Conditional sentences and mood in Spanish

Abstract

This paper examines the use of mood in conditional subordinate clauses in Spanish. Specifically, it addresses the differential behavior with respect to mood selection of conditional clauses introduced by the particle si “if” (which may appear in the indicative mood), as opposed to conditional clauses introduced by other conditional conjunctions, such as con tal de que “provided that” (which always appear in the subjunctive mood). The paper identifies other grammatical phenomena with respect to which conditional clauses introduced by si behave differently from other conditional constructions. These phenomena allow us to state a generalization regarding clauses introduced by the particle si that in turn enables us to explain their different behavior with respect to mood selection in Spanish. Under the analysis provided, si “if” is not a subordinating conjunction that grammatically establishes a particular meaning relation between two clauses, as is the case for expressions such as con tal de que “provided that” or siempre y cuando “as long as”. Rather, si “if” is a particle that instructs the hearer to set up a hypothetical domain where two propositions hold. The meaning relation that a hearer establishes between the two propositions is the result of pragmatic inferences.