no

If and When

Level 2

No + clause can mean “if,” “when,” or “while,” according to context.

How It Works

Put no before a clause expressing a condition or temporal setting. Its conditional reading is “if” or “provided”; an ongoing or recurring context can give “while” or “when.” The connector alone does not assert that a condition has been fulfilled.

Compare Umayka no adda ti orasmo, “Come if you have time,” with Agkankantaak no aglutlutoak, “I sing when I cook.” Available time conditions the invitation; the second sentence relates recurring activities. It can also describe singing while cooking on a particular occasion.

The condition can follow the main clause or come first: No adda ti orasmo, umayka idiay balay. Each clause keeps its own predicate and participant marking. Here -mo marks the possessor of time and -ka the person invited. Reduplication in the activity example expresses ongoing action. Contrast tapno: a condition gives circumstances, whereas a purpose gives an intended outcome. These forms do not establish a counterfactual paradigm.

Examples (3)

  1. Umayka no adda ti orasmo.

    Come if you have time.

    Available time is the condition for the invitation.

  2. Agkankantaak no aglutlutoak.

    I sing when I cook.

    In a recurring context, no means when. On a particular occasion, the sentence can mean that I am singing while cooking.

  3. No adda ti orasmo, umayka idiay balay.

    If you have time, come to the house.

    The condition comes first; the following clause gives the invitation.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

noLevel 2If and When