Phrase · 💭 Hypotheses in every register
Si llego a saber que estabas en el hospital, voy a verte.
If I'd known you were in hospital, I'd have come to see you.
C2past counterfactuals (colloquial)colloquialAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Si1conjunctionifllego1verbI'd (lit. I get to)llegar · present · 1st sing.a1prepositiontosaberverbknowninfinitivequeconjunctionthatestabas3verbyou wereestar · imperfect · 2nd sing.enprepositionineldeterminerthemasc. · sing. · definitehospitalnounhospitalmasc. · sing.,voy2verbI'd have gone (lit. I go)ir · present · 1st sing.a4prepositiontoverte4verbsee youver · infinitive.
- Si → llego: si + present: past counterfactual
- llego → saber: llegar a + infinitive
- voy → verte: ir a + infinitive
- saber → que: saber que + indicative
Word for word: “If I get to know that you were in the hospital, I go to see you.”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1si llego a + infinitive: a colloquial past counterfactual (= si hubiera sabido); llegar a stresses that it never happened. The extended conditional system: de + infinitive, hubiera and colloquial patterns →
- 2The present voy in the main clause = habría ido. Speech only. The extended conditional system: de + infinitive, hubiera and colloquial patterns →
- 3Imperfect estabas: the state at that past moment. Imperfect: forms and uses →
- 4ir a ver a alguien = to go and see someone; the pronoun attaches to the infinitive.
Variations
- Si hubiera sabido que estabas en el hospital, habría ido a verte.
- De saber que estabas en el hospital, habría ido a verte.
- Si me entero de que estabas en el hospital, voy a verte.