Real Conditionals with اگر | Farsi Grammar

A real conditional with اگر “if” presents a condition as true, repeatable, or genuinely possible: اگر باران ببارد، در خانه می‌مانیم “if it rains, we'll stay home.” Persian can use either an indicative or a subjunctive in the condition. The choice reflects how the speaker frames the situation—not a mechanical rule that every اگر must trigger one mood.

The result clause is independent. It can state a present consequence, use a present form with future meaning, give an instruction, or express ability and obligation. English will is therefore not a word-by-word template for either clause.

Construction map

Condition	Result	Typical reading
اگر + present indicative	present indicative	general fact or repeated relationship
اگر + present indicative	future-time present / imperative	settled plan or condition treated as likely
اگر + present subjunctive	future-time present	open future possibility
اگر + negative subjunctive	present / imperative	possible non-occurrence
either real-condition form	modal or imperative	permission, advice, requirement, or instruction

Real conditionals differ from unreal اگر وقت داشتم، سفر می‌کردم “if I had time, I would travel.” That construction uses past morphology to signal distance from reality; this page keeps the condition live.

Indicative conditions: facts, habits, and settled plans

The indicative treats the content as an established pattern or a plausible fact under discussion. In a general conditional, both clauses often use present indicative forms.

اگر شب‌ها قهوه می‌خوری، دیرتر خوابت می‌برد.

agar shab-hâ qahve mi-khori, dir-tar khâb-at mi-barad.

If you drink coffee at night, you fall asleep later. (neutral conversation; repeated cause and result)

اگر این چراغ روشن است، دستگاه به اینترنت وصل است.

agar in cherâgh rowshan ast, dastgâh be internet vasl ast.

If this light is on, the device is connected to the internet. (neutral explanation; diagnostic fact)

An indicative also fits a future plan the speaker treats as settled: اگر فردا می‌آیی means roughly “if, as planned, you are coming tomorrow.” It does not merely replace a subjunctive at random.

اگر فردا به دفتر می‌آیی، پرونده‌ی سهرابی را هم بیاور.

agar fardâ be daftar mi-âyi, parvande-ye sohrâbi râ ham biyâvar.

If you're coming to the office tomorrow, bring Sohrabi's file too. (neutral conversation; expected plan plus imperative)

💡

Indicative after اگر presents the condition as part of the speaker's factual or scheduled world. It does not guarantee that the condition is true; اگر still suspends the result.

Subjunctive conditions: an open future

The present subjunctive is the dependable standard choice for a genuinely open future condition: اگر برسد، اگر وقت داشته باشیم، اگر باران نبارد. It places the event in a possible rather than asserted world. Review its two-stem formation on Present Subjunctive Formation.

اگر تا ظهر پاسخ برسد، امروز قرارداد را امضا می‌کنیم.

agar tâ zohr pâsokh berasad, emruz qarârdâd râ emzâ mi-konim.

If the reply arrives by noon, we'll sign the contract today. (formal-neutral; open condition)

اگر آخر هفته هوا خوب باشد، کنار دریا چادر می‌زنیم.

agar âkhar-e hafte havâ khub bâshad, kenâr-e daryâ châdor mi-zanim.

If the weather is good this weekend, we'll camp by the sea. (neutral standard; open future plan)

اگر کارت بانکی‌ات کار نکند، می‌توانم هزینه را پرداخت کنم.

agar kârt-e bânki-at kâr na-konad, mi-tavânam hazine râ pardâkht konam.

If your bank card doesn't work, I can pay the cost. (neutral conversation; negative subjunctive plus modal result)

The بـ prefix may be absent in compounds with کردن, as in اگر کار کند. Mood is still visible through the absence of indicative می‌ and through the subjunctive ending.

The result clause chooses its own form

Persian commonly uses the present indicative for a future result: می‌رویم can mean “we will go” once the condition sets future time. A formal explicit future with خواهد + past stem is possible in official prose, but it is not required.

اگر درخواست تأیید شود، نتیجه با ایمیل اعلام خواهد شد.

agar darkhâst ta'yid shavad, natije bâ imeyl e'lâm khâhad shod.

If the application is approved, the result will be announced by email. (formal administrative style)

An imperative result tells the listener what to do if the condition becomes true. A modal result evaluates what is possible or necessary.

اگر صدای زنگ را شنیدی، در را برای پیک باز کن.

agar sedâ-ye zang râ shenidi, dar râ barâ-ye peyk bâz kon.

If you hear the bell, open the door for the courier. (neutral instruction; completed boundary followed by imperative)

اگر امروز ثبت‌نام نکنی، باید تا دوره‌ی بعد صبر کنی.

agar emruz sabt-nâm na-koni, bâyad tâ dowre-ye ba'd sabr koni.

If you don't register today, you'll have to wait until the next course. (neutral warning; negative subjunctive and obligation)

💡

After choosing the condition, build the result as an ordinary independent clause. Its verb may be indicative, imperative, باید, or توانستن; اگر does not force matching mood in both halves.

Probability and speaker stance

Compare اگر فردا می‌آیی and اگر فردا بیایی. The indicative points toward an arranged or expected visit. The subjunctive leaves the visit open. Both can describe the same calendar date, so the contrast is not tense but stance.

Likewise, present اگر وقت داری asks the listener to treat available time as a real possibility now; subjunctive اگر وقت داشته باشی projects availability into an open future scenario. Context often makes the English translations identical.

اگر وقت داری، همین حالا با هم صحبت کنیم.

agar vaqt dâri, hamin hâlâ bâ ham sohbat konim.

If you have time, let's talk right now. (neutral conversation; current real condition)

اگر هفته‌ی آینده وقت داشته باشی، نمایشگاه را با هم می‌بینیم.

agar hafte-ye âyande vaqt dâshte bâshi, namâyeshgâh râ bâ ham mi-binim.

If you have time next week, we'll see the exhibition together. (neutral standard; open future condition)

There is no exact probability percentage attached to either mood. Indicative signals a stronger factual footing; subjunctive signals openness. Intonation, adverbs, and shared plans refine the interpretation.

Clause order and پس

The condition commonly comes first and is followed by a comma in writing. It may also follow the result: می‌مانیم اگر باران ببارد. پس “then/so” can introduce a conclusion, but it is not a required equivalent of English then in every conditional.

اگر این فرض درست باشد، پس باید نتیجه‌ی نخست را رد کنیم.

agar in farz dorost bâshad, pas bâyad natije-ye nokhost râ radd konim.

If this assumption is correct, then we must reject the first conclusion. (academic; پس emphasizes a logical consequence)

Colloquial Tehran

Tehran speech (informal, regional: Tehran) uses اگه and reduced forms such as بیاد، می‌مونیم، می‌تونیم. Mood contrasts remain, even where endings are shorter.

اگه بارون بیاد، خونه می‌مونیم و فیلم می‌بینیم.

age bârun biyâd, khune mi-munim va film mi-binim.

If it rains, we'll stay home and watch a film. (informal, regional: Tehran)

Common Mistakes

1. Combining the indicative and subjunctive prefixes

❌ اگر پاسخ بمی‌رسد، امروز کار را تمام می‌کنیم.

Incorrect — affirmative subjunctive بـ replaces indicative می‌; the two prefixes do not stack.

✅ اگر پاسخ تا ظهر برسد، امروز کار را تمام می‌کنیم.

agar pâsokh tâ zohr berasad, emruz kâr râ tamâm mi-konim.

If the reply arrives by noon, we'll finish the work today.

2. Copying English will into the condition

❌ اگر فردا باران خواهد ببارد، برنامه را لغو می‌کنیم.

Incorrect — future auxiliary خواهد takes bare past stem بارید, not subjunctive ببارد; an ordinary open condition uses ببارد without خواهد.

✅ اگر فردا باران ببارد، برنامه‌ی گردش را لغو می‌کنیم.

agar fardâ bârân bebârad, barnâme-ye gardesh râ laghv mi-konim.

If it rains tomorrow, we'll cancel the outing.

3. Using the full infinitive in the condition

❌ اگر اتوبوس دیر رسیدن، تاکسی می‌گیریم.

Incorrect — the condition needs a finite verb; رسیدن is an infinitive.

✅ اگر اتوبوس تا ده دقیقه‌ی دیگر نرسد، تاکسی می‌گیریم.

agar otobus tâ dah daqiqe-ye digar na-rasad, tâksi mi-girim.

If the bus doesn't arrive within ten minutes, we'll take a taxi.

4. Separating می‌ in the result

❌ اگر دیر شود، در خانه می مانیم.

Incorrect spelling — می‌ is a bound prefix and must attach to مانیم with a ZWNJ.

✅ اگر جلسه دیر تمام شود، در شهر می‌مانیم.

agar jalase dir tamâm shavad, dar shahr mi-mânim.

If the meeting finishes late, we'll stay in town.

Key Takeaways

اگر does not mechanically determine mood: indicative favors facts, habits, and settled plans; subjunctive favors open future possibilities.
The result clause independently chooses present, future-time present, imperative, or modal forms.
Persian normally avoids explicit future خواهد inside an open اگر condition.
A past-shaped condition can mark a completed future boundary in instructions, as in اگر شنیدی.
Colloquial اگه follows the same semantic contrasts with reduced Tehran forms.

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