Allen & Greenough · Part Second — Syntax › Syntax of the Verb

§514. Classification of Conditions

The principal or typical forms of Conditional Sentences may be exhibited as follows:—

PARTICULAR CONDITIONS

A. SIMPLE CONDITIONS (nothing implied as to fulfilment)

Present Time

Present Indicative in both clauses:—

sī adest, bene est, if he is [now] here, it is well.

Past Time

Imperfect or Perfect Indicative in both clauses:—

sī aderat, bene erat, if he was [then] here, it was well.
sī adfuit, bene fuit, if he has been [was] here, it has been [was] well.

B. FUTURE CONDITIONS (as yet unfulfilled)

More Vivid

a. Future Indicative in both clauses:—

sī aderit, bene erit, if he is (shall be) here, it will be well.

b. Future Perfect Indicative in protasis, Future Indicative in apodosis:—

sī adfuerit, bene erit, if he is (shall have been) here, it will [then] be well

Less Vivid

a. Present Subjunctive in both clauses:—

sī adsit, bene sit, if he should be (or were to be) here, it would be well.

b. Perfect Subjunctive in protasis, Present Subjunctive in apodosis:—

sī adfuerit, bene sit, if he should be (should have been) here, it would [then] be well.

C. CONDITIONS CONTRARY TO FACT

Present Time

Imperfect Subjunctive in both clauses:—

sī adesset, bene esset, if he were [now] here, it would be well (but he is NOT here).

Past Time

Pluperfect Subjunctive in both clauses:—

sī adfuisset, bene fuisset, if he had [then] been here, it would have been well (but he was NOT here).

D. GENERAL CONDITIONS

General Conditions do not usually differ in form from Particular Conditions (A, B, and C), but are sometimes distinguished in the cases following:—

Present General Condition (Indefinite Time)

a. Present Subjunctive second person singular (Indefinite Subject) in protasis, Present Indicative in apodosis:—

sī hōc dīcās, crēditur, if any one [ever] says this, it is [always] believed.

b. Perfect Indicative in protasis, Present Indicative in apodosis:

sī quid dīxit, crēditur, if he [ever] says anything, it is [always] believed.

Past General Condition (Repeated Action in Past Time)

a. Pluperfect Indicative in protasis, Imperfect Indicative in apodosis:—

sī quid dīxerat, crēdēbātur, if he [ever] said anything, it was [always] believed.

b. Imperfect Subjunctive in protasis, Imperfect Indicative in apodosis:—

sī quid dīceret, crēdēbātur, if he [ever] said anything, it was [always] believed (= whatever he said was always believed).

Cf. the Greek forms corresponding to the various types of conditions:—

A. 1. εἰ πράσσει τοῦτο, καλῶς ἔχει.	2. εἰ ἔπρασσε τοῦτο, καλῶς εἶχεν.
B. 1. ἐὰν πράσσῃ τοῦτο, καλῶς ἕξει.	2. εἰ πράσσοι τοῦτο, καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι.
C. 1. εἰ ἔπρασσε τοῦτο, καλῶς ἂν εἶχεν.	2. εἰ ἔπραξε τοῦτο, καλῶς ἂν ἔσχεν.
D. 1. ἐάν τις κλέπτῃ, κολάζεται.	2. εἴ τις κλέπτοι, ἐκολάζετο.

Particular Conditions

Simple Present and Past Conditions—Nothing Implied

J. H. Allen and J. B. Greenough, New Latin Grammar (Boston: Ginn, 1903). Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.