LessonsRestricting the Verb: Objects, Complements and Conditional ClausesQuiz

إِنْ جَاءَكَ زَيْدٌ فَأَكْرِمْهُ
If Zayd comes to you, honor him.

Here the result contains the imperative «فَأَكْرِمْهُ». The whole utterance therefore conveys a conditional directive, not a report that honoring has already occurred. Another conditional may take a declarative result, such as «إِنْ جَاءَكَ زَيْدٌ أَكْرَمْتَهُ».

The grammatical form of one component cannot always determine the function of the whole sentence. The conditional relation, the consequent, and the communicative purpose must all be considered.

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How conditionals interact with assertion and command

Restricting the Verb: Objects, Complements and Conditional Clauses

إِنْ جَاءَكَ زَيْدٌ فَأَكْرِمْهُ
If Zayd comes to you, honor him.

Here the result contains the imperative «فَأَكْرِمْهُ». The whole utterance therefore conveys a conditional directive, not a report that honoring has already occurred. Another conditional may take a declarative result, such as «إِنْ جَاءَكَ زَيْدٌ أَكْرَمْتَهُ».

The grammatical form of one component cannot always determine the function of the whole sentence. The conditional relation, the consequent, and the communicative purpose must all be considered.