WHAT IS A CONDITIONAL SENTENCE? independent clause. The condition clause usually conta ns an if statement. There are several different forms of conditional sentences that allow the writer to …

Apart from the basic forms (if + the present simple + will and if + the past simple + would), we can use other verb forms in the first and second conditional sentences in the English language.

These notes are based upon material in von Fintel & Heim (2021), pages 25-28 and 47-53. Certain subtle aspects of the conditional’s meaning can be affected the choice of tense and/or aspect in …

Conditional sentences can express two types of conditions: factual (sometimes called real) and hypothetical (sometimes called unreal). A factual conditional sentence expresses a real or …

The dependent or subordinate clause states a condition or cause and is joined with an independent clause, which states the result or effect. Conditional sentences can be factual, predictive, or …

Conditional sentences consist of two parts: (I) a subordinate clause, the protasis (Greek for ‘proposition’ or ‘premiss’), which is introduced by si or nisi and contains the condition (M&F call this the ‘if clause’); …

In English, it is necessary to differentiate between those conditional statements that are actual, or that describe actual scenarios, and those statements that are hypothetical or speculative.