Independientemente de que/ de si

[dupond]

Hi everyone

Can the phrases "independientemente de que" and "independientemente de si" be used interchangeably?

I notice that "independientemente de que" takes the subjunctive, e.g. Eso se aplica independientemente de que los niños en cuestión sean sospechosos en un delito. Whereas "independientemente de si" takes the indicative, e.g. La política estadounidense nos afecta a todos, independientemente de si estos centros se encuentran en territorio europeo o no.

Nonetheless, do the two phrases mean essentially the same thing?


Thanks

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Mostly, yes. Probably the slight difference is the amount of doubt expressed with "que" + subjunctive, while "si" is a statement that may be discussed or debated. :)

[dupond]

Cheers. Thanks