ABSTRACT
Syntactically speaking, conditional sentences can be prototypically considered as hypotactic constructions, where an adverbial finite dependent clause (protasis) which is introduced by a subordinate conjunction precedes or follows the main clause (apodosis). The subordinator usually derives from Latin si, but may also be a temporal marker sometimes followed by a complementizer, as in Emilian [kwand k a i foʂʂ ari'vε] ‘if (lit. “when that”) they had come’ (Foresti (1988: 583)). Sometimes, in lower probability conditional sentences (see below), the subordinate conjunction does not explicitly appear, leaving the expression of the semantic value to the verb forms of protasis and apodosis, as in vernacular Tuscan [a'vesse 'manʤo 'meno sa'rεbbe 'sεmpre 'vivo] ‘had he eaten less, he would still be alive’ (Rohlfs (1969: 152)). Moreover, an anaphoric adverb referring to the preceding clause can co-occur with the apodosis only when it follows the protasis (the unmarked order of the sequence), as in Standard Italian se non ti senti bene, allora chiamo il dottore ‘if you don’t feel well, then I (will) call the doctor’. However, conditional sentences can also be non-prototypically expressed by paratactic constructions, i.e., by sequences of two coordinated main clauses, as in O. It. et no ’l mi dirai il vero, io ti farò di mala morte morire ‘if you will (lit. “and you will”) not tell me the truth, I will make you die a nasty death’ (Rohlfs (1969: 153)); the first main clause can frequently – albeit not exclusively – have an interrogative or imperative form, as in Standard It. Hai fame? Preparo subito la cena ‘Are you hungry? I’ll get dinner immediately’, and alza le mani o sparo ‘put up your hands or I shoot’ (see Haiman (1983) and Mazzoleni (1994a: 129f.)).
