Condition With bí
Stating a Condition
The bí clause supplies the condition; the main clause supplies the outcome.
How It Works
Use bí for an if-condition. A condition differs from a comparison meaning “as if.” The examples use bí + subject + bá + predicate.
The main clause gives an outcome or instruction applying under the condition. The clauses can have different subjects, and the condition may precede or follow the outcome. The conditional words take no person or number endings. A future marker frames its own clause; bí does not independently make every conditional event future.
Compare if someone arrives, which leaves arrival open, with when someone arrives, which uses arrival as a temporal reference. A consequence can be an instruction using kí. Unreal alternatives with ì bá and manner expressions with bí … ṣe require their own constructions.
Examples (3)
- Bí òjò bá rọ̀, a yóò dúró ní ilé.
If it rains, we will stay at home.
Rainfall supplies the condition.
- Bí o bá rí Kẹ́mi, kí o pè mí.
If you see Kẹ́mi, call me.
The consequence is an instruction.
- Mo yóò ra ìwé náà bí mo bá ní owó.
I will buy that book if I have money.
The condition follows the outcome.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- Conditional bí ... báConditional Events
Develops the illustrated conditional frame.
Level 4 - Counterfactual ì báImagining an Unreal Outcome
Introduces unreal alternatives.
Level 4 - bí ... ṣeHow or as Something Happens
Uses bí in a manner construction.
Level 2 - nígbà tíWhen an Event Happens
Supplies a temporal reference.
Level 2
Practice Condition With bí in Bubblegum
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