Non-conditional IFs [closed]

Solution 1:

What you seem to be talking about here is the so called "biscuit conditional", from J.L. Austin's famous example "There are biscuits on the sideboard if you want them"

There is an important difference between a BC and 'normal' conditional. If we look a 'normal' conditional such as the barbecue will be cancelled if it rains, the barbecue being cancelled becomes true only if the condition of "it rains" becomes true. This is what makes it conditional.

In a BC such as there is beer in the fridge if you want some, assuming that the speaker spoke truly there is beer in fridge if you want it, and there is still beer in the fridge if you don't want it. In other words, the beer in the fridge is always true. It is not linked to a condition, so a BC is not conditional.

So why do BCs exist, if all they do make an assertion? Why not just say *there is beer in the fridge"? The usual answer is that it is a hedge against being irrelevant or inappropriate, effectively: "I don't know if you want beer of not, but if you do it is in the fridge".

There are some arguments against this explanation though, so it is not cut and dried yet.

Solution 2:

There are two types of if in English. The first is if one found in conditional sentences. This is not the same if as we find in the Original Poster's sentence.

There is a second, very important if, which has nothing to do with conditionals at all. It is an interrogative word, a question word, which we use in subordinate interrogative clauses. We use it to introduce embedded yes/no questions. There is a second, similar word to if, the word whether. The Original Poster's example is not a biscuit conditional or a relevance conditional - it is not a conditional at all. It is a sentence with an embedded question inside it. We could use the word whether instead in this example: