📖LearnModule 13 · Lesson 13 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, first halfUnit 3 · Los conectores raros
Siempre y cuando, con tal de que, basta con que
Module 13 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C2, first half), lesson 13 of 30: Three conditions with three temperatures. On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
siempre y cuando
as long as (provided that)
SYEHM-preh ee KWAHN-doh
con tal de que
provided that
kohn TAHL deh keh
basta con que
it only takes (for)
BAHS-tah kohn keh
la carretera
the road
lah kah-rreh-TEH-rah
peligroso
dangerous (m)
peh-lee-GROH-soh
elegante
elegant
eh-leh-GAHN-teh
con poco basta
it takes very little
kohn POH-koh BAHS-tah
el matiz de grado
the shade of degree
ehl mah-TEES deh GRAH-doh
ellos bastan para el trabajo
they are enough for the job
EH-yohs BAHS-tahn PAH-rah ehl trah-BAH-hoh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Three conditions with three temperatures. Siempre y cuando takes the subjunctive and means provided that: siempre y cuando pagues. Con tal de que is its everyday twin. Basta con que means it only takes: basta con que llueva un poco para que la carretera sea peligrosa.
Y también · And also
Basta con que llueva un poco — it takes only a little rain. It is the most elegant conditional in the language and it costs nothing to learn. All three take the subjunctive; none takes si.
Ojo · Watch out
siempre y cuando, con tal de que and basta con que ALL take the subjunctive: siempre y cuando pagues, basta con que llueva. Three conditions, one mood — unlike French, which splits them.
bastar, presente — the table
yo basto · tú bastas · él/ella/usted basta · nosotros bastamos · ustedes bastan · ellos/ellas bastan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with siempre y cuando.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out bastar, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.