Page:The New Latin Primer (Postgate).djvu/121

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The Conditional Statement.
107

(b) After dum, dum mŏdŏ, mŏdŏ provided that; dum nē tĭbĭ vĭdĕăr, nōn lăbōrō I am not distressed, provided I do not seem to you (to be so).

§ 234. The Conditional Statement.

When we state anything conditionally, we assert that the occurrence of one event is consequent on the occurrence of another event. We say that something happens if something else happens, that it would have happened if something else had happened, or the like.

A Conditional Statement thus consists of two clauses, the one stating the Condition and called the Protasis, and the other stating the Consequence and called the Apodosis. Thus in sī bŏnŭs est, fēlīx est if he is good, he is happy, sī bŏnŭs est is the Protasis, and feēlīx est is the Apodosis.

The Protasis is most commonly introduced by sī if. But see § 416. nisi except takes the same constructions as sī.

§ 235. The Three Types of Conditional Statements.—There are three types of Conditional Statements, according to the forms of the Verb which are used in them:

(A) In which the Indicative is used.

(B) In which Primary tenses of the Subjunctive are used.

(C) In which Secondary tenses of the Subjunctive are used.

§ 236. The Protasis and Apodosis must not consist of forms which are inconsistent with each other. Thus if the Indicative is used in the Protasis, the Indicative must be used in the Apodosis, and vice versa. If Primary or Secondary tenses of the Subjunctive are used in the Protasis, Primary or Secondary tenses of the Subjunctive must be used in the Apodosis.

§ 237. (A)—Indicative in Conditional Statements.—If we use the Indicative in a Conditional Statement, we treat the events as if they were facts. We do not concern ourselves with the question as to whether they do actually occur or not.

The Indicative never implies that the events do occur. This would be at variance with the nature of the Conditional Statement; sī bŏnŭs