Si fuera

The keys to picking up a language quickly are constant exposure and practice. But practice is not always easy to obtain, either because you lack the opportunity or, more often, because you lack the confidence to engage in a conversation. So you lack learning because you lack practice, and you lack practice because you lack learning. How frustrating!

But there are always ways around this problem. One of them involves memorizing common phrases to be prepared for the next time you get the chance to engage in a conversation. For example, you can memorize entire phrases by topic; phrases to introduce yourself, to ask for directions, to order food, etc. Or you could memorize smaller, more specialized chunks of speech and use them as building blocks to create more complex ideas. For example, phrases like quiero que... (I want that), or no sé si (I don't know if). On this lesson we will focus on exploring one of these phrases: si fuera.

The phrase si fuera actually involves mastering an advanced skill in Spanish: the use of the verb ser (to be) in the subjunctive mood. But instead of learning rules and conjugation tables, you can memorize it as it is, and learn how speakers use it in everyday speech to build your own sentences.

Si fuera is usually combined with the preposition como (as) and followed by a noun phrase:

Así como si fuera una pinza.

Like this as if it were a clamp.

Caption 22, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 17
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Since fuera is used for both the first and third person singular, you can use the same expression to talk about yourself. You can add the pronoun yo (I) between si and fuera, or not:

¡Si fuera tu jefe te despediría!
If I were your boss, I'd have you fired!

Here's an example from our catalog:

Yo quiero amarte como si fuera tu único dueño.

I want to love you as if I were your only master.

Caption 63, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 3
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Look at this useful example that combines si fuera with a basic simple sentence like esto es(this is):

Esto es como si fuera el rastro de los móviles o el rastro de tu vida.

This is as if it were a cell phone trail or your life's trail.

Caption 31, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 4
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Si fuera can also be followed by a pronoun, it's used a lot in conditional sentences:

Bueno, si yo fuera tú, hablaría con él.

Well, if I were you, I would speak with him.

Caption 24, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y condicional
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And si fuera can also be followed by an adjective instead of a noun:

Si [yo] fuera rico me respetarías un poco - If I were rich you would respect me a little.
Si mi jefa fuera injusta conmigo yo renunciaría a mi trabajo - If my boss were unfair to me I would quit my job.

At this point you could also learn the expression como si fuera poco:

Y como si fuera poco, todo lo que hacen...

And, as if that weren't enough, everything that they do...

Caption 30, Salvando el planeta Palabra Llegada - Part 8
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