Conditional Sentences

Overview of Conditional Sentences in Persian

Persian conditional sentences allow you to talk about real and unreal situations, express wishes, talk about consequences, and form polite suggestions. At B2 level, you should control several patterns, from simple real conditions to hypothetical and past unreal conditions, and you should recognize how the choice of tense and mood subtly changes meaning.

In this chapter we focus on the main types of conditionals that are specific to this level, especially how Persian uses the subjunctive, past forms, and modal verbs to create different kinds of “if” meanings.

We will gradually move from real, possible conditions to more imaginary and counterfactual ones.

Real and Likely Conditions

These conditionals talk about situations that are real, likely, or at least possible. Persian usually uses the simple present or subjunctive after اگر, and the result clause is in the present or future.

General truths and regular consequences

For general truths and habitual results, Persian often uses the simple present in both clauses. This is similar to the English “zero conditional.”

Example:
اگر آب را صد درجه گرم کنی، می‌جوشد.
/agar âb râ sad daraje garm koni, mijushad./
“If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.”

Structure:
اگر + verb in present stem + ی /i/ (2nd person) , present result

You can also use other persons.
اگر دیر کنم، او ناراحت می‌شود.
/agar dir konam, u nârahât mishavad./
“If I am late, he gets upset.”

Notice that here Persian does not need a special conditional tense. The context of “if” already shows the conditional meaning.

Likely future conditions

When you speak about a real possibility in the future, Persian usually puts:

In the اگر-clause:
Either simple present or present subjunctive

In the result clause:
Simple present, or more commonly future (using the auxiliary خواهـ /khâh-/ plus the main verb).

Example with future result:
اگر زود بیایی، با هم می‌رویم.
/agar zud biâyi, bâ ham miravim./
“If you come early, we will go together.”

Example with explicit future:
اگر فردا وقت داشته باشم، به تو زنگ خواهم زد.
/agar fardâ vaqt dâshte bâsham, be to zang khâham zad./
“If I have time tomorrow, I will call you.”

You can also reverse the order. The meaning does not change:
به تو زنگ خواهم زد اگر فردا وقت داشته باشم.
“I will call you if I have time tomorrow.”

Hypothetical and Unreal Present Conditions

Now we move to unreal or less likely situations in the present or future. These are closer to English “If I had…, I would…” or “If I were…, I would…”.

Persian has several ways to express this. At B2 level, you should recognize and use the two most important ones:

1. اگر + past simple, result with a modal like می‌توانستم, می‌شد, می‌کردم
2. اگر + subjunctive, result with a modal or with می‌ past-like forms

Using past for unreal present

To talk about an unreal condition in the present, Persian very often uses the simple past in the اگر-clause, although you know the situation is not actually true.

Example:
اگر پول داشتم، خانه‌ی بزرگ می‌خریدم.
/agar pul dâshtam, khâne-ye bozorg mikharidam./
“If I had money, I would buy a big house.”

The speaker uses داشتم (past of “to have”) but describes a situation that is unreal now. This use of past adds “unreal” meaning.

Another example:
اگر وقت داشتی، بیشتر می‌خواندی.
/agar vaqt dâshti, bishtar mikhândi./
“If you had time, you would study more.”

Result clause uses می‌خریدم, می‌خواندی, simple past with می- which in this context is understood as “would buy,” “would study.”

Compare:
اگر وقت داری، بیا.
“If you have time, come.” (real, possible)

اگر وقت داشتی، می‌آمدی.
“If you had time, you would come.” (unreal, you do not have time)

Using modals for hypothetical conditions

Another very common way uses modal verbs, especially می‌توانستن “could, would be able,” می‌شد “it would be possible,” or می‌خواستم “I would like (to).”

Examples:
اگر فارسی‌ام بهتر بود، می‌توانستم کتاب بخوانم.
/agar fârsi-am behtar bud, mitavânestam ketâb bekhânam./
“If my Persian were better, I could read a book.”

اگر ماشین داشتم، می‌توانستم تو را برسانم.
/agar mâshin dâshtam, mitavânestam to râ beresânam./
“If I had a car, I could take you there.”

اگر وقت بود، می‌شد بیشتر صحبت کنیم.
/agar vaqt bud, mishod bishtar sohbat konim./
“If there were time, we could talk more.”

Here the unreal feeling comes from using بود, داشتم in the past and the modal “could” or “would be possible.”

Polite, Softened, and Tentative Conditions

Persian uses conditional structures to make suggestions and requests more polite, especially in more formal or respectful speech. You often see اگر می‌شه / اگر می‌شود, اگر ممکنه / اگر ممکن است, and also subjunctive forms for softening.

Softening a request

Example:
اگر ممکنه، پنجره را باز کنید.
/agar momkene, panjare râ bâz konid./
“If possible, please open the window.”

Here the speaker does not really talk about a condition, but uses “if possible” as a polite softener.

More formal:
اگر ممکن است، کمی آهسته‌تر صحبت کنید.
/agar momken ast, kami âheste-tar sohbat konid./
“If possible, please speak a little more slowly.”

Polite suggestions with می‌شه / می‌شود

Colloquial:
اگر می‌شه، امروز زودتر برویم.
/agar mishe, emruz zudtar beravim./
“If it is possible, let’s go earlier today.”

Standard:
اگر می‌شود، امروز زودتر برویم.
/agar mishavad, emruz zudtar beravim./

You can also suggest solutions gently:
اگر موافق باشید، جلسه را فردا ادامه می‌دهیم.
/agar movâfeq bâshid, jalse râ fardâ edâme midahim./
“If you agree, we will continue the meeting tomorrow.”

Here اگر موافق باشید is a conditional form that really functions like “Let us continue, provided that you agree” and therefore sounds polite and respectful.

Unreal Past Conditions and Regret

To talk about past situations that did not happen, and their unreal results, Persian uses past tenses in both clauses. This corresponds to English “If I had done…, I would have done…” or “I would have been…”

The most common structure at this level is:

اگر + past perfect, result with می‌توانستم, می‌شد, or می‌کردم and sometimes شده بود.

Past perfect after اگر

Past perfect in Persian is built with past stem + ه + بود:

Example of past perfect alone:
خوانده بودم “I had read”
رفته بودم “I had gone”

In conditionals:
اگر بیشتر تمرین کرده بودم، امتحان را قبول می‌شدم.
/agar bishtar tamrin karde budam, emtehân râ qabul mishodam./
“If I had practiced more, I would have passed the exam.”

Here:
اگر بیشتر تمرین کرده بودم = unreal past condition
امتحان را قبول می‌شدم = unreal past result (“I would have passed”)

More examples:
اگر دقیق‌تر نگاه کرده بودی، اشتباه را می‌دیدی.
/agar daqiq-tar negâh karde budi, eshtebâh râ mididi./
“If you had looked more carefully, you would have seen the mistake.”

اگر زودتر رسیده بودیم، کنسرت را از اول می‌دیدیم.
/agar zudtar reside budim, konsart râ az avval mididim./
“If we had arrived earlier, we would have seen the concert from the beginning.”

Regret and criticism with conditional past

Often these structures express regret or mild criticism. Adverbs like کاش “I wish” or ای کاش can appear together with اگر, or instead of it.

Example with کاش (without explicit اگر):
کاش بیشتر تمرین کرده بودم.
“I wish I had practiced more.”

Combined:
اگر بیشتر تمرین کرده بودم، الان ناراحت نبودم.
“If I had practiced more, I would not be upset now.”

This mixture of past condition and present result shows how past unreal events can still affect the present.

Mixed Conditionals: Past Condition, Present Result

In Persian, just as in English, you sometimes want to say that a past event that did not happen affects the present. This creates a mixed conditional, where the condition is unreal in the past and the result is unreal in the present.

Structure:
اگر + past perfect, present or present-like result.

Example:
اگر در ایران بزرگ شده بودم، الان فارسی‌ام خیلی بهتر بود.
/agar dar irân bozorg shode budam, alân fârsi-am kheili behtar bud./
“If I had grown up in Iran, my Persian would be much better now.”

Here we combine:
Past unreal condition: اگر در ایران بزرگ شده بودم
Present unreal result: الان فارسی‌ام خیلی بهتر بود

Another example:
اگر آن پیشنهاد را قبول کرده بودم، الان شغلم فرق می‌کرد.
/agar ân pishnehâd râ qabul karde budam, alân shoghlam farq mikard./
“If I had accepted that offer, my job would be different now.”

Notice the use of بود and می‌کرد in the result, which implies an unreal present consequence.

Conditional Conjunctions Beyond "اگر"

At B2 level, you should also recognize other conjunctions and phrases that introduce conditional meanings, even if they do not use the exact word “اگر.”

مگر این‌که and الا این‌که

These express conditional exceptions, roughly “unless” or “except if.”

Examples:
فردا سر کارم، مگر این‌که جلسه لغو شود.
/fardâ sar-e kâram, magar in-ke jalse laghv shavad./
“I am at work tomorrow, unless the meeting is canceled.”

نمی‌آیم، الا این‌که تو هم بیایی.
/namiyâyam, ellâ in-ke to ham biâyi./
“I will not come, unless you also come.”

Here, the structure “مگر این‌که + subjunctive” or “الا این‌که + subjunctive” conveys a condition which is an exception.

مشروط بر این‌که and به شرطی که

More formal or explicit conditional phrases are مشروط بر این‌که and به شرطی که, both meaning “on the condition that,” “provided that.”

Examples:
کمکت می‌کنم، به شرطی که تو هم کمک کنی.
/komaket mikonam, be sharti ke to ham komak koni./
“I will help you, provided that you also help.”

قرارداد را امضا می‌کنیم، مشروط بر این‌که شرایط را تغییر دهید.
/gharârdâd râ emzâ mikonim, mashrut bar in-ke sharâyet râ taghyir dahid./
“We will sign the contract, on the condition that you change the terms.”

These phrases often appear in more formal language, contracts, and official speech, but they are also used in everyday careful speech.

Conditional Meaning Without Explicit "If"

Persian can express conditional ideas without any explicit word مثل “اگر.” Context and word choice allow you to understand that something is conditional.

Using future or subjunctive in the first clause

Example:
برویم، می‌رسیم.
/beravim, miresim./
“If we go, we will arrive.” (literally “We go, we arrive.”)

Here, the first verb برویم is in subjunctive, so the whole sentence is understood conditionally.

Another example:
درس بخوانی، قبول می‌شوی.
/dars bekhâni, qabul mishavi./
“If you study, you pass.”

Using the imperative as a hidden condition

Sometimes the first verb is imperative, and the second clause describes the result. In English we might translate with “If you do X, (then Y).”

Example:
سؤال داری، بپرس.
/so’âl dâri, beporse./
“If you have a question, ask.” (literally “You have a question, ask.”)

In writing and speech, a short pause is enough to suggest the conditional idea.

Conditional Probability and Speculation

Conditionals in Persian are also used for guessing and speculation about present or future, often with شاید “maybe” and conditional structures.

Example:
اگر دیر کرده، شاید ترافیک بوده.
/agar dir karde, shâyad trafic bude./
“If he is late, maybe there was traffic.”

Here we do not know if the condition is true, but we use it to explain a possible reason.

You can also speculate about the present with past forms:
اگر آمده بود، الان این‌جا بود.
/agar âmde bud, alân injâ bud./
“If he had come, he would be here now.”
Even without the second clause, the listener can understand the implied condition and result.

Summary of Main Conditional Patterns

To close this chapter, let us summarize the main patterns you should control at B2 level. These patterns are not the only possible ones, but they cover most everyday conditional uses.

Real and likely, present or future:
اگر + present / subjunctive, present or future
اگر باران بیاید، در خانه می‌مانیم.
“If it rains, we will stay at home.”

Unreal or unlikely present:
اگر + simple past, می‌ + past (“would”)
اگر پول داشتم، سفر می‌رفتم.
“If I had money, I would travel.”

Unreal past:
اگر + past perfect, می‌ + past / modal (“would have”)
اگر زودتر رفته بودیم، او را می‌دیدیم.
“If we had gone earlier, we would have seen him.”

Mixed conditional (past cause, present result):
اگر + past perfect, present or “بود / می‌کرد”
اگر آن تصمیم را گرفته بودم، الان خوشحال‌تر بودم.
“If I had made that decision, I would be happier now.”

Polite conditionals:
اگر ممکنه / می‌شه / اجازه بدید + request
اگر ممکنه، دوباره توضیح بدهید.
“If possible, please explain again.”

Alternative conjunctions:
مگر این‌که / الا این‌که + subjunctive (unless)
به شرطی که / مشروط بر این‌که + subjunctive (provided that)

With these structures you can describe realistic plans, express wishes and regrets, make polite suggestions, and understand complex conditional relations in spoken and written Persian.

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