Grammar-Quizzes › Connectors › Connective Prepositions › Conditional › Omitting "if"
Omitting "if"
Offer advice on hypothetical situations
If vs. Were / Had / Should
| IF | |
|---|---|
The clause following If expresses a condition for the activity in the main clause. If can be omitted to place more emphasis on the result clause. |
|
| CONDITION | ADVICE |
If I were you, |
I wouldn't get involved. |
If I had known, |
I would have said something. |
If you should see him again, |
walk the other way! |
| WITHOUT IF | |
|---|---|
Were, had and should can be used without if by moving the auxiliary verb in front of the subject. (Should expresses a different meaning. See In Case.) |
|
| CONDITION | ADVICE |
Were I you, |
I wouldn't get involved. |
Had I known, |
I would have said something. |
Should you see him again, |
walk the other way! |
was / were – We often use were instead of was after if. Both was and were are used in formal English, but only was is used in informal English. If I were you...
See Connective Prepositional Phrases regarding the conditional structure being a prepositional phrase with if as the head preposition and a clause as its complement. Also see the structures that can complement (follow) a preposition Prepositional Complements.
Word Order Change
Placing emphasis on the advice
Subject–Verb Inversion
| SUBJECT–VERB | |
|---|---|
In the usual conditional structure, if is followed by a clause with normal subject- predicate word order. |
|
| IF + Cl | ADVICE |
If I were you, |
I would have asked him to pay me back. |
If the police had come, |
they would have stopped him. |
If he comes back, |
call me. |
| AUX–SUBJECT–VERB | |
|---|---|
When omitting if in a conditional structure, the auxiliaries were, had or should are placed before the subject in the content clause. This emphasizes the advice. |
|
| SHORTENED PHRASE | ADVICE |
Were I [were] you, |
I would have asked him to pay me back. |
Had the police [had] come, |
they would have stopped him. |
Should he [should] return, |
call me. |
If / In case
Advice vs. Precaution
If vs. In case
| IF | |
|---|---|
Do this action after X happens or might happen — this is an emergency action. |
|
| CONDITION | ADVICE |
If you need to reach me, |
call my mobile phone. (Do this after X happens.) |
*In case you need to reach me, |
call my mobile phone. (Do this for the duration.) |
| IN CASE | |
|---|---|
Do this action before X happens or might happen — this is an emergency preparation (precaution). |
|
| PRECAUTION | ADVICE |
In the event (that) you need to reach me, |
write down my phone number. (Do this before X happens.) |
In case you need to reach me (later), |
take your phone with you now. (Do this before X happens.) |
*Unclear meaning.
See If vs In case page.
Practice
Giving Advice
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