Tell Me, Are You Going To The Spanish Lesson?

Introduction

This post deals with talking about what you intend doing in general and more specifically what you will do in the event of some hypothetical conditions.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague. Maybe you both attend Spanish lessons together. The other person may be wondering what you are planning to do this afternoon and says to you something like: "tell me, are you going to the Spanish lesson?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:

Dime, ¿vas a ir a clase de español?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:

Dígame, ¿va a ir (usted) a clase de español?

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OUR TIP

The question is an invitation for you to state what you are planning to do this afternoon. When you state what you are planning to do in the future, you DO NOT need to be concerned about the level of formality in the other person's question. In this case, you could consider two alternatives:

In this case, you could consider two alternatives:

1. Saying what you are planning to do ('no ifs no buts'), for example:

• Sí, voy a ir a clase de español (yes, I am going to my Spanish lesson this afternoon);
• No, no voy a ir a clase de español (no, I am not going to my Spanish lesson this afternoon);

2. Saying what you would do in certain circumstances

• Si llueve, no voy (if it rains, I am not going);
• Si no llueve, voy (if it doesn't rain, I am going);
• Si vas tú, yo también voy (if you are going I am going too);
• Si no vas tú, yo tampoco voy (if you are not going I will not go either);
• Yo no puedo ir, pero si quieres, vete tú (I can't go, but if you wish, go yourself);

Now you should practice replying to someone who says to you:

Dime, ¿vas a ir clase de español?

*Please see grammar below

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Grammar-Hypothetical Situations

We use conditional sentences to consider the consequences of hypothetical situations, for example:

• Si no llueve, vamos a la playa (if it doesn't rain, we are going to the beach)
• Si no lloviera, iríamos a la playa (if it didn't rain, we would go to the beach)
• Si no hubiera llovido, habríamos ido a la playa (if it hadn't rained, we would have gone to the beach)

1. Firm Condition

Considering hypothetical situations and their consequences.

Firm Condition → Action

Si llueve, nos vamos a casa (if it rains, we go home)

Nos vamos a casa si llueve (we go home if it rains)

Notes

The main elements of conditional sentences like these are:

• A future action, e.g.: 'going home'
• A firm and possible condition, e.g.: 'if it rains'
• If the condition materialises, then the action will follow

Spanish conditional sentences of this kind usually take the following general forms:

• Si <present -indicative>... <present -indicative>, e.g.:
  • Si llueve nos vamos a casa (if it rains, we go home)
• <present -indicative>... si <present indicative>, e.g.:
  • Nos vamos a casa si llueve (we go home if it rains)
• Si <present -indicative>... <future>, e.g.:
  • Si llueve nos iremos a casa (if it rains, we will go home)
• <future>... si <present -indicative>, e.g.:
  • Nos iremos a casa si llueve (we will go home if it rains)
• Si <present -indicative>... <imperative>, e.g.:
  • Si quieres irte, vete (if you want to leave, go)
• <imperative>... si <present -indicative>, e.g.:
  • No te vayas, si no quieres irte (don't leave if you don't want to)

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2. 'Soft' Condition

Considering less likely hypothetical situations and their consequences.

'Soft' Condition → Action

Si lloviera nos iríamos a casa (if it rained, we would go home)

Nos iríamos a casa si lloviese (we would go home if it rained)

Notes

The main elements of conditional sentences like these are:

• A future action, e.g.: 'going home'
• A 'softer' but possible condition, e.g.: 'if it rained'
• If the condition materialised, then the action would follow

Conditional sentences of this type usually take the following general forms:

• Si <imperfect -subjunctive>... <conditional>, e.g.:
  • Si lloviera nos mojaríamos (if it rained we would get wet)
• <conditional>... si <imperfect -subjunctive>, e.g.:
  • Nos mojaríamos si lloviese (we would get wet if it rained)

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3. Past Condition

Consider hypothetical alternative consequences of situations from the past.

Past Situation → Hypothetical Consequences

Si hubiera llovido nos habríamos ido a casa (had it rained, we would have gone home)

Nos habríamos ido a casa si hubiese llovido (we would have gone home had it rained)

Notes

The main features of conditional sentences like these are:

• A hypothetical past action, e.g.: 'going home'
  • A hypothetical action which didn't happen
• An impossible condition, e.g.: 'had it rained'
  • It didn't rain, hence it is impossible for the condition to materialise.
• Had the condition materialised, then the hypothetical action would have followed.

Conditional sentences of this type usually take the following general forms:

• Si <pluperfect -subjunctive>... <conditional perfect>, e.g.:
  • Si hubiera llovido nos habríamos mojado (had it rained, we would have got wet)
• <conditional perfect>... si <pluperfect -subjunctive>, e.g.:
  • Nos habríamos mojado si hubiera llovido (we would have got wet if it had rained)

Now you should practise the use of conditional sentences with some examples of your own.

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