“If” clauses, periodo ipotetico con “se”
Italian “if”, (se) clauses (periodo ipotetico) are used to express hypothesis, both possible or impossible to be fulfilled, and are organized with specific sequences of tenses and moods.
The following charts indicate three types of the periodo ipotetico.
Type 1
* Will all hypotheticals, the order of the main clause and the subordinate clause can be flipped—such constructions are usually correct in either order and are only manipulated for emphasis—e.g., Esco se questo pomeriggio il tempo è bello.
With Type 1 it’s likely/possible that the hypothesis can be fulfilled. The hypothesis may be expressed with any tense of the indicative mood, although the present and future indicative are very common. Following are a mixture of indicative verb forms that could be used. E.g.,
Se ieri era malato, oggi probabilmente non verrà.
If yesterday he was sick, he probably won’t come today.
Se ieri hai fatto bene l’esame scritto, oggi l’orale è una formalità.
If you did well on your written exam yesterday, today the oral part is going to be a mere formality.
Se Anna non viene, devo uscire io a fare la spesa.
If Anna doesn’t come, I’ll have to go out to do the grocery shopping.
Se non pioverà presto, l’agricoltura entrerà in crisi.
If it doesn’t rain soon, the agriculture industry will be in a crisis.
Type 2
Type 2 illustrates a hypothesis which is unlikely to be fulfilled. The sequence for this type is quite rigid: imperfect subjunctive in the “if” clause; present conditional in the “then” clause:
Se il partito democratico vincesse le elezioni, sarei più contento.
If the Democratic party wins the elections, I’d be happier.
Se avessi venti anni di meno, giocherei a calcio in una squadra.
If I were twenty years younger, I’d play football on a team.
Type 3
Type 3 illustrates a hypothesis in the past (what would have been happened if that hypothesis had been fulfilled, but it’s now impossible), and like Type 2 the sequence is quite rigid: past perfect subjunctive + past conditional (but present conditional can be used, see example #2 below):
Example #1.
Se la squadra non avesse commesso quell’errore, non avrebbe perso la partita.
If the team hadn’t made that mistake, they wouldn’t have lost the match.
Example #2
Se fossi nato figlio di petroliere, adesso non dovrei lavorare come impiegato alle poste.
If I were born as a son of an oil tycoon, I wouldn’t need to work as a postal employee now.