4.5 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditional sentence | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_sentence | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:40:45.430713+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Latin ===
Conditional sentences in Latin are traditionally classified into three categories, based on grammatical structure.
simple conditions (factual or logical implications) present tense [if present indicative then indicative] sī valēs, gaudeo "if you are well, I am glad" past tense [if perfect indicative then indicative] sī peccāvī, īnsciēns fēcī "if I did wrong, I did so unwittingly" 2nd person generalisations [if present or perfect subjunctive then indicative] memoria minuitur, nisi eam exerceās "memory gets weaker, if you don't exercise it" future conditions "future more vivid" [if future or future perfect indicative then future indicative] haec sī attulerīs, cēnābis bene "if you bring (literally "will have brought") these things, you will dine well" "future less vivid" [if present or perfect subjunctive then present subjunctive] sī negem, mentiar "if I were to deny it, I would be lying" counterfactual conditions "present contrary-to-fact" [if imperfect subjunctive then imperfect subjunctive] scrīberem plūra, sī Rōmae essēs "I would write more, if you were in Rome" "past contrary-to-fact" [if pluperfect subjunctive then pluperfect subjunctive] sī Rōmae fuissem, tē vīdissem "if I had been in Rome, I would have seen you"
=== French === In French, the conjunction corresponding to "if" is si. The use of tenses is quite similar to English:
In implicative conditional sentences, the present tense (or other appropriate tense, mood, etc.) is used in both clauses. In predictive conditional sentences, the future tense or imperative generally appears in the main clause, but the condition clause is formed with the present tense (as in English). This contrasts with subordinate clauses introduced by certain other conjunctions, such as quand ("when"), where French uses the future (while English has the present). In counterfactual conditional sentences, the imperfect is used to express the condition (where English similarly uses the past tense). The main clause contains the conditional mood (e.g. j'arriverais, "I would arrive"). In counterfactual conditional sentences with a past time frame, the condition is expressed using the pluperfect e.g. (s'il avait attendu, "if he had waited"), and the consequence with the conditional perfect (e.g. je l'aurais vu, "I would have seen him"). Again these verb forms parallel those used in English. As in English, certain mixtures and variations of these patterns are possible. See also French verbs.
=== Italian === Italian uses the following patterns (the equivalent of "if" is se):
Present tense (or other as appropriate) in both parts of an implicative conditional. Future tense in both parts of a predictive conditional sentence (the future is not replaced with the present in condition clauses as in English or French). In a counterfactual conditional, the imperfect subjunctive is used for the condition, and the conditional mood for the main clause. A more informal equivalent is to use the imperfect indicative in both parts. In a counterfactual conditional with past time frame, the pluperfect subjunctive is used for the condition, and the past conditional (conditional perfect) for the main clause. See also Italian verbs.
=== Slavic languages === In Slavic languages, such as Russian, clauses in conditional sentences generally appear in their natural tense (future tense for future reference, etc.) However, for counterfactuals, a conditional/subjunctive marker such as the Russian бы (by) generally appears in both condition and consequent clauses, and this normally accompanies the past tense form of the verb. See Russian grammar, Bulgarian grammar, etc. for more detail.
== Logic == While the material conditional operator used in classical logic is sometimes read aloud in the form of a conditional sentence, the intuitive interpretation of conditional statements in natural language does not always correspond to it. Thus, philosophical logicians and formal semanticists have developed a wide variety of conditional logics that better match actual conditional language and conditional reasoning. They include the strict conditional and the variably strict conditional.
== See also == Anankastic conditional Conditional mood Modality Propositional attitude
== References ==
== External links == Latin Conditionals Conditional Sentences in English Grammar