Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences are grammatical structures that express a hypothetical situation and its potential outcome. They consist of an "if" clause (the condition) and a main clause (the result). There are different types of conditional sentences, including zero, first, second, and third conditionals, each with its own specific usage and structure. These sentences are commonly used in everyday language to discuss possibilities, hypothetical situations, and consequences.
5 Key excerpts on "Conditional Sentences"
eBook - ePub- F.R. Palmer(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Chapter 8 Conditionals Conditionals involve specific functions of the modals, and of WILL and SHALL in particular. They are, therefore, dealt with in this chapter, immediately following the discussion in Chapter 7. The use of will and shall in Conditional Sentences was discussed in 7.2.2, but some of the discussion needs to be repeated here. An equal, if not more important, part is played by the past tense forms would and should and by would have and should have. 8.1 Types of conditional There are, it might seem, many types of conditional, but all follow from, or are closely related to, one simple pattern. 8.1.1 The basic pattern Although the grammar of Conditional Sentences in English is basically very simple, it depends on a few quite specific rules. Most accounts of it rather disguise or confuse this basic pattern by bringing in distinctions that are secondary to it, and often predictable. A conditional sentence consists of two clauses, the if -clause and the main clause, or, in more technical language, the protasis and the apodosis. Its function is to indicate that the truth of the proposition in the protasis is dependent on the truth of the proposition in the apodosis. All Conditional Sentences are, therefore (unless there is ellipsis, with the apodosis omitted or ‘understood’), of the semantic form ‘if p then q ’. There are no restrictions on the kind of proposition contained in either clause, and, in particular, there are no restrictions on the tense of either, though there are certain preferred combinations of tense, and the choice of tense may determine the interpretation...
eBook - ePub- Peter T Bradley, Ian Mackenzie(Authors)
- 2004(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Chapter 13 Conditional clauses A conditional clause is one that refers to an event (often hypothetical) on which something else depends. For example, in the sentence ‘If Jones arrives on time we will go to the theatre’, the conditional clause ‘if Jones arrives on time’ refers to a hypothetical event on which another possible event, namely going to the theatre (in the main clause), is dependent. Typically, but not always, conditional clauses are introduced by a word meaning ‘if’, which in Spanish is si. In Spanish, a conditional clause introduced by si may or may not require the subjunctive mood. In general, if the event referred to in the si -clause is contrary to fact or unlikely (what is called a ‘closed condition’), then the subjunctive is used. If on the other hand the statement in the si -clause is an open possibility (‘an open condition’), then the mood is indicative. 13.1 Use of the subjunctive after si 13.1.1 Clauses requiring the pluperfect subjunctive This is used in the conditional clause when the condition has not been fulfilled in the past, e.g. ‘ If I had been rich (but I wasn’t) I would have given you the money’. In the main clause either the conditional tense or the conditional perfect tense is used: Si no hubieras dejado la ventana abierta la habitación no estaría llena de mosquitos. If you hadn’t left the window open the room wouldn’t be full of mosquitoes. Si nos hubiera consultado, habría sido posible discutirlo con él. If he had consulted us, it would have been possible to discuss it with him. 13.1.2 Clauses requiring the imperfect subjunctive 13.1.2.1 This is used when the condition is not fulfilled in present time, e.g. ‘ If I had money (but I haven’t) I would buy it’...
eBook - ePubHuman Reasoning
The Psychology Of Deduction
- Ruth M.J. Byrne, Jonathan St.B.T. Evans, Stephen E. Newstead(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Psychology Press(Publisher)
...If this (DA) inference were not intended, then the speaker would have violated the principle of relevance (Sperber & Wilson, 1986). Why attach a condition to your promise if fulfilment of the condition is not necessary? TABLE 2.3 Examples of Conditional Statements Contingent universal If the animal is a fish then it is cold-blooded Temporal/causal If the glass is dropped then it will break Advice If you work hard then you will do well in life Promise If you clear up your toys then I will give you an ice cream Threat If you do that again I’ll hit you Warning If you break the speed limit here the police will catch you Counterfactual If I had made some putts I would have won easily Non-truth functional If you want a good book to read there is one on the table Two other types of conditional are worth a brief mention, although little psychological work has been done with them. One is the counterfactual statement which invites listeners to reason about a once, but no longer possible, world. For example: If the Argentinians had not invaded the Falkland Islands then Margaret Thatcher would have lost the next general election The other is a non-truth functional conditional such as: If you want a cup of tea there is one in the pot In the above case you could not reasonably interpret the desire for a cup of tea to imply the presence of one in the pot. However, like other conditionals the statement is one where the consequent assertion will be relevant only if the antecedent is true. The speaker is hypothesising that you may be thirsty and providing information—and implicit hospitality— that will be relevant to you if this hypothesis is correct. The point that we are trying to convey, prior to a review of the psychological research on conditional reasoning, is that the use of if in natural language is a good deal more complex than the treatment of if as material implication in textbook logic...
eBook - ePub- Jenneke A. Oosterhoff(Author)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...UNIT NINETEEN Conditional Sentences Introduction Conditional Sentences are used to express a condition that needs to be fulfilled in order for something else to be possible. Based on its function, a speaker of Dutch uses different forms of the conditional, each depending on how likely it is that the condition will be fulfilled. Note the difference in English between If you are home, I’ll come over and If you were home, I would come over. The second sentence is further away from actual realization than the first. Similarly, Dutch uses different tenses to express the likelihood of such a realization. Conditional Sentences in the present and present perfect tense Conditional Sentences are introduced by a conjunction of condition such as als ‘if’, tenzij ‘unless’, mits ‘under the condition that’. See also the chapter on conjunctions. Erik: Als ik nu niet wegga, kom ik te laat op m’n werk. If I don’t leave right now, I’ll be late for work. Sanne: Als ik dit voorjaar een paar pond afval, kan ik weer in mijn zwarte bikini. If I lose a few pounds this spring, I can fit in my black bikini again. Karin: Als we deze wedstrijd winnen, komen we in de finale. If we win this game, we’ll enter the finals. Peter: Als ik genoeg geld gespaard heb, koop ik een i-pod. If/When I have saved enough money, I’ll buy an i-pod. Erik: We gaan dit weekend lekker naar het strand, tenzij het regent. We’ll go to the beach this weekend, unless it rains. From the speaker’s perspective, a conditional sentence in the present or present perfect tense is used to express that the condition is likely to be fulfilled in the (near) future. In some cases, for example in sentence number 4, it is only a matter of time. In such sentences, the conjunction als can mean ‘if’ or ‘when’...
eBook - ePub- Brian Garrett(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Let us take it that ‘if … then …’ is the main connective. In other words, let us interpret (11) as: (12) If Alex wins then (Cathy will be delighted provided that Henry comes last). Rephrasing the ‘provided that’ into ‘if … then …’ format, we get: (13) If Alex wins then (if Henry comes last, Cathy will be delighted). Our sentence has three simple sentences. We can label them using the capital letter technique: (14) If ALEX wins then (if HENRY comes last, CATHY will be delighted). We then replace the simple sentences with their capital letters: (15) If A then (if H then C). We now replace the occurrences of ‘if … then …’ with (16) A → (H → C) In (16), A is the antecedent and H → C is the consequent. Had we instead taken the ‘provided that’ to be the main connective, we would have ended up with: (17) H → (A → C) I leave this as an exercise for the reader. Note that, although different formulae, (16) and (17), unlike (10a) and (10b), are logically equivalent. Conditionals A conditional sentence or formula has one (and only one) antecedent and one (and only one) consequent. Thus ‘if Adam eats more cake, he will put on weight’ is an indicative conditional sentence where ‘Adam eats more cake’ is the antecedent and ‘he will put on weight’ is the consequent. The assumption of elementary logic is that indicative conditionals are material conditionals and so correctly represented by →. This assumption is controversial and has been denied by some logicians. It is, however, agreed on all sides that non-indicative or subjunctive conditionals are not material. Since the falsity of a subjunctive’s antecedent plainly does not guarantee the subjunctive’s truth, subjunctives are not material. For example, the subjunctive conditional ‘if Adam had drunk beer, he would have lost weight’ can be false even if its antecedent is false (Adam being a teetotaller)...
