In written and spoken English, the word “if” serves a double purpose. It can either be used as a conjunction or as a noun.

1. Conjunction

This word is most commonly used as a conjunction because it can connect two clauses to form a single sentence by presenting the conditional clause. Furthermore, the word “if” can also mean “whether.” In the sample sentence below:

You can walk, if the rain stops.

The word “if” is categorized under conjunctions because it connects the clauses “you can walk” and “the rain stops.”

Definition:

a. introducing a conditional clause

• Example:
•  This would never have happened, if you had stayed.

b. whether

• Example:
• I doubt if I’ll pass the test.

 

2. Noun

In other cases, the word “if” is considered as a noun, which refers to a condition. For example, in the sentence below:

There are a lot of ifs in the policy.

The word “if” is classified as a noun that also means “conditions.”

Definition:

a. a condition or supposition

• Example:
• I don’t need your ifs scenarios.