conditional

/kənˈdɪʃ.ən.əl/ (bre, ipa) · [kəndˈɪʃənəl] /kənˈdɪʃ.ən.əl/ (ame, ipa) · [kəndˈɪʃənəl] /kən-ˈdi-sh(ə-)nəl/ (ame, mw)

conditional — adjective

  • conditionalpositive
  • more conditionalcomparative
  • most conditionalsuperlative

1. allowed, offered, or agreed only when a stated requirement is met first.

1.形容詞B2
釋義

allowed, offered, or agreed only when a stated requirement is met first.

例句

The college made Liam's place conditional on a higher test score.

conditional on + noun phrase naming the requirement

Abigail received a conditional job offer after the second interview.

conditional + job offer in hiring and admissions contexts

同義詞
  • provisional

    stresses that the decision is temporary while details are still being checked

  • contingent

    more formal; emphasizes dependence on a named future event

  • dependent

    broader and less tied to official offers or agreements

反義詞

文法句型

conditional on + noun phrase

conditional upon + noun phrase

用法筆記

Most often describes decisions or agreements that are not final yet. It commonly appears with nouns such as offer, admission, approval, and release, and often takes on or upon before the requirement.

常見錯誤

My visa is conditional that I find a job.
My visa is conditional on my finding a job.
💡after 'conditional' for requirements, English normally uses 'on' or 'upon', not a bare that-clause.

2. used for a sentence or clause that links one event to another by saying the seco

2.形容詞C1
釋義

used for a sentence or clause that links one event to another by saying the second is true only if the first happens.

例句

The teacher underlined the conditional sentence that began with 'unless'.

conditional sentence introduced by unless

On the board, Ms. Chen wrote a conditional clause before the main idea.

conditional clause as a grammar label in class

文法句型

conditional sentence

conditional clause

用法筆記

Common with sentence, clause, and structure when teachers explain how one part of a sentence sets the condition for another. Distinguish from sense 3, which names the verb form inside such a structure.

3. used for the verb pattern that shows an action or result would happen only in a

3.形容詞C1
釋義

used for the verb pattern that shows an action or result would happen only in a particular case.

例句

In class, Abigail learned that 'would leave' is a conditional form.

conditional form marked by would in English

The chart shows which endings make the verb conditional in Turkish.

verb + conditional in grammar explanation

文法句型

conditional form

the conditional

用法筆記

Usually used in grammar teaching when talking about forms with would or similar markers. Distinguish from sense 2, which describes the whole sentence pattern rather than the verb inside it.

conditional — noun