SINTAKSIA

SINTAKSIA.

MIKABALA YA TAALUMA YA SARUFI.

(a)          Sarufi ubongo

(b)          Sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu.

(c)    Sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha.

UTANGULIZI WETU UTAZINGATIA MAMBO YAFUATAYO

·        Maana ya sarufi.

·        Mkabala wa kimapokeo.

·        Mkabala wa kisasa.

MJADALA WETU UTAJIKITA KATIKA VIPENGELE VIFUATAVYO

·        Ufafanuzi wa sarufi ubongo

·        Ufafanuzi wa sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu

·       Ufafanuzi wa sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha.

·        Tofauti zilizopo katika mikabala hii.

Katika mjadala huu, kwanza kabisa tutaanza kwa kuangalia dhana muhimu ambazo zimejitokeza katika mada yetu, ambazo ni sarufi, mkabala wa kimapokeo pamoja na mkabala wa kisasa. Kisha tutangalia kwa kujadili kiini cha mada, ambapo tutaangalia jinsi sarufi ubongo, sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu na sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha na inaangukia katika mkabala upi na inatofautiana vipi.

Tukianza na maana ya sarufi kwa mujibu wa wataalamu mbalimbali kama vile:-

Kihore na wenzake (2005) wakimnukuu Gaynor (1968:88), wanaeleza kuwa sarufi ni sayansi ya muundo wa lugha pamoja na sheria, kanuni na matumizi yake ambayo kwa kawaida hukubalika kwa watumiaji wake.

Vile vile Mdee (1999) anafasili sarufi kama mfumo wa kanuni za lugha zinazomwezesha mzungumzaji kutunga sentensi nyingi sahihi na zenye kukubaliwa na wazawa wa lugha.

Pia Massamba na wenzake (1999:31) katika mtazamo wa pili wa kufasili dhana ya sarufi wanaeleza kuwa sarufi ni kanuni sheria au taratibu za uchambuzi zinazotawala lugha.

Hivyo basi wanasarufi hawa wanaonekana kukubaliana kwamba sarufi ni kanuni, sheria na taratibu zinazotawala lugha. Lakini kwa kiasi kikubwa tunakubaliana na fasili iliyotolewa na Mdee kutokana na kwamba ameweza kutufafanulia vizuri kanuni hizo na taratibu za lugha ndizo zinazomwezesha mzungumzaji kutunga sentensi nyingi, sahihi na zenye kukubaliwa na wazawa wa lugha.

Kwa mfano:- sentensi za kiswahili zina muundo wa

                     N + V + T + E

Mtoto mzuri anacheza uwanjani. 

  N         V          T             E

Baada ya kuangalia dhana ya sarufi kwa mujibu wa wataalamu mbalimbali sasa tunaweza kuangalia mikabala mikuu miwili ya sarufi ambayo ni:-

i.             Mkabala wa kimapokeo

ii.            Mkabala wa kisasa.

Kwa kuanza na mkabala wa kimapokeo kwa mujibu Khamisi na Kiango (2002), wanaeleza kuwa hii ni sarufi ya kale, wataalamu wanaohusishwa na mkabala huu walijitokeza kuanzia karne ya 5 kabla ya kristo na katika karne ya 18 na karne ya 19 baada ya kristo, wataalamu hao ni kama vile Plato, Aristotle, Panin, Protagoras ambao walijihusisha na lugha kwa kutaka kujua asili yake ikiwa ni sehemu ya uchunguzi wa asili ya maumbo hususani walitaka kujua kama lugha ni tukio la maumbile au tukio la unasibu.

Pia Massamba na wenzake (wameshatajwa) wanaeleza kwamba sarufi mapokeo zilikuwa ni sarufi elekezi ambazo zilisisitiza kanuni na nini cha kusema na wajua lugha. Watu wasiojua kanuni za lugha wanapaswa kujifunza kutoka kwa wanaojua sarufi ya lugha. Wanaendelea kusema kuwa, wanaojua lugha hupaswa kutunga kanuni za sarufi.

Vile vile Habwe na Karanja (2004:124), wanadai kuwa mitazamo hii ya wanasarufi hawa wa kimapokeo iliathiri mbinu na njia za kuangalia lugha kwani sarufi mapokeo ilijikita katika lugha za kiulaya kama vile kiyunani na kilatini.

Sifa mbalimbali za lugha hizi ambazo ziliaminiwa kuwa bora, zilichunguza kilatini na kiyunani zilielezwa kuwa ni lugha duni na kutwezwa na kudhalilishwa

Sarufi mapokeo ilielekeza watu jinsi ya kutumia lugha, uelekezi huo hata hivyo ulijikita kwenye sheria za lugha ya kilatini kwa mfano sentensi haikupaswa kuishia na kihusishi wala kuanza na kiunganishi.

Udhaifu mkubwa wa sarufi mapokeo ni kwamba, taratibu za uchanganuzi wa lugha hazikuzingatia lugha ya kuzungumza kama ilivyo leo. Wanasarufi mapokeo walienzi na kuchunguza lugha ya maandishi. Hivyo basi ni dhahiri kwamba mkabala huu unaangukia katika mitazamo ya kifalsafa.

Hivyo basi ni wazi kuwa katika sarufi hii ya mapokeo tunakutana na mikabala miwili inayoangukia katika mkabala huu ambayo ni sarufi ubongo na sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu.

Mkabala wa pili, ni mkabala wa kisasa, unaoongozwa na wanasosiolojia ambao unahusisha sarufi mbalimbali kama vile :-

i.             Sarufi msonge

ii.            Sarufi miundo virai

iii.           Sarufi geuza maumbo zalishi

iv.          Sarufi husiano

Katika mkabala huu ndipo tunapata mkabala wa sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha.

Hivyo basi baada ya kujadili mikabala mikuu miwili ambayo ni mkabala wa kimapokeo na mkabala wa kisasa, zifuatazo ni sifa muhimu za sarufi ubongo, sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu na sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha ambazo kwazo tutaona jinsi kila moja inavyotofautiana na nyingine.

Kwa kuanza na sarufi ubongo, kwa mujibu wa Nordquist (2012), anaeleza kuwa sarufi ubongo ni sarufi endelevu ambayo inamwezesha binadamu kuzalisha lugha ambayo inaweza kueleweka kwa wengine

Pia Sharpe (2006), anaeleza kuwa sarufi hii hufananishwa na umilisi, anaendelea kueleza kuwa sarufi hii humwezesha mtu kuweza kusikia na kutambua kama sentensi hiyo ni sahihi au si sahihi.

Chomsky (1957), anaeleza kuwa kila binadamu amezaliwa na uwezo wa kuzalisha tungo mbalimbali zisizo na ukomo ambazo humpatia uwezo au uzoefu wa sarufi ya lugha. Pia anafafanua kwamba kila binadamu huzaliwa na kifaa katika ubongo wake ambacho kinamwezesha kuamili lugha ya aina yoyote, amekiita kifaa cha uamiliaji lugha (KIULU). Kwa mfano mtoto mdogo mwenye umri chini ya miaka saba anaweza kuamili lugha yoyote na mahali popote.

Mgullu (1999), anaeleza kuwa sarufi ubongo huchunguza jinsi binadamu anavyojifunza lugha kwa mfano hatua mbalimbali ambazo hupitia wakati anajifunza lugha yake ya kwanza.

Kwa hiyo tunakubaliana na fasili zote zilizotolewa na wataalamu hapo juu kutokana na kwamba sarufi ubongo, hii ni sarufi ambayo inachunguza jinsi binadamu anavyoweza kuamili lugha na kujifunza lugha pia kuweza kuzalisha sentensi mbalimbali ambazo anaweza kuzitumia katika mawasiliano.

Vile vile wataalamu wa mkabala huu hueleza kuwa upo uhusiano mkubwa kati ya akili, kufikiri na lugha bila shaka uhusiano huu ni ule wa taathira ya lugha yaani dhana inayoeleza kuwa kwa kawaida kila lugha huathiri watumiaji wake kwa kiasi kikubwa.

Vile vile wataalamu wa mkabala huu wanaeleza jinsi watu wanavyojifunza lugha ya pili au lugha ya tatu.

Kwa kifupi mkabala huu hujihusisha na mambo kadha kama vile:-

(i)    Kumwezesha binadamu kuweza kuzalisha au kutunga sentensi mbalimbali.

(ii)       Sarufi ubongo huusika na uamiliaji wa lugha na ujifunzaji wa lugha.

(iii)   Sarufi hii huwakilisha maarifa ya mzungumzaji wa lugha (umilisi alionao mzungumzaji).

Mkabala mwingine wa sarufi ambao unaangukia katika mkabala wa sarufi mapokeo ni sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu.

Kwa mujibu wa Encyclopedia (1970), wanaeleza kuwa sarufi kaida ni mpangilio unaoonyesha au kueleza kanuni za kisarufi katika lugha ambazo hushughulika na kanuni za uundaji wa maneno, maumbo ya maneno, miundo ya maneno, miundo ya sentensi, vile vile inahusisha taarifa maalumu kuhusu fonetiki na fonolojia (taaluma inayohusika na utamkaji sahihi unaokubalika)

Pia kwa mujibu wa Babylon Dictionary (1997), wanaeleza kuwa sarufi kaida ni mfumo wa kisarufi ambao unafafanua kipi sahihi na kipi si sahihi katika lugha, pindi mzungumzaji anapozungumza, amezungumza sahihi au si sahihi.

Kwa hiyo tunaweza kueleza kuwa sarufi kaida hujishughulisha sana na:-

i.           Kuelekeza namna ya matumizi sahihi ya lugha.

ii.         Wataalamu wa lugha ndio wanaounda kanuni na miongozo ya lugha ambayo inatakiwa kufuatwa na wale wasiojua lugha.

Kwa mfano:- kanuni mojawapo ya miundo ya sentensi za Kiswahili huwa na muundo wa kiima na kiarifu.

Vile vile sentensi nyingi za Kiswahili huwa na muundo wa kirai nomino na kirai kitenzi.

Hivyo basi katika mkabala huu wa sarufi watu wasiojua lugha wanapaswa kufuata kanuni na taratibu zilizoundwa na wanaojua lugha kwa mfano wanasarufi.

Pia mkabala mwingine wa sarufi ambao unaangukia katika mkabala wa kisasa ni sarufi kama utafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inayoonekana katika lugha.

Kwa mujibu wa Besha (2007), anaeleza kuwa huu ni mkabala unaohusika hasa na uchambuzi wa muundo wa lugha, sauti za lugha, muundo wa sentensi na hata maana za tungo za lugha.

Pia mgullu (1999), anaeleza kuwa lengo la mkabala huu ni kufafanua vipengele vyote vya lugha fulani kama vilivyo hivi sasa au vilivyokuwa wakati fulani.

Hivyo basi Besha na Mgullu wanakubaliana kuwa huu ni mkabala unaofafanua namna au jinsi watu wanavyozungumza lugha na sio kuwaelekeza waizungumze vipi lugha yao. 

Hivyo basi kwa ujumla mkabala huu unajihusisha na mamba yafuatayo:-

i.             Hautilii mkazo mabadiliko yaliyotokea katika lugha hata kama mabasiliko hayo yapo.

ii.            Mkabala huu hauamuru watu waseme vipi na vipi wasiseme.

Kutokana na sifa mbalimbali zilizojitokeza katika mikabala hii, tumeweza kubaini tofauti zilizopo baina ya mikabala hii mitatu ambazo ni kama zifuatazo:-

Sarufi ubongo, sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu zinajitokeza katika mkabala wa kimapokeo wakati sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha inajitokeza katika mkabala wa kisasa.

Vilevile sarufi ubongo humwezesha binadamu kuweza kuzalisha miundo mbalimbali ya tungo wakati sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu haijihusishi kabisa na masuala ya ubongo bali yenyewe hujihusisha na mazoea ya kawaida ya watumiaji wa lugha ambapo kunakuwa na makosa ambayo huwafanya wataalamu kuunda kanuni za lugha ambazo zinatakiwa kufuatwa na wasiojua lugha hii inatofautiana na sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyoonekana kwenye lugha kwa kuwa haihusiani na masuala ya ubongo wala kaida, bali yenyewe hujihusisha na utafiti na ufafanuzi wa miundo ya lugha kama inavyotumika na wazungumzaji wa lugha na haiwaelekezi jinsi ya kuzungumza.

Kwa kuhitimisha tunaweza kusema kwamba pamoja na tofauti hizo zilizojitokeza katika mikabala hiyo mitatu, mikabala hii inaonekana kufanana kwani yote inajihusisha na lugha ya binadamu, pia mikabala hii imechangia kwa kiasi kikubwa katika maendeleo ya taaluma ya isimu na ndio imekuwa darajia kwa wataalamu mbalimbali katika kufanya tafiti zao kwa mfano baada ya kushindwa kwa sarufi ubongo na sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu ndipo kukazaliwa kwa sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha.

MAREJEO

Babylon Dictionary. (1997). Translation and Information Platform. Babylon Ltd.

Besha, R.M. (2007). Utangulizi wa lugha na Isimu. Macmillan Aidan Ltd. Dar es Salaam.

Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic Structures. Mouton The Hague.

Khamis, A.M na John G.K (2002). Uchanganuzi wa sarufi ya Kiswahili. TUKI. Dar es salaam.

Habwe, J na Peter K (2007). Msingi ya sarufi ya Kiswahili.Phoenix Publishers. Nairobi.

Kihore, Y.M na wenzake. (2008). Sarufi Maumbo ya Kiswahili Sanifu (SAMAKISA):Sekondari na Vyuo. TUKI. Dar es Salaam.  

Massamba, D.P.B. na wenzake. (2009). Sarufi Miundo ya Kiswahili Sanifu (SAMIKISA): Sekondari na Vyuo. TUKI.

Mgullu, R.S. (1999). Mtalaa wa Isimu: Fonetiki, Fonolojia na Mofolojia ya Kiswahili. Longhorn Publishers Ltd. Nairobi.

Sharpe J. P (2006). Barron’s How to prepare for the TOEFL IBT. Barron’s Educational Series.

The  Great Soviet Encyclopedia. (1970). (3^rd ). The Gale group. Moscow.

ENGLISH TENSES

The Tenses in English Grammar - Reference

One sentence is put into different tenses. You can see how the meaning changes.
The words in green are signal words. They tell you which tense you have to use.

Tense	Example	Explanation
Simple Present	I play football every week.	Here you want to say that it happens regularly.
Present Progressive	I'm playing football now.	Here you want to say that it is happening at the moment.
Simple Past	I played football yesterday.	You did it yesterday, it happened in the past.
Past Progressive	I was playing football the whole evening.	You were doing it in the past. It's not sure whether the action was finished or not.
Present Perfect	I have just played football.	You have just finished it. So it has a connection to the present. Maybe your clothes are dirty.
Present Perfect Progressive	I have been playing football for 2 hours.	You want to say how long you have been doing it. (You started in the past and it continues up to the present.
Past Perfect	I had played football before Susan came.	The two actions are related to each other: you had finished to play football and after that the girl arrived.
Past Perfect Progressive	I had been playing football for two hours when Susan came.	Here you want to point out how long you had been doing it before the girl came.
will-future	I will play football next week.	This is a prediction, you can probably do something else.
going to-future	I'm going to play football this afternoon.	This is a plan you've made.
Future Progressive	I will be playing football next Sunday.	You do it every Sunday (as usual)
Future Perfect	I will have played football by tomorrow.	You will have done it before tomorrow.
Conditional Simple	I would play football.	You'll probably do it.
Conditional Progressive	I would be playing football.	You'll probably do it. Here you concentrate more on the progress of the action.
Conditional Perfect	I would have played football.	You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in the future. Here you concentrate on the fact (football).
Conditional Perfect Progressive	I would have been playing football.	You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in the future. Here you concentrate on the progress of playing (football).

Negations of the sentences

Tense	Example
Simple Present	I do not play football every week. I don't play football every week.
Present Progressive	I am not playing football now. I'm not playing football now.
Simple Past	I did not play football yesterday. I didn't play football yesterday.
Past Progressive	I was not playing football yesterday. I wasn't playing football yesterday.
Present Perfect	I have not played football. I haven't played football. I've not played football.
Present Perfect Progressive	I have not been playing football. I haven't been playing football. I've not been playing football.
Past Perfect	I had not played football. I hadn't played football. I'd not played football.
Past Perfect Progressive	I had not been playing football. I hadn't been playing football. I'd not been playing football.
will-future	I will/shall not play football next week. I won't play football next week.
going to-future	I am not going to play football this afternoon. I'm not going to play football this afternoon.
Future Progressive	I will/shall not be playing football. I won't be playing football.
Future Perfect	I will/shall not have played football. I won't have played football.
Conditional Simple	I would not play football. I'd not play football.
Conditional Progressive	I would not be playing football. I wouldn't be playing football. I'd not be playing football.
Conditional Perfect	I would not have played football. I wouldn't have played football. I'd not have played football.
Conditional Perfect Progressive	I would not have been playing football. I wouldn't have been playing football. I'd not have been playing football.

Questions

Tense	Example
Simple Present	Do you play football?
Present Progressive	Are you playing football?
Simple Past	Did you play football?
Past Progressive	Were you playing football?
Present Perfect	Have you played football?
Present Perfect Progressive	Have you been playing football?
Past Perfect	Had you played football?
Past Perfect Progressive	Had you been playing football?
will-future	Will you play football?
going to-future	Are you going to play football?
Future Progressive	Will you be playing football?
Future Perfect	Will you have played football?
Conditional Simple	Would you play football?
Conditional Progressive	Would you be playing football?
Conditional Perfect	Would you have played football?
Conditional Perfect Progressive	Would you have been playing football?

VERB TENSE TUTORIAL ------- ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

VERB   TENSE   TUTORIAL Verb tenses are tools that English speakers use to express time in their language. You may find that many English tenses do not have direct translations in your language. That is not a problem. By studying this verb tense tutorial, you will learn to think like a native English speaker. If you prefer to use the verb tense pages as a reference only and do not want to complete the tutorial, Click Here. The tutorial should be completed as follows: 1. Read this introduction page. 2. Prepare for the exercises by reading: Types of Verbs,  Active vs. Passive, and the verb tense descriptions that you want to practice. 3. Complete the exercises below. After each exercise, we have listed the tenses covered. Just click on the name of a tense to learn more about its use. EXERCISES TOPICS COVERED Verb Tense Exercise 1 Simple Present and Present Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 2 Simple Present and Present Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 3 Simple Past and Past Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 4 Simple Past and Past Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 5 Simple Past and Present Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 6 Simple Past and Present Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 7 Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 8 Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 9 Present Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 10 Present Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 11 Simple Past and Past Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 12 Simple Past, Present Perfect, and Past Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 13 Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 14 Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous, and Past Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 15 Present Continuous, Simple Past, Present Perfect Continuous, and Past Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 16 Present and Past Tenses with Non-Continuous Verbs Verb Tense Exercise 17 Present and Past Tense Review Verb Tense Exercise 18 Will and Be Going to Verb Tense Exercise 19 Will and Be Going to Verb Tense Exercise 20 Will and Be Going to Verb Tense Exercise 21 Simple Present and Simple Future Verb Tense Exercise 22 Simple Present and Simple Future Verb Tense Exercise 23 Simple Future and Future Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 24 Simple Present, Simple Future, Present Continuous, and Future Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 25 Simple Future and Future Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 26 Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 27 Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 28 Future Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Practice Test Cumulative Verb Tense Review Verb Tense Final Test Cumulative Verb Tense Review

Verb Tense Overview with Examples

Simple Present	Simple Past	Simple Future
I study English every day.	Two years ago, I studied English in England.	If you are having problems, I will help you study English. I am going to study English next year.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Future Continuous
I am studying English now.	I was studying English when you called yesterday.	I will be studying English when you arrive tonight. I am going to be studying English when you arrive tonight.
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
I have studied English in several different countries.	I had studied a little English before I moved to the U.S.	I will have studied every tense by the time I finish this course. I am going to have studied every tense by the time I finish this course.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous
I have been studying English for five years.	I had been studying English for five years before I moved to the U.S.	I will have been studying English for over two hours by the time you arrive. I am going to have been studying English for over two hours by the time you arrive.

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CONDITIONAL    SENTENCES.

INTRODUCTION:

For the non-custodial punishment for a crime in Canada, see Conditional sentence (Canada).

Conditional sentences are sentences expressing factual implications, or hypothetical situations and their consequences. They are so called because the validity of the main clause of the sentence is conditional on the existence of certain circumstances, which may be expressed in a dependent clause or may be understood from the context.
A full conditional sentence (one which expresses the condition as well as its consequences) therefore contains two clauses: the dependent clause expressing the condition, called the protasis; and the main clause expressing the consequence, called the apodosis.^[1] An example of such a sentence (in English) is the following:

If it rains the picnic will be cancelled.

Here the condition is expressed by the clause "If it rains", this being the protasis, while the consequence is expressed by "the picnic will be cancelled", this being the apodosis. (The protasis may either precede or follow the apodosis; it is equally possible to say "The picnic will be cancelled if it rains".) In terms of logic, the protasis corresponds to the antecedent, and the apodosis to the consequent.
Languages use a variety of grammatical forms and constructions in conditional sentences. The forms of verbs used in the protasis and apodosis are often subject to particular rules as regards their tense and mood. Many languages have a specialized type of verb form called the conditional mood – broadly equivalent in meaning to the English "would (do something)" – for use in some types of conditional sentence.

Contents

• 1 Types of conditional sentence
  • 1.1 Implicative and predictive
  • 1.2 Counterfactual
• 2 Grammar of conditional sentences
  • 2.1 English
    • 2.1.1 Zero conditional
    • 2.1.2 First conditional
    • 2.1.3 Second conditional
    • 2.1.4 Third conditional
    • 2.1.5 Mixed conditionals
  • 2.2 Latin
  • 2.3 French
  • 2.4 Italian
  • 2.5 Slavic languages
• 3 Logic
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Types of conditional sentence

There are various ways of classifying conditional sentences. One distinction is between those that state an implication between facts, and those that set up and refer to a hypothetical situation. There is also the distinction between conditionals that are considered factual or predictive, and those that are considered counterfactual or speculative (referring to a situation that did not or does not really exist).

Implicative and predictive

A conditional sentence expressing an implication (also called a factual conditional sentence) essentially states that if one fact holds, then so does another. (If the sentence is not a declarative sentence, then the consequence may be expressed as an order or a question rather than a statement.) The facts are usually stated in whatever grammatical tense is appropriate to them; there are not normally special tense or mood patterns for this type of conditional sentence. Such sentences may be used to express a certainty, a universal statement, a law of science, etc. (in these cases if may often be replaced by when):

If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.

If the sea is stormy, the waves are high.

They can also be used for logical deductions about particular circumstances (which can be in various mixtures of past, present and future):

If it's raining here now, then it was raining on the West Coast this morning.

If it's raining now, then your laundry is getting wet.

If it's raining now, there will be mushrooms to be picked next week.

If he locked the door, then Kitty is trapped inside.

A predictive conditional sentence concerns a situation dependent on a hypothetical (but entirely possible) future event. The consequence is normally also a statement about the future, although it may also be a consequent statement about present or past time (or a question or order).

If I become President, I'll lower taxes.

If it rains this afternoon, everybody will stay home.

If it rains this afternoon, then yesterday's weather forecast was wrong.

If it rains this afternoon, your garden party is doomed.

What will you do if he invites you?

If you see them, shoot!

Counterfactual

Main article: Counterfactual conditional

In a counterfactual or speculative^[2] conditional sentence, a situation is described as dependent on a condition that is known to be false, or presented as unlikely. The time frame of the hypothetical situation may be past, present or future, and the time frame of the condition does not always correspond to that of the consequence. For example:

If I were king, I could have you thrown in the dungeon.

If I won the lottery, I would buy a car.

If he said that to me, I would run away.

If you had called me, I would have come.

If you had done your job properly, we wouldn't be in this mess now.

The difference in meaning between a "counterfactual" conditional with a future time frame, and a "predictive" conditional as described in the previous section, may be slight. For example, there is no great practical difference in meaning between "If it rained tomorrow, I would cancel the match" and "If it rains tomorrow, I will cancel the match".
It is in the counterfactual type of conditional sentence that the grammatical form called the conditional mood (meaning something like the English "would ...") is most often found. For the uses of particular verb forms and grammatical structures in the various types and parts of conditional sentences in certain languages, see the following sections.

Grammar of conditional sentences

Languages have different rules concerning the grammatical structure of conditional sentences. These may concern the syntactic structure of the condition clause (protasis) and consequence (apodosis), as well as the forms of verbs used in them (particularly their tense and mood). Rules for English and certain other languages are described below; more information can be found in the articles on the grammars of individual languages. (Some languages are also described in the article on the conditional mood.)

English

Main article: English conditional sentences

In English conditional sentences, the condition clause (protasis) is most commonly introduced by the conjunction if, or sometimes other conjunctions or expressions such as unless, provided (that), providing (that) and as long as. Certain condition clauses can also be formulated using inversion without any conjunction (should you fail...; were he to die...; had they helped us...).
In English language teaching, conditional sentences are often classified under the headings zero conditional, first conditional (or conditional I), second conditional (or conditional II), third conditional (or conditional III) and mixed conditional, according to the grammatical pattern followed.^[3] A range of variations on these structures are possible.

Zero conditional

"Zero conditional" refers to conditional sentences that express a simple implication (see above section), particularly when both clauses are in the present tense:

If you don't eat for a long time, you become hungry.

This form of the conditional expresses the idea that a universally known fact is being described:

If you touch a flame, you burn yourself.

The act of burning oneself only happens on the condition of the first clause being completed. However such sentences can be formulated with a variety of tenses (and moods), as appropriate to the situation.

First conditional

"First conditional" refers to predictive conditional sentences (see above section); here, normally, the condition is expressed using the present tense and the consequence using the future:

If you make a mistake, someone will let you know.

Second conditional

"Second conditional" refers to the pattern where the condition clause is in the past tense, and the consequence in conditional mood (using would or, in the first person and rarely, should). This is used for hypothetical, counterfactual situations in a present or future time frame (where the condition expressed is known to be false or is presented as unlikely).

If I liked parties, I would attend more of them.

If it were to rain tomorrow, I would dance in the street.

The past tense used in the condition clause is historically the past subjunctive; however in modern English this is identical to the past indicative except in certain dialects in the case of the verb be (first and third person singular), where the indicative is was and the subjunctive were. In this case either form may be used (was is more colloquial, and were more formal, although the phrase if I were you is common in colloquial language too):

If I (he, she, it) was/were rich, there would be plenty of money available for this project.

Third conditional

"Third conditional" is the pattern where the condition clause is in the past perfect, and the consequence is expressed using the conditional perfect. This is used to refer to hypothetical, counterfactual (or believed likely to be counterfactual) situations in the past

If you had called me, I would have come.

Mixed conditionals

"Mixed conditional" usually refers to a mixture of the second and third conditionals (the counterfactual patterns). Here either the condition or the consequence, but not both, has a past time reference:

If you had done your job properly, we wouldn't be in this mess now.

If we were soldiers, we wouldn't have done it like that.

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]
  • past tense [if perfect/imperfect indicative then indicative]
• future conditions
  • "future more vivid" [if future indicative then future indicative]
  • "future less vivid" [if present subjunctive then present subjunctive]
• contrafactual conditions
  • "present contrary-to-fact" [if imperfect subjunctive then imperfect subjunctive]
  • "past contrary-to-fact" [if pluperfect subjunctive then pluperfect subjunctive]

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 dependent 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 logic (i.e.) is sometimes read aloud in the form of a conditional sentence (i.e. "if p, then q"), the intuitive interpretation of conditional statements in natural language does not always correspond to the definition of this mathematical relation. Modelling the meaning of real conditional statements requires the definition of an indicative conditional, and contrary-to-fact statements require a counterfactual conditional operator, formalized in modal logic.

See also

• Anankastic conditional
• English modal auxiliary verb
• Conditional mood
• Subjunctive mood

References

1. Haspelmath, Martin; König, Ekkehard; Oesterreicher, Wulf; Raible, Wolfgang: Language Typology and Language Universals, Walter de Gruyter, 2001, p. 1002.
2. Mead, Hayden; Stevenson, Jay (1996), The Essentials of Grammar, New York: Berkley Books, p. 55, ISBN 978-0-425-15446-5, OCLC 35301673
3. Craig Thane, Teacher Training Essentials: Workshops for Professional Development, Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 67.

External links

• Conditional Sentences for advanced learners
• Using conditional clauses in English with clear examples
• English conditional clauses explanations with examples
• Latin Conditionals
• French Conditionals

Categories:

• Sentences by type
• Conditionals