9B.9 "If", in full
9B · Linking sentences — how one thing leads to the next · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar
Chapter 9 gave the two patterns you need first: en + present … future, and -va on both halves for "if it had been…". Khan's chapter on conditions sorts every combination he recorded. Here they all are, most useful first. (The "if" half is the condition; the other half is the result.)
| pattern | meaning |
|---|---|
| en + plain present → bet- future | it may well happen |
| en + past → bet- future | one future event: "if it happens…" |
| en + past → a command | "if X, do Y" |
| en + present → ki- habit | "whenever it is so" |
| en + anything → is / is not | a fixed fact |
| en + -va → bet- + -va | it didn't, or can't, happen |
One example of each, in the same order:
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| en-ave khaya, palget malkuyti b-yavvenna katukh | if he is alive, I'll give you half my kingdom | A 3:50 |
| en tala tile al-gani, bet-makhenne | if a fox comes at me, I'll strike him | A 37:6 |
| en kal-gekhka shmilukh, khush | if you hear laughter, go | A 2:30 |
| en edda avila, ki-edakhla | if it has weeds, we weed it | B 3:25 |
| en-la psherre, brunile. en-psherre, lele bruni | if he doesn't melt, he's my son. If he melts, he's not my son | A 39:31 |
| en-avenva khaya, beddayen mu-pt-odenva b-rishokhun-khina | if I were alive, I know what I'd do to you | A 13:3 |
The past-tense "if" deserves a closer look, because English never does it. For a single event that may happen ("if somebody asks you…"), Assyrian uses the plain past:
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| en kha-nasha bukerre mennakh kat-aha manila, tanyat bratila | if somebody asks you who she is, say "she's my daughter" | A 1:14 |
| en-ana metli, paghri mu pt-ave? | if I die, what will become of my body? | A 13:1 |
| en-msili, av bet-yavvella kati | if I can (do it), he will give it to me | A 3:55 |
It is the same habit as "when" (9B.4): a finished event in a condition is in the past.
If not / otherwise: en-la. After an instruction, en-la on its own means "or else":
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| khmari paletle. en-la, avva-t-ile bita matilukh | get my donkey out. If not, the one who's coming will catch you | A 7:4 |
| avva kalpulle. en-la, le-akhlitun lakhma | peel it. If not, you won't eat any food | A 35:17 |
Go deeper
"If" with no "if". Khan found many conditions with no "if" word at all. The meaning comes from putting the two clauses side by side:
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| lakhkha kha nasha la palekh, le-ames akhel | here, if a man does not work, he cannot eat | A 35:10 |
| kha-dinar oya basurta, le-bayyennun | if one dinar is missing, I don't want them | A 14:3 |
| bayyet ganukh bashletlun, ku-shkul bashellun | if you want to cook them yourself, take them and cook them | A 36:8 |
| a-shula vudle, la-avilukh shula | do this, and you'll have no problems | A 2:21 |
The last one is the English pattern "do this and you'll be fine", and it works the same way.
"If" second. Putting the condition after the result is fine. It either follows on from what was just said, or puts weight on the condition:
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| ana-da adi t-azen p-shaklen men-tama, en-av yavele | I'll go and take some from there too, if he's giving it away | A 19:5 |
More ways to say "if". agar (from Persian) and, in Armenia, anga / anget:
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| anga khoshokhun t-atya, peshitun | if you are happy, stay | dict. p.77 |
| anget byayena bi khlita odini, keshmishe mattuvvena gavo | if they want to make it sweet, they put raisins in it | B 15:10 |
"If only…" With the "if" left out, a -va verb is a wish:
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| la-avakhva khelane, akhnan azakhva | if only we were strong, we would go | A 45:7 |
Counterfactual with the perfect. For "if it had happened, it would be…" the result can be the -va perfect (Chapter 4):
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| katu en-oyava khelta, adi viteva yakke | if the cat had eaten it, she'd be huge by now | A 11:4 |
Even if / although. A concessive is a "though" clause: something that should have stopped the main clause, and didn't. Use up en "even if", or the -da/-ze tag from 9B.2:
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| up en iva makh det khine, … ina iva raba bush shaperta | although it was like the others', it was much more beautiful | B 1:40 |
| ukhcha bgertela-da, ina har bezmarela | although she has grown so thin, she is still singing | A 44:8 |
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