didn't want.." which made sense with the translation. Muchisimas gracias Paul
ah, good catch.
¡Excelente, perfecto, muchas gracias! Estoy finalmente en mi ciudad. Ahora veo tus videos.
More brilliance from Prof Paul ! 🤝
Thanks!
Thanks for this lesson. I learn so much from your teaching.
Amazing lesson I understood well
I needed this😅 thanks
Glad I could help. Thanks for watching!
In the last example you can also drop the word "Yo" and say Si hubiera... we do it in spanish frequently even though it could be used for 3rd person, because it's usually understood based on the context or what we were saying previously. Si hubiera sabido que ya comiste no te habría traído comida
Me encanta tu videos amigo, te consulto algo, porque tu borraste el ultimo video
Were I to have known that you didn't want to go to the party I wouldn't have invited you _If you can get the word WERE in there in English it really is a dead give away - as a native English speaker, we oftem use the simple past when meaning the past subjunctive. Compare "If I won the lottery, I'd buy a new house." with " _*_Were_*_ I _*_to_*_ with the lottery, I'd buy a new house."_
Excellent video, as always! More, please!
More to come!
Great video. The subjunctive is hard but it gotta be learned somehow 😅
Hola Qroo
Puedes ensenar una leccion sobre " haber" o el verbo de ayudando
Espero que tengas un buen dia
Don't cut me up too bad
I'm trying lol
I will be watching this one again. Excellent!
Definitely a multi-watch video! Thanks, Paul!
Awesome, thank you!
Another very helpful lesson. Thank you very much Mr.Paul
My pleasure!
Thanks for the video. It´s excellent, as usual. One question: If you changed the one sentence to: ´If Juan had arrived, I would have given him the letter´ then that would have been hypothetical. Correct? (Si Juan hubiera llegado, le habría dado la carta.) And yes, I had to look up parts of that translation and I hope I got it correct.
Yes, that would be correct. You've got this!
Gracias otra vez, profe!
Thanks!
IDK Paul. The definition of hypothetical is based on supposition (suppose) rather than facts. It says nothing about the question of "would" as a determination, rather it's about events that haven't occurred yet. So the questions "If he arrives soon" and "If he says that" are both stone cold suppositions because they're based on supposed facts, not actual. That seems obvious to me. Where am I wrong here?
You make a good point. That's why I tell people the "would" is a dead give away.
If I had a dog, I would feel safe. (subjunctive required in Spanish)
If I have a dog, I will feel safe. (no subjunctive).
I guess I'm wondering why "Si Juan llega" wasn't if it's because the difference is the expectation of the following act. Meaning Juan is factually supposed to be on the way, so it calls for the indicative, where as if we had money is just a wish lol. Anyway keep up the good work. BTW I think a useful video would explain the difference between Podia, Podria and Pudiera. I think I got it with such as "Cuando yo era joven, podia correr todo el dia" and "Si pudiera llamarte, lo haria." "Podria llamarte si quieres" but it's not an easy one. @@QrooSpanish
It sounds like you are already pretty good with podia, pudiera and podria!
When I started studying the subjunctive many years ago, my textbook used the expression “contrary to fact” rather than “hypothetical.” Maybe this will be clearer to you. When a speaker begins a sentence with “Si yo fuera rico, …” the listener immediately knows that the speaker does not consider himself to be rich - so the remainder of the sentence will be talking about a “contrary to fact” situation in the present (in the speaker’s mind). As Paul explained, the remainder of the sentence will necessarily use the conditional tense (i.e., will contain “would” in the English translation). Now let’s consider the pluperfect. “Si Juan hubiera sabido que estabas en el hospital, …” indicates that at some point in the past you were in the hospital, but Juan did not know that, so the remainder of the sentence will be talking about a “contrary to fact” situation at that time. As Paul explained, the remainder of the sentence will use the past conditional, i.e., will contain “habría plus past participle”, or “would have plus past participle” in the English translation. Completing the two examples:
Si yo fuera rico, viajaría a Europa.
If I were rich, I would travel to Europe.
Si Juan hubiera sabido que estabas en el hospital, te habría visitado.
If Juan had known you were in the hospital, he would have visited you.
An "if” clause with the present indicative, such as “Si Juan llega pronto, …” refers to an uncompleted action at the present time (in the speaker’s mind), so it doesn’t really make sense to talk about a “contrary to fact” situation. “If Juan arrives soon, he would(?) …” doesn’t make sense.
Look at these two sentences. They're both hypothetical, unless you want to argue the first one is more of a possibility, then you may have a point there.
"Si Maria viene esta noche, podemos jugar a las cartas."
"Si Maria alguna vez viniera, podriamos jugar a las cartas."
The first one is based on a possible occurrence that night and isn't subjunctive, and the second is conditional based on an imginary occurrence and is subjunctive. I'm not sure what the exact answer is there, but I think it's there lol. Anyway good news is learning is always a good thing. @@ronaldmoore6548
Demasiado bueno, más claro imposible
Wonderful and simple explanation
Perfect timing like so often recently ❤ I was still struggling with those hypothetical constructions being a breeze now 🥳 Love your videos ❣️
Happy to help! Thank you so much for watching.
An excellent lesson!
Thanks! 😃
U r the best ❤❤ 🎉🎉always every lesson of ur teachs smthng new and very helpful.
Thank you! 😃
Very informative! 👍🏼
Thanks for watching!
Thanks Paul, your communication is escellent
Thank you!
I do enjoy your videos very much
Hey Paul, why have I seen constructions like "si sea importante" on Mexican telenovelas, etc.? I was taught in Spain NEVER to use the subjunctive with "si" unless it was using one of the cases you've mentioned in the video. But I have seen numerous situations in which some Mexicans in some parts of Mexico use "si" + the present subjunctive. Have you seen that?
I have heard si sea necesario in Mexico. I've always chalked it a colloquial thing. It's not something that I would ever use.
@@QrooSpanish Thanks. I thought it sounded terrible LOL.
Un video muy informativo 😊
hey Paul, I was wondering if you could make a video on the naunces between "Ya" and "Ahora"?
That's a good topic idea. Thanks!
Spell check is killing me here cause it won't let me type "If" in Spanish. It keeps changing it too "Is" lol. Anyway I think it's clear that both the sentences "Is tuvieramos dinero, comprariamos una casa en Espana" and "Is Juan llega pronto, le dare la carta" are the same hypothetically. The only difference is Juan could actually be on the way, where as we definitely don't have the money lol.
Just a quick comment on the third example. The original sentence said “if you had known”, however, during the explanation it’s stated as “if I had known”. Not a big deal as I understand conceptually what was being said.
Ahhh, I really need to invest in an editor to catch these things.
Hey Paul what do you think about doing a video on the differences between using words such as: de nuevo/otra vez, volver/regresar, aún/todavía, tal vez/quizás. Could you explain which ones are used interchangeably and explain the nuances for those that are not? There are many more words like this and sometimes I'm not sure I fully understand when to say which
¿Por qué en la última oración se usa hablaría en vez de habría hablado?
I learned to speak Spanish in Spain, but I live in Arizona and practice speaking almost entirely with Mexicans. I have noticed that often, rather than using the conditional in the second clause, they go ahead and use the subjective again. So using one of your examples, instead of saying "Si yo hubiera nacido en Dinamarca, hablaria danes" they will say something like "Si yo hubiera nacido en Dinamarca, hubiera hablado danes." This sounds strange to me, but they speak Spanish better than I do and I've always wondered about this construction. Sometimes to the point that I start to question whetherI'm wrong to be using "hablaria" in the second clause ... like maybe I'm letting the way I would say it in English interfere with my Spanish. Have you heard this before and do you know where it comes from and if it is technically "correct"?
Incidentally, a couple of your examples highlight the one place in English that we still use the past subjective. You would normally say "I WAS a fast runner," if you were just making a statement, but when we want to express doubt or a situation that is only hypothetical, just like in Spanish, we say "If I WERE a fast runner, I would win the race." Kind of interesting that it still survives in this one place and it can also help you know when to use the past subjunctive in Spanish. If it sounds right in English to say "If I WERE something something" it will also be correct in Spanish to say "Si yo fuera algo algo."
Excellent stuff again. Very helpful. Thank you.
But I have a query. Not for the first time, I'm confused. I can understand why you would include "yo" in "Si yo hubiera nacido" but why do you include "me" in "Si yo fuera rico me compraría...." since you've already used "yo" in the sentence?
I'm not implying that I think it's wrong, I just don't understand it.
I included YO because I was starting the sentence and I wanted to make it clear who I was talking about up front. i could have used comprar or comprarse. The difference would be like English, "I bought a house." or "
I bought myself a house."
@@QrooSpanish Ah I understand thank you. I knew why you'd included yo but where I got confused was that I've not come across comprarse before and it never occurred to me that you could possibly buy a house for someone else! Doh!!!
Love the examples - not the grammar jibber jabber
In that one example you used
If John says he wants to go to the concert I will pay for his ticket
Could you have said su entrada o boleto ? Do you need the “le”?
It may still appear. The redundant LE is common throughout Spanish with certain verbs; however, you could leave it off. Depending where the native speaker is from, he or she may just think it sounds better with LE.
@@QrooSpanish are there a list of verbs that would be common with le ?
en el miuto 3:48 pone you diciendo yo, no se si se dice yo en ingles "you" pero yo diria que es " If i had known" vamos me supongo, si no seria : " Si tu hubieras sabido" no?
salu2
whats the difference between the imperfect snd pluruperfect subjunctive?
if i knew u didnt want to come, i would not have invited you
if i had known you didnt want to come, i would jot have invited you
they both are gramatically correct right
Generally speaking, the pluperfect is used to express a hypothetical issue regarding an event completed in the past -- but in many cases either would fit fine.
@@QrooSpanish @japanesebaseballdiscord Ya like you said very similar to English here. If I were rich(now), I would buy a yacht(now or in the future). If I had been rich(in the past), I would have bought a yacht(in the past)
@@matttrimble1600 thank you for the explanation.
so it would be
si yo fuera rico, compraría un yacht
si yo hubiera sido rico, hubiera comprado un yacht
So in terms of ESL theory, the second and third conditional trigger the subjunctive, but the first conditional does not?
That's correct.
A truly Spanish word which doesn’t conform to its verb form (how odd) is the word conforme. It has three unrelated English equivalents, and it is not conjugated. It´s more than a word, like a condition of time, a comparative between two subjects and something else. Where it occurs in the sentence speaks to its usage. Superpower word.
Hello. At minute 5:14 that displays the practice sentence "If I had been born in Denmark, I would speak Danish". Why isn't "been" translated into "estado"? Si (yo) hubiera estado nacido en...
I think you are translating literally from English. In Spanish, they have verbs that mean what we need several words to say in Spanish. For example, buscar - to look for, nacer - to be born.
Appreciate it. I guess Google Translate factors the language of the query asker when returning a result.
@@QrooSpanish
Google Translate is not always accurate. DeepL is much better: www.deepl.com/translator
4:43
Ïf juan arrives soon, I'll give him the letter.
Is him an indirect object pronoun? when I translated the second clause I said "lo dare la carta"
is this why my translation was wrong?
Yes, le is an indiect object pronoun. Le means "to him/her/you". You are giving the letter TO him. With dar and decir, it will always the indirect object pronoun.
Put 1 in the chat if you think this guy is la bomba. 1
You may use “hubiera” or “hubiese”. Both are correct. 🎉
Por qué no decimos no te habrías haber invitado
What's happening to my brain? I worked as a news reporter most of my adult life and editors liked not having to work hard to tweak my stories for publication -- proof I speak, read, write English well. But I do not remember all the grammatical terms. They panic me.
I've studied Spanish off and on for more than 45 years. Just before the pandemic broke, I resumed serious study. I still can't remember all the grammatical terms, but I hear a sentence in Spanish and it either sounds right or it sounds weird. What sounds weird is invariably the wrong conjugation.
So is my brain learning Spanish without me? I've read learning a second language physically changes the brain. Is that what's going on?
Destacado!
How about we just get rid of subjutive words and make life easy?
That would be easier.
This video clears up a lot, thanks. For some reason I still get confused on which word to conjugate when using the past subjunctive. For example, I translated "If I had been born in Demark.." as "Si naciera en Dinamarca..." I figured since "nacer" was a verb "to be born", that I could just conjugate that verb to make it simpler. Maybe it sounds more natural to use "haber" with the past participle?
“Si hubiera nacido en Dinamarca” is the correct translation for If I had been born…. Because Si naciera en Dinamarca implies you haven’t been born yet, basically Si naciera (If I were born in Denmark) is a possibility, I could see a Swedish pregnant woman saying about her baby “Si naciera en Dinamarca X would happen, but Si naciera en Sweden X would happen”
🤔 “I was born” translates to “nací” which is pretérito indefinido, not imperfecto! So the corresponding subjuntivo can’t be imperfecto (naciera) but has to be pluscuamperfecto which is “hubiera nacido”. Helpful might be to be aware of the English version “If I would have been born” where you find the pluperfect as well since “would have” translates to “hubiera”.
I never thought of it that way, thanks.@@anneli1735
thank you@@calmontes651
If I were rich, I could buy a house in Spain. Is this still the subjunctive?
Yes, it would be. Si (yo) fuera rico, podría comprar una casa en España.
Not getting any of your lessons