Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation trying to explain that an event will happen after another but only if certain conditions are applied? That case is actually common in everyday conversations.
For example, when you tell your kids that you will only go to the park if they finish their meal.
In Spanish, we have a wonderful tool called temporary adverbial subordinate clauses.
They, in a few words, help you in those situations where you want to say that something will happen only if another thing happens.
If you are a Spanish learner, temporary adverbial subordinate clauses are among the top 5 must-have tools.
In that case, if you seek to become proficient in speaking Spanish, you have to learn how to use them.
In this article, we will provide you with all you need to get the most out of them!
Temporary adverbial subordinate clauses
The first thing you need to know is that a subordinate sentence is a compound sentence.
They are structured in three parts.
The first one is a sentence with a high hierarchy that we call the main clause.
The second part is a connector word.
Also, the last part is the subordinate sentence or the sentence with a lower hierarchy. There are lots of subordinate clauses in Spanish.
However, temporary adverbial subordinate clauses are the ones that help us place an event in relation to another.
Just like we explained previously, you can express that an event will happen only if another action is carried out.
In these types of sentences, the subordinate sentence plays the role of giving a temporary framework to what the main action expresses.
- Let’s see an example below:
Cuando cumplas los quince años, haremos un viaje a Disneyworld
When you turn fifteen, we’ll take a trip to Disneyworld.
You can see that, in the example above, the action haremos un viaje a Disneyworld will only be carried out when “you turn fifteen”. Otherwise, it’ll not happen.
There are three forms or types of temporary adverbial subordinate clauses.
The first type is the one we use to express anterioridad “anteriority”.
The second type is the one that expresses simultaneidad “simultaneity”.
And, the last type is the one that helps us express posterioridad “posteriority”.
All of these purposes are in relation to the activities carried out in the main sentence.
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How to introduce them
As you know, connector words play an essential role in subordinate sentences.
If you do not use a connector word, then you’re not building a subordinate sentence.
To introduce an, we use connector words that express a temporary value.
For these sentences, most connector words are adverbs of time.
Also, there are several other temporary phrases you can use to introduce these kinds of sentences.
Some of the most popular temporary phrases and words we use to build temporary adverbial subordinate clauses are listed below.
Cuando.
When.
Antes de que.
Before.
Despues de que.
After.
Tan pronto como.
As soon as.
Una vez que.
Once.
A medida que.
As.
These expressions might have no sense to you since, in English, most of them are just single-word connectors.
- To provide you with a better idea of how we use these connectors, let’s look at some examples:
Antes de que vuelvas, debo limpiar mi habitación.
Before you come back, I have to clean my room.
Iré al gimnasio una vez que termine de comer.
I’ll go to the gym once I’m done eating.
La revista fue perdiendo lectores a medida que se acababa la década de 1950.
The magazine was losing readers as the 1950s ended.
How to use adverbial subordinate clauses
You already have almost all you need to bring your Spanish to a whole new level.
Nonetheless, we can’t leave if you do not learn how to properly use these subordinate sentences.
As we said previously, temporary adverbial subordinate clauses help you express anteriority, simultaneity, and posteriority.
- The formulas we use to build these sentences are listed below:
Main sentence + antes de + subordinate sentence with a verb in the infinitive form (Anteriority)
Main sentence + después de + subordinate sentence with a verb in the infinitive form (Posteriority)
Main sentence + cuando + subordinate sentence with a verb in the indicative form (Simultaneity)
The connector phrases antes de and después de make using a verb in the infinitive form necessary.
On the other hand, if you use connector phrases like antes de que or después de que you can use a verb in the indicative or subjunctive form.
- Let’s see the examples below to get a clearer picture:
Habla con él en persona antes de dejar un mensaje. (Infinitive)
Habla con él en persona antes de que le dejes un mensaje. (Subjunctive)
Nos tuvimos que ir después de comer. (Infinitive)
Nos tuvimos que ir después de que comimos. (Indicative)
When you use the verb in the infinitive form, you are emphasizing the action and not who will be affected by that action.
On the flip side, when we use the verb in the subjunctive or indicative form, we are highlighting who’s carrying out the action.
As you may realize, in the formulas above, we are using the connector word in the middle of the sentences.
Also, since Spanish is a very flexible language, you can start the whole sentence with the connector word followed by the subordinate sentence.
In that case, using a comma after the subordinate sentence is mandatory.
- Let’s see how the formulas would look when we use this method:
Antes de + subordinate sentence with a verb in the infinitive form + comma + main sentence (Anteriority)
Después de + subordinate sentence with a verb in the infinitive form + comma + main sentence (Posteriority)
Cuando + subordinate sentence with a verb in the indicative form + comma + main sentence. (Simultaneity)
- Now, let’s see some examples for each case so you can get a better understanding of how to do it:
Antes de preguntar, infórmate bien del tema.
Before asking, be well informed about the topic.
Después de hacer tu tarea, saldrás .
After doing your homework, you will go out.
Cuando tenga un poco de tiempo, veré el programa de televisión.
When I have some time, I’ll watch the TV show.
Spanish temporary subordinate clauses
This is the end of the rod for today.
Now you know how to use these Spanish sentences, you’ll no longer get stuck in an awkward situation.
Just keep in mind three important things. First, you always need to use a connector word or phrase with a temporary value.
Second, if start the whole sentence with the connector word followed by the subordinate sentence, you always have to use a comma.
If you don’t do it, you’ll have a grammar mistake. Also, a comma indicates a short pause. So, be aware of that when speaking.
And last but not less important, using a verb in the subjunctive or indicative form emphasizes the subject who’s carrying out the action.
On the other side, if you use a verb in the infinitive form, you’re emphasizing the action itself!