| IF or i.f. abbr. intermediate frequency |
if ( f)conj. 1. a. In the event that: If I were to go, I would be late. b. Granting that: If that is true, what should we do? c. On the condition that: She will play the piano only if she is paid. 2. Although possibly; even though: It is a handsome if useless trinket. 3. Whether: Ask if he plans to come to the meeting. 4. Used to introduce an exclamatory clause, indicating a wish: If they had only come earlier! n. A possibility, condition, or stipulation: There will be no ifs, ands, or buts in this matter. [Middle English, from Old English gif; see i- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: In informal writing both if and whether are standard in their use to introduce a clause indicating uncertainty after a verb such as ask, doubt, know, learn, or see: We shall soon learn whether (or if) it is true. In such contexts, however, the use of if can sometimes create ambiguities. Depending on the intended meaning, the sentence Let her know if she is invited might be better paraphrased as Let her know whether she is invited or If she is invited, let her know. · In conditional sentences the clause introduced by if may contain either a past subjunctive verb (if I were going) or an indicative verb (if I am going; if I was going), depending on the intended meaning. According to the traditional rule, the subjunctive should be used to describe an occurrence that is presupposed to be contrary to fact, as in if I were ten years younger or if Napoleon had won at Waterloo. The main verb of such a sentence must then contain the modal verb would or (less frequently) should: If America were still a British colony, we would have an anthem that human voices could sing. If I were the President, I should (or would) declare November 1 a national holiday. When the situation described by the if clause is not presupposed to be false, however, that clause must contain an indicative verb, and the choice of verb in the main clause will depend on the intended meaning: If Hamlet was really written by Marlowe, as many have argued, then we have underestimated Marlowe's genius. If Kevin was out all day, then it makes sense that he couldn't answer the phone. Note also that the presence of the modal verb would in the main clause should not be taken as a sign that the verb in the if clause must be in the subjunctive, if the content of that clause is not presupposed to be false: If there is anything I can do to help, I should be happy to do so. He would always call her from the office if he was (not were) going to be late for dinner. · Again according to the traditional rule, the subjunctive is not correctly used following verbs such as ask or wonder in if clauses that express indirect questions, even if the content of the question is presumed to be contrary to fact: We wondered if dinner was (not were) included in the room price. Some of the people we met even asked us if California was (not were) an island. · With all deference to the traditional rules governing the use of the subjunctive, it should be noted that a survey of the prose of reputable writers over the past 200 years would reveal a persistent tendency to use the indicative was where the traditional rule would require the subjunctive were. A sentence beginning If I was the only boy in the world, while not strictly correct, is wholly unremarkable. But the corresponding practice of using the subjunctive in place of the indicative may be labeled a hypercorrection. · In spoken English there is a growing tendency to use would have in place of the subjunctive in contrary-to-fact clauses, as in if I would have been the President, but this usage is still widely considered incorrect. See Usage Notes at doubt, should, wish. |
if
conj
1. in the event that, or on condition that: if you work hard you'll succeed
2. used to introduce an indirect question to which the answer is either yes or no; whether: it doesn't matter if the play is any good or not
3. even though: a splendid if slightly decaying house
4. used to introduce an unfulfilled wish, with only: if only you had told her
Noun
a condition or stipulation: there are no hidden ifs or buts [Old English gif]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Translations
if [ɪf] conj → si
I'd be pleased if you could do it → yo estaría contento si pudieras hacerlo;
if necessary → si resultase necesario;
if only → si solamente;
as if → como si
if [ɪf] conj → si
if necessary → si nécessaire, le cas échéant;
if not → sinon;
if only I could! → si seulement je pouvais!;
if [ɪf] conj 1. (= given that, providing that etc) → wenn, falls;
2. (= whenever) → wenn
3. (= although);
4. (= whether) → ob;
if [ɪf] conj → se
if necessary → se (è) necessario;
if only to show him my gratitude → se non altro per esprimergli la mia gratitudine
conj if [if]
1 in the event that; on condition that He will have to go into hospital if his illness gets any worse; I'll only stay if you can stay too. as إذا ، إنْ ако jestliže hvis wenn εάν si kui اگر jos si אִם अगर u slučaju da ha kalau ef se もし～ならば ...인 때에는 jei ja kalau als, indien hvis, dersom jeśli se dacă если ak če ukoliko om ถ้า (eğer/şayet) ..., -se/sa (表示條件)如果 якщо اگر nếu （表示条件）如果
2 supposing that If he were to come along now, we would be in trouble. as لَو в случай, че jestliže hvis wenn εάν si, en el caso de que kui چنانچه jos si אִילוּ बावजूद ako feltéve, hogy seandainya ef se 仮に～とすれば 만약 ...이라면 jei ja seandainya als, gesteld dat hvis, dersom gdyby se dacă если бы keby če ako om, ifall ถ้าหากว่า eğer, farzedelim ki 假如 якби, коли б بالفرض giả sử 假如
3 whenever If I sneeze, my nose bleeds. wanneer, as كُلَّما، إن، عِندَما когато kdykoli hvis immer wenn όταν si, cada vez que, siempre que kui هرگاه joka kerran kun si, chaque fois que כַּאֲשֶר तो भी kada ha; amikor csak setiap kali ef, í hvert skipti, hvenær sem se ～の時はいつも ...인 때는 (언제나) jei, kai ja; kad vien setiap kali als når, hver gang gdy, kiedy sempre que dacă, de fiecare dată când всякий раз, когда kedykoľvek če kada om แม้ว่า her ...-diğinde, her ...-dikçe 無論何時 коли جب بھی bất cứ khi nào 无论何时
4 although They are happy, if poor. hoewel مَع أنَّ въпреки, че i když men wenn auch αν και a pesar de, aunque kuigi اگر چه vaikkakin bien que לַמרוֹת फिर भी pa makar (ha)bár walaupun þótt anche se たとえ～でも 비록 ...이라도 nors lai gan walaupun al skjønt mimo,że embora deşi хотя и aj keď čeprav iako om än แม้นว่า ...-diği hâlde, ... ise de 儘管 хоч і اگرچہ mặc dầu 尽管
if ˈonly
I wish that If only I were rich! as ... maar net يا ليْت! لَيْتَني، أتمنّى само ако kdyby jen hvis bare; gid wenn nur και να αχ, φτάνει να al menos si kui ainult ای کاش؛ خوب می شد اگر kunpa si seulement אִילוּ अगर ऎसा kada bih bárcsak kalau saja ef aðeins se solo ～であればなあ ...하기만 하면 (좋으련만) kad ...! ja vien kalaulah als... maar dersom/om (jeg bare) gdyby tylko ao menos se măcar dacă/să если бы keby (len) ko bi le da sam om ... bara สมมุติว่า keşke ...-se, ah bir ... 要是...就好，我希望 якби کاش giá như 要是...就好，我希望
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