Balearic Hebrew/Nouns

Conditions in Balearic Hebrew indicate statements about facts, potentiality, or complete contra-reality. They are always introduced with the particle ʔīn. Here is an outline of the different conditions possible in Balearic Hebrew:

Logical and General Conditions that refer to facts in the present. The if clause is in the present indicative, and the then clause is in the present:

= "If you like cats, then you are smart"

Future conditions that imagine events yet to come. The if clause is in the subjunctive, while the then clause is in the imperative or present indicative:

= "If you (will) go to school, you will learn"

Contrafactual conditions that refer to the present or past and clearly imply that the outcome did not happen because of an unfulfilled condition. The if clause is in the subjunctive, and the then clause is in subjunctive as well.

= "If he were living, you would hear him"

There is no aspectual distinction in these conditions in Balearic Hebrew, but approximations can be made with adverbs. For example, saying "If you had run, you would have been tired," is equivalent to saying "If you ran, you would be tired."

Another category of conditional clauses have to do with comparison. These are equivalent to English "as if," in the sentence "I walk as if I were blind." In these clauses, the clause introduced with as if is in the subjunctive, while the other can be present or preterite indicative.