If
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Conditional marker
It is conventional in grammar to speak of the words which follow if (French si) as a condition for the truth of the main clause statement.
- If we don't finish tonight, we'll finish in the morning.
- I only sweep that room if I have time.
(In the second case, if is equivalent to when and similar to as long as (tant que).
In the study of language, the if-clause is called the protase (cf. French explanation of a conditional.
Logic
If is an important logical operator. In a sentence like: If A, then B.
If A is true, B is true If A is false, B can be true or false
Synonyms
- provided that
- providing that
- on the condition that
- as long as
Derived words
iffy (adj.) - uncertain
