The use of tenses in conditional sentences with the indicative in Latin
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60056/SE.2026.1.117-135Keywords:
Latin, conditionals, verb tenses, markedness, neutralizationAbstract
The article is devoted to the use of tenses in conditional sentences with the indicative in Latin. It is shown that the possible combinations between them in protasis and the apodosis depend on the sequence of tenses in Latin. If there is a non-past tense in the apodosis, in the protasis anteriority relative to the moment of speaking is expressed by the perfect, simultaneity by the present, posteriority by the future, and anteriority relative to an action posterior to the moment of speaking by the future perfect. If there is a past tense in the apodosis, in the protasis anteriority relative to the past time reference point is expressed by the pluperfect, simultaneity by the imperfect, and posteriority by the future in the past. However, some of these tenses may be replaced by their corresponding unmarked tenses through syntagmatic neutralization.
All possible combinations are illustrated with examples from original Latin texts; in cases of neutralization, it is indicated which tense is replaced by which, and that this is possible within oppositional pairs of tenses, one of which is marked by a given distinctive feature and the other unmarked.
The description of the possible combinations of verb tenses in indipendent conditionals is important both for future research on the use of tenses in so-called dependent conditional periods and in conditional periods in indirect speech in Latin, and as an illustration of the sequence of tenses in the indicative, which has not been sufficiently studied.
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