Condition: si + present → futur
A real condition is built so: si + present → future in the main clause: Si estalvies, compraràs — if you save, you will buy. In the "si" clause the future tense is never used: there is one tense, the present, and the future lives in the main clause. For example: “Si estalvies cada mes, compraràs una bici” — If you save every month, you will buy a bicycle. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not…
How it works
A real condition is built so: si + present → future in the main clause: Si estalvies, compraràs — if you save, you will buy. In the "si" clause the future tense is never used: there is one tense, the present, and the future lives in the main clause.
Breaking this order is the most frequent mistake: not "si estalviaràs". In English you can say "if you will save"; in Catalan the future after "si" is forbidden.
An unreal condition ("if I had…") is built differently — through "si + imperfet", but that is the material of a later unit. For now — only the real one: there is a plan, the condition is feasible.
Table
| part | tense | example |
|---|---|---|
| the si clause | present | si estalvies |
| the main clause | futur | compraràs |
| the mistake | futur after si | si estalviaràs |
By example
- Si estalvies cada mes, compraràs una biciIf you save every month, you will buy a bicycle
- Si arribes tard, perdràs el trenIf you come late, you will miss the train
- Si el banc dona el crèdit, obrirem el negociIf the bank gives the loan, we will open our own business
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Condition: how does it work in Catalan?
A real condition is built so: si + present → future in the main clause: Si estalvies, compraràs — if you save, you will buy. In the "si" clause the future tense is never used: there is one tense, the present, and the future lives in the main clause.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Si estalvies cada mes, compraràs una bici” — If you save every month, you will buy a bicycle. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.