A Hindi conditional links a possible situation to its result: अगर समय मिला तो हम संग्रहालय जाएँगे “If we have time, we’ll go to the museum.” अगर marks the condition and तो marks the result. Either marker can be omitted when the relation is obvious, but the full pair is the clearest pattern for learners and for long sentences.
Open conditions do not claim that the condition is false. Hindi chooses tense and mood according to how the speaker views each event; it does not mechanically copy English if + present, will + verb.
The basic अगर … तो frame
अगर बारिश रुकी तो हम बाज़ार जाएँगे।
agar bāriś rukī to ham bāzār jāeṃge.
If the rain stops, we’ll go to the market.
अगर तुम्हें रास्ता न मिले तो मुझे फ़ोन करना।
agar tumheṃ rāstā na mile to mujhe fon karnā.
If you can’t find the way, call me.
अगर दुकान खुली है तो दवा अभी ले आते हैं।
agar dukān khulī hai to davā abhī le āte haiṃ.
If the shop is open, let’s get the medicine now.
The condition may use a perfective रुकी, a subjunctive मिले, or a present state खुली है. The result may be future, imperative, suggestion, or statement. The conjunction does not require matching verb forms.
For a fuller inventory of registers and omission patterns, see अगर, यदि, and तो conditions.
Simple and expanded versions
अगर समय मिला तो आना।
agar samay milā to ānā.
Come if you have time.
अगर बैठक उम्मीद से जल्दी खत्म हो गई तो घर जाने से पहले पुस्तकालय में रखी फ़ाइल लेते आना।
agar baiṭhak ummīd se jaldī xatm ho gaī to ghar jāne se pahle pustakālay meṃ rakhī fāil lete ānā.
If the meeting finishes earlier than expected, pick up the file kept at the library before going home.
The expanded condition is a complete finite clause. The result contains its own before-phrase, but तो clearly identifies where the result begins.
General conditions
Conditions can express regular consequences rather than one future possibility:
अगर दूध को देर तक बाहर रखें तो वह खराब हो जाता है।
agar dūdh ko der tak bāhar rakheṃ to vah xarāb ho jātā hai.
If milk is left out for a long time, it goes bad.
अगर मैं देर से सोता हूँ तो सुबह चिड़चिड़ा रहता हूँ।
agar maĩ der se sotā hū̃ to subah ciṛciṛā rahtā hū̃.
If I go to bed late, I’m irritable in the morning. (male speaker)
Habitual हो जाता है / रहता हूँ shows a recurring result. English may call this a “zero conditional,” but Hindi marks it through ordinary aspectual choices rather than a special conditional tense.
अगर and तो can be omitted
Conversational Hindi often omits one half when the relation is still transparent:
समय मिले तो शाम को आ जाना।
samay mile to śām ko ā jānā.
If you get time, come by this evening.
अगर तुम तैयार हो, हम अभी निकल सकते हैं।
agar tum taiyār ho, ham abhī nikal sakte haiṃ.
If you’re ready, we can leave now.
The first omits अगर but retains result marker तो. The second omits तो; the initial अगर clause and pause already identify the structure. In formal prose or a long sentence, the full pair prevents a reader from losing the boundary.
Do not confuse result तो with contrastive-topic तो. In रीना तो आएगी, the particle follows a topic and implies alternatives; in अगर रीना आएगी तो हम शुरू करेंगे, it introduces the consequence.
Word order and subject reference
Either clause may have its own subject:
अगर सिया गाड़ी चलाएगी तो मैं रास्ता बताऊँगा।
agar siyā gāṛī calāegī to maĩ rāstā batāū̃gā.
If Siya drives, I’ll navigate. (male speaker)
Future चलाएगी in the condition is possible when the speaker predicts or negotiates a concrete future arrangement. The more neutral open version is अगर सिया गाड़ी चलाए तो …. Treat future marking as a meaning choice, not as universally forbidden after अगर.
When both clauses share a subject, omission is possible only if reference is clear:
अगर रवि जल्दी पहुँचा तो सीधे सभागार चला जाएगा।
agar ravi jaldī pahũcā to sīdhe sabhāgār calā jāegā.
If Ravi arrives early, he will go straight to the auditorium.
The unspoken subject of चला जाएगा is Ravi. A competing masculine referent in the condition could make that omission ambiguous, so repeat the noun when needed.
Non-finite conditions with -ने पर
An oblique infinitive plus पर expresses “on/upon doing” and often functions as a compact condition:
समय मिलने पर हम आपको लिखित सूचना देंगे।
samay milne par ham āpko likhit sūcnā deṃge.
If/when time permits, we will give you written notice.
पहचान-पत्र न दिखाने पर प्रवेश रोका जा सकता है।
pahcān-patr na dikhāne par praveś rokā jā saktā hai.
Entry may be denied if identification is not shown.
These phrases have no independent tense or overt finite subject. The first is naturally temporal-conditional; the second is impersonal formal wording. Use a finite अगर clause when you must distinguish subjects, polarity, or degree of possibility clearly.
Tense relations are local
अगर उसने फ़ाइल कल ही भेज दी थी तो वह आज तक पहुँच जानी चाहिए।
agar usne fāil kal hī bhej dī thī to vah āj tak pahũc jānī cāhie.
If he/she sent the file yesterday itself, it should have arrived by today.
The condition refers to a possible past fact; the result is a present inference about completion. Hindi does not backshift the result simply because the condition is past.
A spoken dialogue
अगर कल छुट्टी मिली तो कहीं चलें? — हाँ, मौसम अच्छा हुआ तो झील पर जाएँगे।
agar kal chuṭṭī milī to kahīṃ caleṃ? — hā̃, mausam acchā huā to jhīl par jāeṃge.
If we get tomorrow off, shall we go somewhere? — Yes; if the weather is good, we’ll go to the lake.
Both conditions are open possibilities. The first result is a suggestion; the second is a future plan.
Formal written example and clause boundary
Formal writing often prefers Sanskritic यदि, though अगर remains fully standard in most prose:
यदि आवेदक निर्धारित तिथि तक शुल्क जमा कर देता है, तो उसका पंजीकरण स्वतः पूरा माना जाएगा।
yadi āvedak nirdhārit tithi tak śulk jamā kar detā hai, to uskā pañjīkaraṇ svataḥ pūrā mānā jāegā.
If the applicant pays the fee by the specified date, the registration will automatically be deemed complete. (formal)
Clause boundary: [यदि आवेदक निर्धारित तिथि तक शुल्क जमा कर देता है] [तो उसका पंजीकरण स्वतः पूरा माना जाएगा]. यदि and तो overtly mark the condition–result pair; the comma assists reading but does not create the dependency.
Common Mistakes
❌ अगर समय मिले, लेकिन मुझे संदेश भेजना।
Incorrect conditional pairing — लेकिन marks contrast, not the result of a condition.
✅ अगर समय मिले तो मुझे संदेश भेजना।
agar samay mile to mujhe sandeś bhejnā.
If you have time, send me a message.
❌ समय मिलना पर हम बात करेंगे।
Incorrect — an infinitive before पर must take oblique -ने.
✅ समय मिलने पर हम विस्तार से बात करेंगे।
samay milne par ham vistār se bāt kareṃge.
When we have time, we’ll talk in detail.
❌ तो अगर बारिश रुकी हम निकलेंगे।
Incorrect neutral order — अगर introduces the condition and तो begins the result.
✅ अगर बारिश रुकी तो हम स्टेशन के लिए निकलेंगे।
agar bāriś rukī to ham sṭeśan ke lie nikleṃge.
If the rain stops, we’ll leave for the station.
❌ अगर नेहा आए तो मैं उससे मिली।
Incorrect for a future open result — the feminine past perfective मिली does not express the intended future action.
✅ अगर नेहा आए तो मैं उससे मिलूँगी।
agar nehā āe to maĩ usse milū̃gī.
If Neha comes, I’ll meet her. (female speaker)
Key Takeaways
The full conditional frame is अगर/यदि … तो …, though one marker may be omitted when the boundary is clear. The condition and result select tense and mood independently. Compact -ने पर phrases work when subject and interpretation are recoverable; finite clauses are clearer for distinct subjects, negation, and nuanced possibility.
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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.
- Conditionals with तोB2 — Use तो to mark the consequence of Hindi conditions while controlling clause order, scope, aspect, and discourse emphasis.
- Open future conditionsB2 — Choose subjunctive, future, or perfective predicates in Hindi conditions whose future outcome remains genuinely open.
- Subjunctive in conditional clausesB1 — Build open Hindi conditions with अगर or यदि and the subjunctive, including negative, honorific, and layered predicates.
- Counterfactual conditional clausesB2 — Express unreal present situations and unrealized past alternatives with अगर … होता/करता and corresponding hypothetical result forms.
- Contrastive topics with तोB1 — Use post-topic तो to set one person, time, place, or proposition against relevant alternatives without confusing it with conditional तो.