при условии + Genitive / что

This pattern functions in several primary ways to express conditions in formal or professional Russian:

1. With Nouns: It acts as a derivative preposition governing the Genitive case.
Structure: при условии + [Noun in Genitive].
Example: при условии оплаты (on condition of payment).
Note: The Genitive noun used with this pattern is almost always a verbal noun (отглагольное существительное) representing an action or event (e.g., оплаты, выполнения, согласия). It is rarely used with concrete physical objects (e.g., you wouldn't say при условии стола). Adverbial phrases formed with при условии and a noun can be set off by commas depending on their length, position in the sentence, and the author's desire to emphasize them. Commas are optional but common for longer phrases of this type to set them off.

2. With Clauses (что): It forms a complex conjunction, usually followed by что to state a condition or requirement.
Structure: при условии, что...
Note: The conjunction is often split by a comma before что, even when it starts a sentence (e.g., При условии, что вы снизите цену, мы подпишем договор). If a writer chooses not to split the conjunction in the middle of a sentence (which is allowed, though less common), the comma goes before the preposition: Мы подпишем договор, при условии что вы снизите цену. Furthermore, according to Russian punctuation rules, it MUST be split if immediately preceded by a restrictive particle (только, лишь), a negation (не), or an introductory word. In such cases, the comma goes before что (e.g., только при условии, что). While you may see при условии того, что, modern style guides often prefer the shorter version. In legal and highly formal Russian, the variant при том условии, что is frequently used to add emphasis, where том is a demonstrative pronoun acting as a correlative word in the main clause, pointing ahead to the subordinate clause.

Tense Agreement: When using при условии, что for future events, the future tense is commonly used in both the condition clause and the main clause (e.g., мы подпишем... что вы снизите), unlike in English where the condition clause remains in the present tense.

3. Alternative Conjunctions (если/чтобы):
• при условии, если: Used to emphasize the hypothetical nature of the condition (similar to 'in the event that').
• при условии, чтобы: Used when the condition involves a desired action or a requirement, often followed by the past tense verb form (subjunctive mood). It can also be followed by an infinitive if the subject of the condition is the same as the main clause.

4. Standalone with Modifiers: The phrase can also stand alone without governing a noun or clause when modified by an adjective or pronoun (e.g., при одном условии, при таком условии).

Word Order: A phrase or clause starting with при условии can be placed at the beginning of a sentence for stylistic emphasis.

Morphology Note: The word условии is in the prepositional case. Because the base noun условие ends in -ие, the ending is -и, not -е. Writing при условие is a common spelling error.