On Two Trends in Formation of Conditional Constructions in Modern Hebrew

Abstract

In Modern Hebrew, there are rules that define which particle and which verbal form are to be used in a conditional construction. However, in less formal speech situations two new tendencies may be found. One represents the use of the particle im ‘if’ (originally real-only conditions) with a broader set of verbal forms, including those restricted to unreal conditional sentences in the literary language. The other concerns the use of some marginalizing unreal conditional particles with future tense forms, that allows to express real conditions with an emphasized modal epistemic component, showing the reality status of the situation.