Conditionals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A grammatical structure expressing a hypothesis, often using "if" to indicate scenarios that depend on certain conditions
2. It encompasses various forms used to convey possible outcomes based on differing situations
3. These structures allow for the exploration of outcomes that rely on specific prior situations or actions

Etymology: Latin "condicere" meant "to agree together," from "con-" (together) and "dicere" (to speak). Its descendant "condition" kept that sense of a binding agreement, as in the conditions of a contract, where one party's obligations depend on the other's terms. Over time the idea shifted from a promise to a requirement: something must hold before something else can follow. Grammarians borrowed that logic for sentences built around "if." The adjective "conditional" describes clauses that set out a condition, and it became a noun for the verb forms and sentence patterns that express a possible outcome. "Conditionals" is simply the plural, naming the set of such constructions.

Synonyms: hypotheticals, prerequisites