Following Spanish Plans with Conditions and Dependencies

Following Spanish Plans with Conditions and Dependencies

In this lesson, you will follow a plan with several steps and identify what depends on what. The information may not be presented in execution order, so you will reconstruct the real dependency chain from time expressions, conditions, completed steps, and pending requirements.

Read the plan

Queremos abrir la nueva oficina el lunes. Ya hemos firmado el contrato y comprado los muebles. Todavía esperamos la confirmación de internet. En cuanto llegue la confirmación, la empresa instalará el servicio. No podemos empezar a trabajar hasta que funcione internet. Para que todos puedan entrar el lunes, tenemos que entregar las llaves antes del viernes.

Check the meaning

Queremos abrir la nueva oficina el lunes. — We want to open the new office on Monday.

Ya hemos firmado el contrato y comprado los muebles. — We have already signed the contract and bought the furniture.

Todavía esperamos la confirmación de internet. — We are still waiting for the internet confirmation.

En cuanto llegue la confirmación, la empresa instalará el servicio. — As soon as the confirmation arrives, the company will install the service.

No podemos empezar a trabajar hasta que funcione internet. — We cannot start working until the internet works.

Para que todos puedan entrar el lunes, tenemos que entregar las llaves antes del viernes. — So that everyone can enter on Monday, we have to deliver the keys before Friday.

Separate completed and pending steps

Completed:

• Ya hemos firmado el contrato. — We have already signed the contract.
• Ya hemos comprado los muebles. — We have already bought the furniture.

Pending:

• Todavía esperamos la confirmación de internet. — We are still waiting for the internet confirmation.
• Tenemos que entregar las llaves antes del viernes. — We have to deliver the keys before Friday.

Identify the dependency chain

1. The internet confirmation must arrive.
2. The company installs the internet.
3. The internet must work.
4. The team can begin working.

The text mentions other details around this chain, but these steps are causally and temporally connected.

Use en cuanto to identify what starts the next step

En cuanto llegue la confirmación, la empresa instalará el servicio. — As soon as the confirmation arrives, the company will install the service.

The confirmation triggers the installation step.

Use hasta que to identify what blocks progress

No podemos empezar a trabajar hasta que funcione internet. — We cannot start working until the internet works.

Working cannot begin before that condition is met.

Use para que to identify purpose

Para que todos puedan entrar el lunes, tenemos que entregar las llaves antes del viernes. — So that everyone can enter on Monday, we have to deliver the keys before Friday.

The key delivery is done to achieve the later goal of access.

Information order is not always execution order

A message may say:

La reunión será el viernes. Antes de eso, tenemos que recibir el informe. En cuanto llegue el informe, Ana lo revisará. — The meeting will be Friday. Before that, we have to receive the report. As soon as the report arrives, Ana will review it.

Execution order:

1. Receive the report.
2. Ana reviews it.
3. Hold the meeting.

Ask when a dependency is missing

Suppose the plan says:

Empezaremos la instalación cuando tengamos la aprobación. — We will begin the installation when we have approval.

But it does not say who must give approval.

Ask:

¿Quién tiene que aprobarlo? — Who has to approve it?

Ask when a deadline is missing

¿Cuándo necesitamos la confirmación? — When do we need the confirmation?

Do not invent a date simply because the plan has a final deadline.

A practical dependency method

1. Identify the final objective.
2. Mark steps that are already complete.
3. Mark steps that are still pending.
4. Use en cuanto and cuando to find events that trigger later steps.
5. Use hasta que to find requirements that block progress.
6. Use para or para que to identify the purpose of a preparatory step.
7. Reorder the plan into actual execution order.
8. Ask for clarification when an actor, requirement, or deadline is missing.

From Plan Dependencies to Relative Clauses

You can now reconstruct a plan from its dependencies rather than from sentence order alone. The next lesson teaches how relative clauses change when you describe a known person or thing versus someone or something you are still looking for.