The Spanish "Second Conditional": A Simple Hypothetical Formula

What would you do if you won the lottery? Spanish uses a type of conditional sentence known as the segunda condicional (second conditional) to describe these types of scenarios, which is formed with a simple formula that we will cover today. 

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The Second Conditional in Spanish

There are many different types of Spanish conditionals, or conditional sentences. These are sentences that describe the result "if" a certain condition were in place. They are formed with a conditional si, or "if" clause, plus a main clause, and are classified according to the likelihood of the hypothetical situation. The second conditional typically focuses on scenarios that are unlikely or hypothetical, but can also be used to make an utterance extra polite

 

The Spanish Second Conditional Formula

Let's take a look at the formula for the second conditional in Spanish:

 

Si + imperfect subjunctive verb + conditional verb 

 

If you need to learn or review these tenses or how to conjugate them, we recommend these lessons on the Spanish imperfect subjunctive tense, which describes the unlikely or hypothetical action, and the Spanish conditional tense which conveys the action(s) that "would" happen if some other condition "were" in place.

 

Examples of the Spanish Second Conditional 

Let's take a look at several examples of the Spanish second conditional and some situations in which it could be employed. We'll start with some sentences that describe very unlikely situations:

 

Si me tocara la lotería, viajaría por todo el mundo, y me alojaría en los hoteles más lujosos. 

If I won the lottery, I'd travel around the whole world, and I'd stay at the most luxurious hotels.

Captions 26-27, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: La segunda condicional

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Si tuvieras que morir, no podrías dejarme aquí

If you had to die, you couldn't leave me here

Caption 8, La Gusana Ciega No Me Tientes

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Si pudiera bajarte una estrella del cielo Lo haría sin pensarlo dos veces

If I could lower you down a star from the sky I'd do it without thinking twice 

Captions 5-6, Enrique Iglesias Cuando me enamoro

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Now, let's take a look at some situations that are hypothetical but less outlandish, including the equivalent for the common English expression, "if I were you":
 

Y si tuvieras hijos, ¿te gustaría que practicaran el surf también?

And if you had kids, would you like them to surf as well?

Captions 63-64, El Aula Azul Un día de surf

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Si tuviera que definirla en una sola palabra, sería amor.

If I had to define her in just one word, it would be love.

Caption 22, Fermín y los gatos Mi gata Poeska

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Bueno, si yo fuera tú, hablaría con él. 

Well, if I were you, I would speak with him.

Caption 24, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y condicional

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And finally, let's see an example where the second conditional is used in a likely scenario for the sake of politeness:

 

Pues, si pudiera venir a la oficina mañana a las nueve, la ubicaríamos en su puesto enseguida. 

Well, if you could come to the office tomorrow at nine, we would get you acquainted with your position right away.

Captions 28-29, Negocios Empezar en un nuevo trabajo - Part 1

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Note that while the first conditional si puede venir a la oficina mañana a las nueve, la ubicaremos en su puesto enseguida (if you can come to the office tomorrow at nine, we will get you acquainted with your position right away) could also have been used in this situation, the second conditional in Spanish is sometimes chosen to infuse a sentence with extra formality. 

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Reversing the Formula

In some cases, the order of the imperfect subjunctive and the conditional verbs can be flipped. Let's take a look at a couple of examples:

 

Pero, por eso, estamos imaginando qué pasaría si nos tocara la lotería,

But that's why we're imagining what would happen if we won the lottery,

Captions 34-35, Clase Aula Azul La segunda condicional - Part 2

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¿Qué harías si te encontraras un sobre con cincuenta mil euros?

What would you do if you found an envelope with fifty thousand euros?

Caption 19, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: La segunda condicional

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That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to understand a very common formula for talking about hypothetical situations in Spanish. For further information on this topic, we recommend this entertaining video entitled La Doctora Consejos: La segunda condicional (Doctor Advice: The Second Conditional) by El Aula Azul, or this more in-depth lesson called La Segunda Condicional by Clase El Aula Azul. And as always... don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments

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Combining Verbs in Spanish - Part 2 - Gerundios and Participios

Combining Verbs in Spanish - Part 1

Let's continue our lesson on the use of verbal periphrases. In the first part of this lesson, we reviewed examples that combine conjugated verbs with infinitives. Now it's time to learn periphrases that combine conjugated verbs with the Spanish forms of the verb known as gerundios and participios.

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Verbal periphrases that use the gerundio are used to express the passing of an action. They combine a conjugated auxiliary verb and a gerundio. Remember, the English gerund is the -ing form of the verb, but the Spanish gerundio is the -ndo form. Perhaps the easiest and most common example of these periphrases is the one that uses the verb estar (to be) as the auxiliary verb:
 

Estoy cursando las últimas dos materias del último trimestre.

I am taking the last two courses of the last trimester.

Caption 4, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana - Viviana Reyes

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Y con esta blusa, vamos a ver,

And with this blouse, let's see,

ya estamos armando el... el disfraz.

we're already putting together the... the costume.

Captions 22-23, Un disfraz - En el mercado

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However, you can use other verbs as well. The most used are the verbs andar (to go),empezar (to start), llevar (to carry), salir (to go out), etc. Here's an interesting example using the reflexive verb quedarse (to stay, to remain):
 

No, él se queda aquí trabajando.

No, he stays here working.

Caption 11, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa

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Here is an example with the verb salir (to go out):
 

Y además salió diciendo

And he also appeared saying

que para él era un orgullo que yo estuviera en el país.

that he was very proud that I was in the country.

Caption 62, Biografía - Natalia Oreiro

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Ya después me pasé a otra banda en la que...

Later on, I changed to another band in which...

en la que volvimos a hacer covers.

in which we did covers again.

Captions 49-50, Willy - Entrevista - Part 3

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On the other hand, periphrases that use the participio are usually meant to express the result of an action. They combine a conjugated auxiliary verb with a participio. Remember that the Spanish participio is the -ado, -ido, -to, -so, -cho forms of the verb (and their feminine and plural counterparts). Here is our first example using the auxiliary verb quedarse (to stay):
 

Se queda perfectamente pegado.

It remains perfectly stuck.

Caption 32, Tecnópolis - Ciencia en casa

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Compare this example using the verb quedarse and participio with the previous one that uses quedarse and gerundio. Do you get the difference in use and meaning between the two?
Let's review a few more examples of periphrases using participio. You can use the verb tener (to have) as auxiliary verb:
 

Es verdad que nosotros tenemos instaladas videocámaras

It's true that we have video cameras installed

en los pasillos.

in the hallways.

Caption 12, Club de las ideas - Si yo fuera director

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Or you can use the verb llevar (to carry):
 

Estos paquetes ...

These packagages ...

llevan puestos desde el miércoles pasado.

have been set since last Wednesday.

Captions 3-6, La Champiñonera - El cultivo de champiñón

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Or the verb dejar (to leave):
 

Y le dejo esto puesto, ¿eh?

And I leave this on, huh?

Caption 46, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos

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To finish this lesson, compare these two examples of periphrases: one uses the gerundio and the other uses the participio. Which is which? Can you understand the difference in meaning? We are sure you do!

Me tengo que ir. Te dejo escrita la lista de invitados. | I have to go. I leave written the guest list for you [I'm leaving the guest list written out for you].
Me tengo que ir. Te dejo escribiendo la lista de invitados. | I have to go. I leave you writing the guest list [I'm leaving you to write the guest list].

Thank you for reading!