THE CONJUNCTION.


Si (if and whether).

Si used for "whether" may be followed by a verb in any mood and tense
as in English--

No sé si habrá buena cosecha este año: I do not know whether there will
be a good crop this year.

No pudo, or supo, decirme si me entregaría los pagarés para la fecha
convenida: He could not tell me whether he would be able to hand me the
promissory notes for the date agreed upon.

Si used as the conditional "if," is followed by the verb in the
present indicative or imperfect subjunctive, as--

Si viene hoy le pagaré: If he comes to-day, I shall pay him.

Si viene mañana le pagaré[208]: If he comes to-morrow I shall pay him.

Le dije que si viniese le pagaría: I told him that if he came I should
pay him.

[Footnote 208: When the action refers to the future the "future
subjunctive" may be used instead, but this is rarely done. It
emphasises the uncertainty.]


The sense will determine the tense to be used.

Notice the following idiomatic uses of si (not conditional)--

Si soy (fuí) malo!  Well, I am (was) wicked!
¡Si será (sería) tan necia!  Can (could) she be so foolish!
¿Si vendría?  I wonder will he come!
¡Si se lo había dicho yo mil veces! But I had told him so many times!

Other idiomatic uses of this si will be learnt by practice (all more
or less pleonastic as in the above examples).

We have said that "but" is translated by sino after a negative unless
a finite verb follows. Therefore, "Not to buy but to sell" is translated
"No comprar sino vender."

After a negative a finite verb may be preceded by sino que instead of
pero in cases like the following examples--

No compró sino que vendió: He did not buy but (on the contrary) he sold.
No sólo que es barato sino que es de muy buena calidad:
Not only is it cheap, but it is (also) of a very good quality.

Ni ... ni--"neither ... nor" (same as all negative words) when
following a verb requires No to precede the verb, as--

No acepta ni esto ni aquello: He accepts neither this nor that.

But--Ni esto ni aquello quiere aceptar.

Pues--"seeing that" or "since" is used often for "then," "but," "well"
(used as an interjection).

Pues que lo haga: Let him do it then.

Quiso desobedecerme, pues vera su falta: He would disobey me, but he
will see his fault.

Pues (or pues bien) ¡que hay ahora! Well! what is the matter now?

We shall conclude the lesson with the different meanings of Ya
(sometimes used also redundantly). They are given for the sake of
completeness although Ya in its different uses belongs to different
parts of speech--

Ya lo ha hecho: He has done it already.
Ya lo hará:  He will do it yet.
Ya no se hace esto: This is done no longer.
Ya consienten, ya rehusan: Now they consent, now they refuse.
Ya consientan, ya rehusen:  Whether they consent, etc.
Haré cuanto quieras si ya no me pides lo imposible:
I shall do anything you wish if you do not ask (unless you ask) me
  for impossibilities.
Ya que escribió: Since (seeing that) he wrote.
Ya ve V.: You see now.
Ya voy:  I am coming.
Ya se ve: It is evident.
Ya, ya: Yes, of course.


     VOCABULARY.

*abolir to abolish
*advertir to warn
alegar to allege
al revés on the wrong side
barnices varnishes
barrica cask
batista de algodón cambric
baúl trunk
betunes blacking
bicicleta bicycle
botines boots
bramante twine
bufandas mufflers
buje hub
cerradura lock
chanclos goloshes
cintos de seda silk sashes
cinturones de cuero leather belts
colchas de plumón down quilts
consignatario consignee
ejecutar to execute, to put through
*hacer escala to call at (ships)
llantas tyres
maleta portmanteau
mango handle
marca brand, mark
merma loss, leakage, shortage
muebles de bejuco rattan furniture
niquelado nickel-plated
*perder cuidado not to worry
rayos rays, spokes (wheels)
reborde rim, flange
remolacha beetroot
rezumar to leak
tejido elástico webbing
zapatos shoes


                            EXERCISE 1 (93).

Translate into English--

1. No sé si habrá vapor de la Trasatlántica en fecha conveniente.

2. Si lo hay lo preferiré.

3. Esos vapores arrancan (start) de Liverpool y hacen escalas en varios
puertos.

4. Ignoraba si habría servicio mensual en la línea de Canarias.

5. Mandé quinientas piezas Batista de algodón si la hubiese en
existencia.

6. Quiero un baúl y una buena maleta de piel de Rusia con cerradura
niquelada si las hay (or hubiere).

7. Pierda V. Cuidado ¡si las hay de toda especie!

8. ¿Si me venderá esos muebles de bejuco?

9. ¿Cómo no? si ya se lo tiene prometido.

10. El comercio del caucho se ha desarrollado mucho, se usa ahora en
grande escala no sólo para llantas neumáticas de bicicletas y otras
piezas (parts) sino también para gomas de automóviles.

11. No sólo tengo que cambiar el mango de mi bicicleta sino reemplazar
los rebordes y componer el buje y algunos rayos de la rueda.

12. No es posible hallar botines de señoras y zapatos más elegantes que
los de nuestra marca, ni se pueden conseguir más baratos en parte
alguna.

13. Pues que me facture esos bramantes (twine) y ese yute y cáñamo.

14. Ya he colocado un pedido para bufandas y ya veré si me tiene cuenta
pero no mande barnices ni betunes pues ya no trato en estos artículos.

15. Ya, ya. V. se ha dedicado ya á los géneros en pieza, si no me
engaño, pues V. ya dice una cosa ya otra.

16. ¡Señor Juan! Ya voy (I am coming).


                            EXERCISE 2 (94).

Translate into Spanish--

1. Whether he puts through my order for leather belts and silk sashes or
not, I do not much mind, but if he should oblige me, I would do him a
good turn (le haría algún servicio) if the opportunity presents itself.

2. If the webbing and down quilts are good, I shall not begrudge (no me
pesará) the advance in price.

3. Can it be true (si) that the gate or octroi duty (el impuesto de
consumos) is going to be abolished in Spain?

4. Well (pues) the Government has presented a bill to that effect and I
hope we shall soon see the octroi offices (fielatos) abolished.

5. The broker was warned that the quality was only fair average
(mediana).

6. Beetroot has been largely planted in the province of Granada and is
now in great request for the sugar industry.

7. We strove hard (nos hemos esforzado mucho) to introduce the new brand
and we have gained our point[209] at last.

8. The cloth was folded on the wrong side and we anticipate some
difficulty on that score (por esta razón).

9. The consignees claim shortage (indemnización por falta de contenido).

10. They allege that the casks were leaking and that there was
consequently a loss of thirty gallons (galones).

[Footnote 209: To gain one's point: Salir con la suya.]