Give a friend advice

You already know the conditional (hablaría, haría, podría) and the polite request ¿podrías…? from unit 4. Now you'll use the same "would" form to give advice.

A friend asks: "What should I do?" You could answer tienes que hablar con él — you have to talk to him. But that sounds like an order. Advice sounds softer, and there are three ways to give it.

1. Deberías + infinitive — "you should". It's the conditional of deber.

2. Yo que tú + conditional — "if I were you". Learn it as a whole phrase.

3. Yo en tu lugar + conditional — the same meaning, word for word "I, in your place".

• Deberías llamar al banco. — You should call the bank.
• No deberías pagar tanto por ese piso. — You shouldn't pay so much for that apartment.
• Yo que tú, hablaría con la dueña. — If I were you, I'd talk to the landlady.
• Yo en tu lugar no firmaría nada hoy. — In your place, I wouldn't sign anything today.
• ¿Qué harías tú en mi lugar? — What would you do in my place?

With usted (formal you) it's debería, yo que usted, yo en su lugar: Yo que usted, esperaría un poco. — If I were you, I'd wait a little (formal).

There's also a fourth way: si yo fuera tú — if I were you. It works exactly like the English phrase. The form fuera belongs to a harder topic at the next level, so for now learn the whole phrase: Si yo fuera tú, buscaría otro piso. — If I were you, I'd look for another apartment.

Common mistake: using the tú form after yo que tú: ✗ yo que tú hablarías. You're saying what you yourself would do ("I would talk"), so you need the yo form: yo que tú hablaría. It's the same in English: "If I were you, I'd talk to her." Deberías is the opposite: it's the tú form, because it means "you should".

You can already give a reason: porque (because), and como at the start of a sentence (since; A2, unit 17). Así que comes from the other side: first the reason, then the result, like English "so". Without it, you can't explain why you decided something.

How it works: reason + comma + así que + result. The verb after así que is in the normal form, in any tense.

• No tengo coche, así que voy en metro. — I don't have a car, so I take the metro.
• Mañana trabajo, así que hoy no saldré. — I'm working tomorrow, so I won't go out today.
• El piso era muy caro, así que buscamos otro. — The apartment was very expensive, so we looked for another one.

In meaning it's almost the same as por eso (that's why), but así que is more common in everyday speech.

In conversation, people often start a reply with así que. Then it's a conclusion from what the other person just said, like English "so…":

• — He encontrado trabajo en Madrid. — ¿Así que te vas? — I've found a job in Madrid. — So you're leaving?

Don't confuse it with así. On its own, así means "like this, this way": ¿Así está bien? — Is it OK like this? The "so" that brings a result is always the two words together: así que.

Common mistake: putting así que before the reason, as if it meant "since": ✗ así que no tengo coche, voy en metro. That's wrong: así que always comes right before the result. To start with the reason, use como: Como no tengo coche, voy en metro. (Since I don't have a car, I take the metro.)

Sometimes one thing gets in the way, but you still do what you wanted: you're tired, but you go out; it's expensive, but you buy it. In English that's "although" or "even though"; in Spanish it's aunque.

How it works: aunque + the normal verb form (present, past, future) when you talk about something that is really true. The aunque part can come at the beginning or at the end of the sentence, with a comma between the two parts.

• Aunque estoy cansada, voy a salir. — Although I'm tired, I'm going to go out (woman speaking).
• Me gusta el piso, aunque es un poco caro. — I like the apartment, although it's a little expensive.
• Aunque llevo un año aquí, todavía me pierdo en el centro. — Although I've been here for a year, I still get lost downtown.
• Aunque no tenía hambre, comí con ellos. — Although I wasn't hungry, I ate with them.

Aunque and pero. The meaning is close, but they go in different places:

• Estoy cansada, pero voy a salir. — I'm tired, but I'm going to go out. Pero comes before the thing that wins.
• Aunque estoy cansada, voy a salir. — Although I'm tired, I'm going to go out. Aunque comes before the thing that was in the way.

Common mistake: using both words at once: ✗ aunque estoy cansada, pero voy a salir. English doesn't say "although I'm tired, but…" either. Use just one: aunque estoy cansada, voy a salir.

Sometimes after aunque you'll hear a different verb form: then the meaning is "even if". That's a topic for the next level. For now, aunque means "although" and takes the normal verb form.