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If I had enough money, I'd go to Peru
What translation would be best?
Si tendría bastante dinero, iba a Perú. Si tendría bastante dinero, iría a Perú. Si tenía bastante dinero, iría a Perú. The last one would be the most literal translation, but would a native speaker say it like this (assuming a native speaker would like to go to Peru :D)? In Dutch I'd propably say "Als ik genoeg geld zou hebben ging ik naar Peru", which is closer to the first translation. |
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Easy rule: in a compound sentence where the conditional tense is used the verb in the other part of the sentence takes the imperfect subjuctive |
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If I had enough money … (which is an English subjunctive) Wenn ich genug Geld hätte …. (imperfect subjunctive indicating a hypothetical situation) |
I have a question.
Had means tube in pass. Then I knew that kind to phrases are translated so. I would have enough money, I go to Perú. I will waiting your commentary. |
Crotalito,
The title of this thread ("If I had enough money, I'd go to Peru.") is perfect English for the perfect translation given by both chileno and poli ("Si tuviera suficiente dinero, iría a Perú."). Take note that 'tuviera' is the equivalent of the English 'had', in the subjunctive mood. The English 'had' is also the past tense of 'have', as you stated. I had a cat. (indicative mood, past tense) Tuve un gato. If I had a cat, I'd be happy. (subjunctive mood - conditional in the main clause) Si tuviera un gato, estaría contento. |
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Really I didn't know this, this result new for me. The verbal time substantive mood. Although I'm a little suck, because I want to understand if the valor of the time verbal is gave for the word if in this case, because I saw your examples and they start with if word. If I had a better server my site had more complete in the infrastructure. In this case the verb is became for the word if. If I had, If you had etc. I this other case the had is involve the pass in English. I had a computer better than this ones. I wait your commentary. Sincerely yours. |
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The English subjunctive mood is a bit different than the Spanish subjunctive mood, but in the cases cited above, it was the use of the conditional mood (tense) that caused the need for the subjunctive mood, not the word 'if'. (The word 'if' is often present when the conditional mood is used.) |
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¿Querrías ir a Perú? Sí, si tuviera suficiente dinero. In this case the answer isn't a compound sentence (but I suppose this answer might be a simplified version of: I would like to do that, if I had enough money.) Would it be correct to use the imperfect subjunctive in any sentence with a condition that isn't met? Though this form does seem to indicate a certain desperation, as you could probably also use the indicative: Si tengo suficiente dinero, voy/iré a Perú Right? And Perikles, the subjunctive is rarely used in modern Dutch (just like the grammatical cases), but historically one might have said: Ik ging naar Peru, hadde ik genoeg geld.. |
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Edit: cross-posting with @Alec. (ps. On an informal level ) |
Dear Alec and Perikles,
I was aware of the difference in meaning between the two sentences, but I merely thought up the second as an example in which a condition isn't met but the imperfect subjuntive isn't used. Because gramatically it is a correct sentence right? |
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Rusty.
How are you? I have read all your corrections and I thank you your time spent in correct me, thank very much for your corrections. |
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If clauses in the past tense are ALWAYS in the subjunctive. It's hard for native English speakers because our subjunctive doesn't change form anymore, for the most part. But think of this sentence, and see if it helps you:
If I WERE a rich girl, I'd (I would) have all the money in the world. People commonly say "If I was," but that is incorrect. |
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