Conditional sentence
Conditional clause , also called a conditional clause , describes a type of adverbial clause in grammar , i.e. a subordinate clause . Conditional sentences are marked in German by conjunctions such as if , if and if or by a special word order ( verb first position ). The combination of the conditional clause and its associated main clause is also called a conditional structure (or “if-then clause”, “condition-consequence clause”).
In a general sense, the meaning of a conditional sentence consists in expressing the antecedent of a conditional , i.e. a prerequisite for the validity of another sentence. Depending on the grammatical form and context, different interpretation variants with enriched content arise. In a rough classification, three types are generally cited: Conditional sentence I (realis of the present or probability), II ( unrealis of the present or improbability) and III (unrealis of the past or impossibility).
Conditional sentences in the German language
In German , the formation of conditional or conditional sentences leads through a special sentence structure . They are dependent on an action, an event or a fact that can only be named on the basis of a certain condition. In other words, they only come about when a certain condition, i.e. condition, is met. Furthermore, certain conjunctions are used in the German conditional sentence. The decisive factor in assessing the condition is to check whether it is a condition that can be met at the time of the statement or in the future; described as a real sentence (conditional sentence I). Or whether in an unreal sentence an action, an event or a state that is described in the past or the future as an impossible or restricted condition.
| Name of the shape | Tempora | example |
| Indefinitus (Realis) of the present | Present or future tense I. | When she comes, I'll talk to her / I'll talk to her. |
| The unrealis of the present | Subjunctive II in the past tense | If she came, I would speak to her / I would speak to her. |
| Unrealis of the past | Subjunctive II in the past perfect | If she had come, I would have spoken to her. |
literature
- Duden - The grammar . 8 edition. Dudenverlag, Mannheim 2009, pp. 1082-1085.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Definition in Duden-Grammar 2009 (p. 1253, "Directory of technical terms"): "Conditional clause: the sub-clause that specifies a prerequisite / condition"
- ↑ Unreal conditional clauses (PDF) mein-deutschbuch.de, online grammar.