In an अगर...तो... conditional, अगर marks the premise and तो marks the consequence: “if P, then Q.” Yet Hindi does not mechanically require both words. तुम आओ तो बात करेंगे omits अगर, while अगर समय मिला, हम आज ही चलेंगे omits तो. What तो reliably contributes is a boundary: given that premise, this is the consequence that follows. The conjunction inventory and its basic register contrast are introduced under अगर, यदि, and तो conditions.
Because तो is also a wider discourse particle meaning roughly “as for that,” “then,” or “at least,” not every occurrence introduces a conditional result. Correct interpretation comes from clause structure, intonation, and the aspect–mood choices on both sides.
The full correlative frame
The clearest pattern is अगर/यदि + condition, तो + consequence.
अगर बारिश रुकी, तो हम बाज़ार जाएँगे।
agar bāriś rukī, to ham bāzār jāẽge.
If the rain stops, we will go to the market.
अगर तुम तैयार हो, तो अभी निकलते हैं।
agar tum taiyār ho, to abhī nikalte haiṃ.
If you're ready, let's leave now.
यदि भुगतान आज प्राप्त हो जाए, तो आदेश तुरंत भेज दिया जाएगा।
yadi bhugtān āj prāpt ho jāe, to ādeś turant bhej diyā jāegā.
If payment is received today, the order will be dispatched immediately. (formal)
अगर is neutral across conversation and ordinary writing. यदि...तो is (formal) and common in instructions, official prose, and academic argument. The grammar is the same; register, not logical precision, motivates the choice.
Either member can be omitted
When the condition precedes the result, अगर can disappear because तो identifies the first clause as the premise.
समय मिले तो मुझे फ़ोन करना।
samay mile to mujhe fon karnā.
If you get time, call me.
दर्द बढ़े तो तुरंत डॉक्टर को दिखाइए।
dard baṛhe to turant ḍokṭar ko dikhāie.
If the pain gets worse, consult a doctor immediately. (respectful)
This compact P तो Q pattern is extremely common in conversation. It is not careless shorthand; it is a complete conditional construction.
Conversely, तो can be omitted when the dependency is already transparent:
अगर नील आए, उसे अंदर भेज देना।
agar nīl āe, use andar bhej denā.
If Neel comes, send him inside.
अगर रास्ता साफ़ रहा, हम शाम तक पहुँच जाएँगे।
agar rāstā sāf rahā, ham śām tak pahũc jāẽge.
If the road stays clear, we will arrive by evening.
Adding तो to these sentences is fully grammatical and makes the result boundary more explicit. In a long sentence, with a heavy condition, or where the listener might lose track of the structure, retaining तो improves processing.
Clause order and afterthought conditions
The neutral order is condition before consequence. Hindi can place the consequence first, especially when the condition is an afterthought or limitation.
हम छत पर खाना खाएँगे, अगर मौसम ठीक रहा तो।
ham chat par khānā khāẽge, agar mausam ṭhīk rahā to.
We'll eat on the terrace, if the weather stays fine.
मैं साथ चल सकता हूँ, तुम्हें आपत्ति न हो तो।
maĩ sāth cal saktā hū̃, tumheṃ āpatti na ho to.
I can come along, if you don't mind. (male speaker)
In this right-detached pattern, final तो closes the postponed condition. It is especially natural in speech, where the speaker first offers a plan and then adds its limitation. The same order can soften a request or proposal because the condition comes as a respectful escape route.
Aspect inside the condition
तो does not decide whether the condition is general, open, bounded, or counterfactual. The predicate does that work.
| Condition | Viewpoint | Typical reading |
|---|---|---|
| अगर पानी उबलता है, तो... | habitual/general | whenever water boils |
| अगर पानी उबले, तो... | subjunctive | if the water should boil |
| अगर पानी उबला, तो... | perfective boundary | if/when the water comes to a boil |
| अगर पानी उबला होता, तो... | perfective counterfactual | if the water had boiled |
अगर दूध उबलता है, तो आँच कम कर देती हूँ।
agar dūdh ubaltā hai, to ā̃c kam kar detī hū̃.
When the milk boils, I turn the heat down. (female speaker; regular procedure)
अगर दूध उबले, तो आँच कम कर देना।
agar dūdh ubale, to ā̃c kam kar denā.
If the milk comes to a boil, turn the heat down.
अगर दूध उबल गया, तो चूल्हा बंद कर देना।
agar dūdh ubal gayā, to cūlhā band kar denā.
If the milk has come to a boil, turn off the stove.
The lexical situation stays nearly constant, but habitual उबलता है, open subjunctive उबले, and bounded उबल गया construe it differently. English often uses a present form for all three, so copying English tense labels loses the Hindi contrast.
तो and the scope of the consequence
With several clauses, the placement of तो helps listeners identify exactly what follows from the premise.
अगर अनुमति मिल गई, तो हम कमरा बुक करेंगे और सबको तारीख़ बता देंगे।
agar anumati mil gaī, to ham kamrā buk kareṅge aur sabko tārīx batā deṅge.
If permission is granted, we will book the room and tell everyone the date.
Both coordinated actions fall within the result introduced by तो. Without careful prosody, moving तो later could misleadingly attach only to the second action.
Repeated तो can create contrast rather than two independent “then” meanings:
अगर वह आए तो अच्छा होगा; न आए तो बैठक फिर भी होगी।
agar vah āe to acchā hogā; na āe to baiṭhak phir bhī hogī.
It will be good if he comes; if he doesn't, the meeting will still take place.
The paired conditions partition the possibilities. Compact न आए तो uses न, common in subordinate irrealis clauses. नहीं आए तो is also natural and makes nonarrival more explicit; neither option is simply correct versus incorrect.
Perfective conditions and ergativity
A future-relevant perfective condition can present an event as a threshold: once the bounded act is complete, the result follows. If that act is transitive, ordinary ने and object agreement apply.
अगर सुमन ने सूची भेजी, तो मैं नाम आज ही जाँच लूँगा।
agar suman ne sūcī bhejī, to maĩ nām āj hī jā̃c lū̃gā.
If Suman sends the list, I'll check the names today. (male speaker)
अगर सुमन ने सभी उम्मीदवारों को बुलाया, तो कमरा छोटा पड़ जाएगा।
agar suman ne sabhī ummīdvāroṃ ko bulāyā, to kamrā choṭā paṛ jāegā.
If Suman invites all the candidates, the room will prove too small.
Unmarked feminine सूची controls भेजी. Marked उम्मीदवारों को blocks agreement, giving default masculine singular बुलाया. The condition concerns the future, but its internal perfective viewpoint still licenses ergative ने.
Not every तो is conditional
तो also marks topics, contrasts, concessions, and discourse progression.
काम तो पूरा है, लेकिन हस्ताक्षर अभी बाकी हैं।
kām to pūrā hai, lekin hastākṣar abhī bākī haiṃ.
The work is complete, but the signatures are still pending.
Here काम तो means roughly “as for the work” and sets up a contrast. There is no if-clause. Likewise conversational तो फिर चलें? means “So, shall we go?” Identifying every तो as “then” will produce false conditional analyses.
A short narrative: conditions guide a plan
आयोजकों ने तय किया कि सुबह मौसम देखा जाएगा।
āyojakoṃ ne tay kiyā ki subah mausam dekhā jāegā.
The organizers decided that the weather would be checked in the morning.
आसमान साफ़ रहा तो कार्यक्रम मैदान में होगा।
āsmān sāf rahā to kāryakram maidān meṃ hogā.
If the sky stays clear, the event will be held on the field.
बारिश शुरू हो गई तो सबको सभागार में भेज दिया जाएगा।
bāriś śurū ho gaī to sabko sabhāgār meṃ bhej diyā jāegā.
If it starts raining, everyone will be sent into the auditorium.
दोनों जगहें तैयार हों, तो निर्णय आख़िरी समय पर भी लिया जा सकता है।
donoṃ jagaheṃ taiyār hoṃ, to nirṇay āxirī samay par bhī liyā jā saktā hai.
If both venues are ready, the decision can be made even at the last moment.
The first condition uses perfective रहा to treat the weather state over the morning as a bounded test. The second uses हो गई for the onset threshold. The third uses subjunctive हों to leave readiness open. तो consistently points forward, but aspect changes what counts as satisfying each premise.
Common Mistakes
❌ अगर तुम आओ अगर हम बात करेंगे।
Incorrect — the consequence needs तो, or no second connector at all; repeating अगर does not mark the result.
✅ अगर तुम आओ, तो हम शांति से बात करेंगे।
agar tum āo, to ham śānti se bāt kareṅge.
If you come, we will talk calmly.
❌ समय मिले अगर मुझे फ़ोन करना।
Awkward — when अगर is omitted from a condition-first sentence, तो normally closes the condition.
✅ समय मिले तो मुझे शाम को फ़ोन करना।
samay mile to mujhe śām ko fon karnā.
If you get time, call me this evening.
❌ अगर नेहा सूची भेजी, तो मैं देखूँगा।
Incorrect — bounded transitive भेजी requires ergative ने in this perfective condition.
✅ अगर नेहा ने सूची भेजी, तो मैं उसे देखूँगा।
agar nehā ne sūcī bhejī, to maĩ use dekhū̃gā.
If Neha sends the list, I will look at it. (male speaker)
❌ अगर पानी उबल रहा है, तो आँच कम करना।
Wrong when the intended trigger is reaching the boil — the progressive presents an already ongoing process.
✅ अगर पानी उबल जाए, तो आँच कम कर देना।
agar pānī ubal jāe, to ā̃c kam kar denā.
If the water comes to a boil, turn the heat down.
❌ काम तो पूरा है, इसलिए यह अगर-वाक्य है।
Incorrect analysis — this तो marks contrastive topic, not a conditional consequence.
✅ काम तो पूरा है, पर भुगतान बाकी है।
kām to pūrā hai, par bhugtān bākī hai.
The work is complete, but the payment is still pending.
Key Takeaways
Conditional तो points from a premise to its consequence, but it carries no tense, aspect, or mood of its own. Full अगर/यदि...तो, compact P तो Q, omitted तो, and right-detached Q, P तो are all productive patterns. The predicates determine whether the condition is general, open, bounded, or counterfactual, while ordinary perfective ergativity and agreement remain active inside the premise.
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- अगर यदि and तो conditionsB1 — Build Hindi conditionals with conversational अगर or formal यदि, and use optional तो to mark the consequence clearly.
- Subjunctive in conditional clausesB1 — Build open Hindi conditions with अगर or यदि and the subjunctive, including negative, honorific, and layered predicates.
- Future in conditional clausesB2 — Use Hindi future forms naturally in अगर...तो conditions, and distinguish confident prediction from the less committed subjunctive pattern.
- Open future conditionsB2 — Choose subjunctive, future, or perfective predicates in Hindi conditions whose future outcome remains genuinely open.
- Counterfactual होता constructionsB2 — Use होता-based predicates to contrast unreal states, remote possibilities, and completed past alternatives with factual Hindi clauses.
- Counterfactual conditional clausesB2 — Express unreal present situations and unrealized past alternatives with अगर … होता/करता and corresponding hypothetical result forms.