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Question on a conditional constructionGrammar questions– conjugations, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, word order, syntax, etc. |
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#1
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Question on a conditional construction
Today I read this headline in elcolombiano.com
"Doce quebradas causarían tragedias en Medellín si no se atienden." Can anyone comment on the grammatical correctness of this construction? It seems to violate my basic understanding of the rules for forming conditional constructions. My basic understanding is that in Spanish - a present protasis would go with a future apodosis or - a past subjunctive protasis would go with a conditional apodosis But here we have a present protasis going with a conditional apodosis. Is this usage acceptable? Am I missing something like a nuance of meaning? Thanks. |
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#4
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Thanks so much for the perfect answer! This is what I suspected.
Could we transform the sentence to the following so as to preserve the meaning but at the same time avoid violating the present protasis going with future apodosis rule? Habrá riesgo de tragedias si no se atienden doce quebradas. |
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Your sentence is great, and since the risk is already there, because the authorities haven't intervened yet, you may even say: "Hay riesgo de tragedias si no se atienden doce quebradas".
Still, both "habrá" and "hay" may be read as an assertion that there is negligence from the part of the people charged with the safety of the region. Diplomacy first. ![]() If you want to keep both strict grammar and diplomacy, you may say: "Puede haber riesgo de tragedias, si no se atienden doce quebradas". There, the problem for newspapers is that long sentences must be avoided. ![]()
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