Introduction
Conditional sentences are “if … then” sentences. They contain conditions (the
“if” clause), and consequences (the “then” clause).
Conditional Sentences in
English
A conditional sentence in
English generally has the following form:
if [condition] (then)
consequence
The “then” is optional in
English.
For instance:
If it rains today, then we
won’t be able to play outside.
In the previous example, the
condition is “it rains today” and the consequence is “we cannot play outside”.
Conditional Sentences in
Hindi
Conditional sentences in
Hindi has a structure that is similar to the structure of conditional
sentences in English. In Hindi, the subordinating conjunctions अगर and यदि are usually used
to introduce the conditional clause. Therefore, they correspond to the word
“if” in English. The word तो is used to introduce the
consequence and therefore corresponds to “then” in English.
The general structure of
Hindi conditional sentences are therefore:
(अगर/यदि) [condition] तो [consequence]
अगर is the most common word used to introduce conditional
clauses.
In Hindi, the words अगर and यदि are optional, but तो is always
required. The presence of तो between two clauses is enough to
signal a conditional sentence. This is more common in spoken Hindi, however.
Note that the opposite situation is so in English: “if” is always required, but
“then” is optional.
In colloquial Hindi, the
relative pronoun जो may be used instead of अगर or यदि
In English, the conditional
clause and consequential clause may be transposed, as in “We won’t be able to
play outside if it rains today”. However, in Hindi, the conditional clause
always precedes the consequential clause.
Examples
अगर आज बारिश हो/होगी तो हम बाहर नहीं खेल पाएँगे – “If it rains today,
then we will not be able to play outside”
आपको हिन्दुस्तानी खाना अच्छा लगता है तो आपको मेरे घर आना चाहिए खाना खाने के लिए – “If
you like Indian food then you should come to my house to eat”
Hindi conditional sentences
can be broadly divided into two categories: those which employ present and
future tense verbs, and those which employ past tense verbs.
Conditional Sentences for
the Present and Future
Conditional sentences which
contain present or future tense verbs are used for conditions that can be
fulfilled in the present or future. The conditional clause and the consequential clause may employ verbs of different tenses and different moods.
Such sentences may be further
classified according to the degree of probability or certainty expressed by the
speaker.
Conditional Sentences with
the Indicative Mood
The indicative mood implies a relative degree of certainty that the condition will be fulfilled.
Conditional Sentences with
the Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive mood implies
that the condition is an uncertain situation, such as a wish, possibility,
supposition, hypothesis, etc.
All conditional sentences are
inherently “uncertain” in the sense that the consequences are contingent upon
the fulfillment of the conditions. However, the indicative mood connotes a
relatively higher degree of certainty, whereas the subjunctive mood connotes a
relatively lower degree of certainty. Often the difference will be clear.
However, sometimes the difference can be subtle.
These two moods can be used
in conditions and consequences, and indicate relative degrees of certainty
regarding the fulfillment of the condition or consequence respectively.
Examples of Conditions
with the Subjunctive Mood
Conditions with subjunctive
verbs imply uncertainty regarding the fulfillment of the condition.
Subjunctive Condition,
Future Indicative Consequence
अगर मैं भारत जाऊँ तो मैं अपनी बहिन से मिलूँगा – “If
I go to India, then I will meet my sister”
The subjunctive verb in the the condition indicates that the speaker is uncertain whether he will go to India
or not.
The indicative mood in the
consequence indicates that the speaker will certainly meet his sister if he in the fact does go.
Subjunctive Condition,
Present Subjunctive Consequence
अगर हमको पैसा मिले तो हम गाड़ी खरीद लें – “If we get the money, then perhaps we will buy the car”
The subjunctive mood in the
condition implies that the speakers doubt whether they will get the money or
not.
The subjunctive mood in the
consequence implies that the speakers doubt whether they will buy the car or
not, even if they do get the money.
Subjunctive Condition,
Present Indicative Consequence
अगर तुम चाहो तो हम अब मूवी देख सकते हैं – “If
you’d like, then we can watch a movie now”
The subjunctive mood in the the condition indicates that the speaker is unsure whether the listener wants to
watch a movie.
The indicative mood indicates
that they can certainly watch the movie if the listener indeed wishes so.
Examples of Conditions
with the Indicative Mood
If the condition uses the
indicative mood, then the consequence must also use the indicative mood, unlike
conditional sentences with conditions in the subjunctive mood. Such sentences
therefore indicate certain fulfillment of both the condition and consequence.
Present Tense Condition,
Present Tense Consequence
अगर आपको हिंदी आती है तो आप यह अख़बार पढ़ सकते हैं – “If you understand Hindi, then you can read this
newspaper”
Present Tense Condition,
Future Tense Consequence
अगर आप रोज़ दौड़ते हैं तो आप उस दौड़ में बहुत आसानी से दौड़ सकेंगे – “If you run daily then you will be able to run in that
race very easily”
Future Condition, Future
Consequence
अगर आप भारत आयेंगे तो मैं आपको घुमाऊँगी/दिखाऊंगी – “If you come to India, I’ll show you around”
Simple Past Condition,
Future Consequence
When the verb in the
condition is in the simple past tense and the verb in the consequence is in the
future tense, the conditional sentence emphasizes the necessity of the
completion of the condition prior to the fulfillment of the consequence.
अगर तुमने ठीक से हिंदी भाषा पढ़ी तो तुम इसको सीख जाओगे – “If you study the Hindi language properly then you will
learn it”
Conditional Sentences for
the Past / Contrafactual Sentences
Past conditional sentences
are also called “contra factual” sentences because they indicate conditions
which are false and thus consequences which are also false. They often indicate
potential situations which in fact did not occur.
Such sentences employ the
past subjunctive form of verbs.
अगर मैं अमीर होता तो मैं क्यों काम करता – “If I were rich then why would I work?”
अगर मैं जा सकता तो मैं जाता – “If
I could have gone, I would have gone”
The negative particle used
with contra factual sentences is न.
Such constructions can be
used with subjunctive verbs in other tenses and aspects also:
अगर मैं बाहर न काम कर रहा होता तो मुझे इतना पसीना नहीं आ रहा होता – “If
I hadn’t been working outside then I wouldn’t be sweating so much”
अगर तुम हिंदी सीखते होते तो तुम हिंदी जानते – “If you had studied Hindi (regularly), then you would
know Hindi”
अगर मुझे जाना होता तो मैं अब तक चला गया होता – “If I had to go, then I would have gone by now”
