Basic Conditional Sentences in Catalan

In Brief

For an open, realistic condition, Catalan normally uses si + present indicative in the condition and the future in the result: Si plou, no sortiré (“If it rains, I won’t go out”). Use the present in both clauses for general truths, and use an imperative or a modal verb in the result for instructions, offers, and possibilities. Do not normally put the future tense directly after conditional si.

Overview

Conditional sentences connect a condition with its consequence. In Si estudies, aprovaràs, the condition is si estudies (“if you study”), and the expected result is aprovaràs (“you will pass”). Grammarians sometimes call these two parts the condition clause and the result clause; a clause is simply a group of words built around a verb.

At B1, the main focus is the open or real conditional. “Open” does not mean that the result is certain. It means that the speaker presents the condition as genuinely possible: it may rain, you may study, or the other person may want to come. This pattern is useful for plans, warnings, promises, offers, instructions, and everyday cause-and-effect statements.

The core Catalan pattern will feel familiar to an English-speaking learner. English also normally says “if it rains,” not “if it will rain.” The important point is to preserve that logic when choosing Catalan tenses: the future belongs in the result, not in the ordinary si clause.

How It Works

The core pattern: present condition, future result

Use the present indicative after si for a realistic present or future condition. The indicative is the ordinary verb form used to present something as a fact or an open possibility. Put the future simple in the result clause.

Condition	Result	Complete pattern
si + present indicative	future simple	Si + present, future.
si plou	no sortiré	Si plou, no sortiré.
si estudies	aprovaràs	Si estudies, aprovaràs.

Although the present form refers grammatically to the present, the context gives it future meaning here. In Si demà plou, the word demà makes the future time clear; Catalan does not need plourà after si.

The future result can express several attitudes:

• a prediction: Si continues així, acabaràs aviat.
• a promise: Si em truques, t’ajudaré.
• a warning: Si no véns, t’ho perdràs.
• a practical consequence: Si sortim ara, arribarem a temps.

Negation does not change the structure. Put no immediately before the verb it negates: Si no estudies, no aprovaràs. Either the condition, the result, or both may be negative.

Present + present for facts and regular results

Use the present indicative in both clauses when the result is generally true, habitual, automatic, or currently valid.

Meaning	Pattern	Example
general fact	si + present, present	Si escalfes el gel, es fon.
habitual result	si + present, present	Si treballo des de casa, dino més d’hora.
current option	si + present, present/modal	Si vols, podem anar junts.

This pattern often corresponds to English “if” or “whenever.” The sentence does not have to describe a scientific truth; it can describe a repeated personal routine or an option available now.

Present + imperative for advice and instructions

An imperative is the verb form used for a command, request, or instruction. Keep the condition in the present and put the imperative in the result:

• Si arribes abans, truca’m. — “If you arrive early, call me.”
• Si teniu cap problema, aviseu-nos. — “If you have any problems, let us know.”
• Si no ho entens, torna-ho a llegir. — “If you don’t understand it, read it again.”

The imperative may sound direct or friendly depending on the verb, context, and form of address. Adding si us plau (“please”) can soften a request, but it is not required by the conditional structure.

Present + modal result

A modal verb adds an idea such as ability, possibility, permission, or necessity. Common result clauses contain poder (“can, may”), haver de (“have to”), or voler (“want to”):

• Si vols, podem començar. — “If you want, we can start.”
• Si no funciona, ho hem de revisar. — “If it doesn’t work, we have to check it.”
• Si acabes aviat, pots venir amb nosaltres. — “If you finish early, you can come with us.”

These are still real conditions. A future ending is not obligatory whenever the result is already expressed as a current option, permission, or necessity.

Clause order and punctuation

Either clause can come first without changing the basic meaning:

• Si tenim temps, visitarem el museu.
• Visitarem el museu si tenim temps.

When the si clause comes first, separate it from the result with a comma. When it comes second, a comma is usually unnecessary. Starting with the condition makes it the frame for what follows; putting it last can make the result sound like the main news.

Si and sí are different words

The conjunction si means “if” and has no accent: Si plou... The word sí, with an accent, means “yes” or marks affirmation: Sí, vindré (“Yes, I’ll come”). The accent changes the function and meaning.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Si plou, no sortiré.	If it rains, I won’t go out.	Open future condition
Si estudies, aprovaràs.	If you study, you will pass.	Likely consequence
Si vols, podem anar junts.	If you want, we can go together.	Present modal result
Si no véns, t’ho perdràs.	If you don’t come, you’ll miss it.	Negative condition and warning
Si demà fa bon temps, dinarem fora.	If the weather is good tomorrow, we’ll eat outside.	Future time expressed with the present
Si em truques aquest vespre, t’ho explicaré.	If you call me this evening, I’ll explain it to you.	Promise
Si no reserveu avui, no trobareu taula.	If you don’t book today, you won’t find a table.	Plural or polite form
Si escalfes el gel, es fon.	If you heat ice, it melts.	General truth: present + present
Si treballo des de casa, dino més d’hora.	If I work from home, I eat lunch earlier.	Habitual result
Si prems aquest botó, la pantalla s’apaga.	If you press this button, the screen turns off.	Automatic result
Si arribes abans, truca’m.	If you arrive early, call me.	Imperative result
Si tens cap dubte, pregunta-m’ho.	If you have any questions, ask me.	Advice with an imperative
Et deixaré les claus si arribo abans que tu.	I’ll leave you the keys if I arrive before you.	Result clause placed first
Si l’Anna acaba la feina, ens ajudarà.	If Anna finishes the work, she’ll help us.	Third-person subject

Common Mistakes

Using the future immediately after conditional si

• Wrong: Si plourà, no sortiré.
• Right: Si plou, no sortiré.
• Why: In an ordinary open condition about the future, Catalan uses the present indicative after si. The future goes in the result clause.

Using the conditional mood for a straightforward future result

• Wrong for the intended real condition: Si estudies, aprovaries.
• Right: Si estudies, aprovaràs.
• Why: Aprovaries means “you would pass” and normally points toward a hypothetical or softened interpretation. For the direct prediction “if you study, you will pass,” use aprovaràs.

Mixing a hypothetical condition with a real result

• Wrong for a basic real condition: Si plogués, no sortiré.
• Right: Si plou, no sortiré.
• Why: Plogués is an imperfect subjunctive form, used to present rain as hypothetical. The basic real pattern uses the present. A fully hypothetical sentence would be Si plogués, no sortiria (“If it rained, I wouldn’t go out”).

Writing sí for “if”

• Wrong: Sí tens temps, truca’m.
• Right: Si tens temps, truca’m.
• Why: Conditional si has no written accent. Accented sí means “yes” or “indeed.”

Translating “miss it” too literally

• Awkward for “miss out on it”: Si no véns, ho perdràs.
• Natural: Si no véns, t’ho perdràs.
• Why: Catalan commonly uses the pronominal verb perdre’s for missing an event or opportunity. In t’ho perdràs, t’ belongs to perdre’s and ho stands for the thing missed.

Forgetting the comma after an opening condition

• Less clear: Si acabem aviat anirem a sopar.
• Preferred: Si acabem aviat, anirem a sopar.
• Why: A comma normally marks the end of an initial si clause. No comma is usually needed when it follows the result: Anirem a sopar si acabem aviat.

Usage Notes

Catalan often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending identifies the person. Si vols, podem començar is more neutral than Si tu vols, nosaltres podem començar. State the pronoun when you need contrast or emphasis: Si tu véns, jo també vindré (“If you come, I’ll come too”).

The verb form changes with the relationship between speakers. Si vols, entra addresses one person informally; Si vol, entri can address one person politely; Si voleu, entreu addresses more than one person and is also used for polite plural address. The conditional pattern stays the same.

In conversation, present + present is common when a plan feels fixed or immediate: Si acabem aviat, després sopem al centre (“If we finish early, then we’re having dinner downtown”). The future version, soparem, presents the dinner more explicitly as a future consequence. Both can be natural, but the future pattern is the clearest default for learners.

English “unless” is often expressed with si no: Si no surts ara, perdràs el tren (“Unless you leave now, you’ll miss the train”). Catalan also has more formal or advanced alternatives, but si no is direct and widely useful.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The real conditional is part of a larger system. When the condition is imagined, unlikely, or contrary to the current situation, Catalan normally uses the imperfect subjunctive in the si clause and the conditional mood in the result. The subjunctive is a set of verb forms used here to present the condition as hypothetical rather than open and factual.

Catalan	English	Contrast
Si tinc temps, hi aniré.	If I have time, I’ll go there.	Open possibility: present + future
Si tingués temps, hi aniria.	If I had time, I would go there.	Hypothetical: imperfect subjunctive + conditional
Si haguessis vingut, ho hauries vist.	If you had come, you would have seen it.	Unreal past condition

You do not need the last two patterns to use basic real conditions, but keeping the systems separate prevents tense mixing. In particular, si + present + future and si + imperfect subjunctive + conditional express different views of how real the situation is.

A conditional result can occasionally follow a real present condition for politeness or tentativeness: Si vols, podríem quedar demà (“If you like, we could meet tomorrow”). Here podríem softens the suggestion; it does not make si vols grammatically hypothetical. This is a useful nuance, but it does not replace the ordinary future pattern for predictions.

Finally, future tense after si is possible when si means “whether,” not conditional “if”: No sé si vindrà (“I don’t know whether he or she will come”). This is an indirect question, not a condition and result. Compare Si ve, començarem (“If he or she comes, we’ll start”), where ve is present because the clause states a condition.

Real conditions can also refer to completed or past situations, using other indicative tenses: Si ja has acabat, podem marxar (“If you’ve already finished, we can leave”). The broader principle is that real conditions use indicative forms; the B1 future pattern is simply the most important starting point.

Practice Tips

1. Build four versions from one condition. Start with Si tinc temps... and complete it with a future result, a present result, an imperative, and a modal result. This trains meaning, not just a fixed formula.
2. Mark the two verbs when reading. Underline the verb after si and circle the result verb. Check that a real future condition has a present form after si, even when English refers to future time.
3. Practise realistic decisions aloud. Make short sentences about tomorrow: Si plou..., Si acabo aviat..., Si em truquen.... Then reverse the clause order to practise punctuation and focus.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Future Tense — supplies the result forms in the core si + present, future pattern.
• Useful companion: Conditional Mood — explains forms such as aniria and podríem.
• Next step: Imperfect Subjunctive — provides the verb forms used in hypothetical si clauses.
• Next step: Complex Conditionals — develops unlikely, unreal, and past counterfactual conditions.