SYNTAX: CONDITIONAL CLAUSES

1. Conditional clauses are usually divided into three types regarding their likelihood to be fulfilled or to occur:

Type I Conditional Clauses: real clauses, acts or events may be performed or happen:

> if you are hungry, please let me know

Type II Conditional Clauses: hypothetical clauses, acts or events are not very sure to be performed or happen:

> if you had money, what would you buy me for Christmas?

Type III Conditional Clauses: impossible clauses, acts or events may not be performed or happen

> if I had met John Lennon, I’d have liked to sing a song with him

2. Catalan type I sentences may have different indicative tenses in the main clause and usually present indicative in the depending one

si tens gana, et compro/compraré un entrepà	if you are hungry, I’ll buy you a sandwich
vine a casa, si vols	come home, if you want to

3. Type II sentences rule out a past tense (preterit subjunctive) in the dependent clause and a conditional tense in the main one:

si tinguessis gana, et compraria un entrepà	if you were hungry, I’d buy you a sandwich
no compraria cap altre ordinador, si ja en tingués un	I wouldn’t buy a computer if I already had one.

4. Type III rule out the same tenses like type II, but they must be perfect tenses:

si ahir haguessis tingut gana, t’hauria comprat un entrepà	if you had been hungry yesterday, I’d have bought you a sandwich
l’any passat no hauria comprat cap ordinador, si ja n’hagués tingut un	last year I wouldn’t have bought a computer if I had already had one