Spanish · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 5 of 12
Society and the environment
La sociedad y el medio ambiente
Discuss problems and solutions in Spanish with every kind of si sentence, including si hubiera sabido, habría venido, and express concern.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Discuss an environmental problem, its causes and possible solutions
- Form the pluperfect subjunctive and the conditional perfect: hubiera hecho, habría hecho
- Use all types of si sentences, including mixed ones
- Express concern: me preocupa que, lo que más me preocupa es…
Listen
Antía, who lives in Madrid, is visiting her uncle Ramiro in his village in Ourense. They walk through a forest that burned last summer. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Antía
Tío, no me imaginaba que el incendio hubiera llegado tan cerca del pueblo.
Uncle, I didn't imagine the fire had come so close to the village.
Ramiro
Pues llegó hasta aquella casa. Si no hubiera sido por los bomberos y los vecinos, se habría quemado medio pueblo.
Well, it came right up to that house. If it hadn't been for the firefighters and the neighbours, half the village would have burned.
Antía
¡Qué horror! ¿Y cómo empezó?
How awful! And how did it start?
Ramiro
Nadie lo sabe seguro. Hacía muchísimo calor y no llovía desde junio. Con tanta sequía, el monte se quemaba muy fácilmente.
Nobody knows for sure. It was extremely hot and it hadn't rained since June. With such a long drought, the forest burned very easily.
Antía
Lo que más me preocupa es que cada verano hay más incendios. Si esto sigue así, dentro de unos años no quedará monte.
What worries me most is that there are more fires every summer. If this goes on, in a few years there'll be no forest left.
Ramiro
Es que el problema viene de lejos. Antes el monte estaba limpio porque la gente vivía de él y llevaba el ganado allí. Ahora casi no queda gente en el pueblo, y nadie lo limpia.
The thing is, the problem goes back a long way. The forest used to be clear because people lived off it and took their animals there. Now there are hardly any people left in the village, and nobody clears it.
Antía
Entonces, si la gente siguiera viviendo aquí, el monte estaría más limpio.
So if people still lived here, the forest would be clearer.
Ramiro
Exacto. Y si lo hubieran limpiado a tiempo, ahora no estaríamos así.
Exactly. And if they had cleared it in time, we wouldn't be in this state now.
Antía
¿Y no se puede hacer nada? Me da mucha pena ver todo esto tan negro.
And can't anything be done? It makes me really sad to see all this so black.
Ramiro
Sí, claro. Los vecinos hemos creado una asociación para cuidar el monte. Si tuviéramos más ayudas, podríamos contratar a gente del pueblo.
Yes, of course. We residents have set up an association to look after the forest. If we had more grants, we could hire people from the village.
Antía
Me parece una idea genial. Si lo hubiera sabido, habría venido antes a ayudar.
I think that's a great idea. If I'd known, I would have come to help sooner.
Ramiro
Pues el mes que viene vamos a volver a plantar árboles donde se quemaron. Si quieres venir, toda ayuda es poca.
Well, next month we're going to plant trees again where they burned. If you'd like to come, every little helps.
Understand
Hubiera hecho, habría hecho
To talk about a past that didn't happen, you need two new compound forms. The “pluperfect subjunctive” () is + past participle: (if I had known). You'll also see , with the same meaning.
The “conditional perfect” () is + past participle: (I would have come). So: (If I'd known, I would have come). In speech, many people also use in both halves:
| Person | Pluperfect subjunctive | Conditional perfect |
|---|---|---|
| / / | ||
| / | ||
| / | ||
| / / |
All the si sentences
Choose the tense after by asking how real the situation is. After , never use the present subjunctive, the future or the conditional.
You can also mix the types: a past condition with a result in the present. (If they had cleared it in time, we wouldn't be in this state now).
| Situation | si + … | Result | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| real, possible | present | present, future, imperative | |
| unreal or unlikely (now, future) | imperfect subjunctive | conditional | |
| unreal past | pluperfect subjunctive | conditional perfect | |
| past condition, present result | pluperfect subjunctive | conditional |
Expressing concern
+ subjunctive (B1) is the basic way to say you're worried about something. … (What worries me most is that…) is followed by the indicative when you state a fact: + subjunctive means “I'm afraid that…”.
- Me preocupa que no llueva.I'm worried that it isn't raining.
- Lo que más me preocupa es que cada verano hay más incendios.What worries me most is that there are more fires every summer.
- Tengo miedo de que se queme el monte.I'm afraid the forest will burn.
More in the grammar: The present subjunctive: que sea, que tenga · All si clauses: si hubiera sabido, lo habría hecho · The imperfect subjunctive: hablara, tuviera, fuera · Verb phrases: acabar de, volver a, seguir + gerund
New words
- el incendiofire (that destroys something) · masculine; : fire in general
- el bombero / la bomberafirefighter
- quemarseto burn, to be burned · : to burn (something)
- la sequíadrought · feminine
- el montewoodland, forest; hills, mountain · masculine; uncultivated land with trees or scrub
- no queda nadathere's nothing left · : to be left, to remain; : there'll be no forest left
- vivir deto live off, to make a living from
- el ganadolivestock, animals (cows, sheep, goats) · masculine, singular
- limpiarto clean; to clear (land) · / : clean
- a tiempoin time
- la ayudahelp; grant, subsidy · : grants, public money
- volver ato do something again · + infinitive: , we're going to plant again
- el árboltree · masculine; plural:
- Toda ayuda es poca.Every little helps.
Practise
1.Complete: “Si lo …, habría venido antes a ayudar.”
2.Complete with the conditional perfect of : “Half the village would have burned.”
Half the village would have burned.
3.Complete with the imperfect subjunctive of : “If we had more grants, we could hire people.”
If we had more grants, we could hire people.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.If I'd known, I would have come.
5.Match the Spanish with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.Which sentence means “If they had cleared it in time, we wouldn't be in this state now”?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Si lo hubiera sabido, habría venido.
If I'd known, I would have come.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.