ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the distribution of the temporal and conditional particles in Classic Arabic (CA) and Modern Written Arabic (MWA). There is a small set of particles that may be divided into three categories whose accompanying sentences are closely related to conditional structures. It is said that these particles assume the meaning of a conditional particle, in addition to their normal (original) function as interrogatives, for instance. Syntactically they mimic the true conditional particles because they contain both a protasis and apodosis, and their syntax shows the same flexibility associated with conditional clauses in MWA. In addition to some flexibility in the syntax of modern conditional sentences, there are genuine problems of syntactic instability and conspicuous calque structures that are reflected in conditional-type sentences which do not follow the traditional grammatical rules very closely. MWA maintains broadly the CA order of protasis-apodosis in conditional sentences.
