A2 · Requests, wishes and conditions
If … then: अगर … तो
real conditions
अगर opens the condition, तो opens the result: अगर बारिश हुई, तो हम घर पर रहेंगे.
At a glance
- Remember
- Agar opens, to answers: condition first, result second, and do not drop the to.
- Form
- अगर बारिश होगी, तो …if + future
- Signal words
- अगर
- तो
- यदि
- नहीं तो
- Trap
- Wrong:हम घर पर रहेंगे तो अगर बारिश हुई।Right:अगर बारिश हुई, तो हम घर पर रहेंगे।
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
| if + future | अगर बारिश होगी, तो … |
| if + subjunctive | अगर बारिश हो, तो … |
| if + simple past | अगर बारिश हुई, तो … |
| then + future | … तो हम घर पर रहेंगे |
| then + imperative | … तो मुझे फ़ोन कीजिए |
| formal “if” | यदि … तो … |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
अगर opens the condition, तो the result.
अगर तुम जल्दी आओगे, तो हम साथ चलेंगे।If you come early, we will go together.
A future condition can use the simple past.
अगर बारिश हुई, तो हम घर पर रहेंगे।If it rains, we will stay at home.
The subjunctive makes the condition more tentative.
अगर आपके पास समय हो, तो मुझे फ़ोन कीजिए।If you have time, give me a ring.
The result can be an imperative.
अगर तुम्हें भूख लगी है, तो कुछ खा लो।If you are hungry, have something to eat.
Example sentences
अगर बारिश हुई, तो हम घर पर रहेंगे।If it rains, we will stay at home.
अगर आपके पास समय हो, तो मुझे फ़ोन कीजिए।If you have time, give me a ring.
अगर तुम जल्दी आओगे, तो हम साथ चलेंगे।If you come early, we will go together.
अगर तुम्हें भूख लगी है, तो कुछ खा लो।If you are hungry, have something to eat.
अगर वह नहीं आया, तो हम क्या करेंगे?What will we do if he does not come?
अगर आप चाहें, तो हम कल मिल सकते हैं।If you like, we can meet tomorrow.
5 more example sentences
अगर दुकान खुली हो, तो थोड़ा दूध ले आना।If the shop is open, bring some milk.
अगर तुम मेहनत करोगे, तो ज़रूर पास होगे।If you work hard, you will certainly pass.
यदि आपको कोई समस्या हो, तो हमें बताइए।If you have any problem, please tell us.
अगर कल धूप निकली, तो हम पिकनिक पर जाएँगे।If it is sunny tomorrow, we will go on a picnic.
जल्दी चलो, नहीं तो देर हो जाएगी।Hurry up, or we will be late.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English can put the if-clause second; Hindi almost always puts it first, and तो belongs at the start of the result clause, never next to अगर. Start with the condition and let तो mark the turn.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
A Hindi condition has two signposts. अगर, “if”, opens the first clause; तो, “then”, opens the second. English usually leaves “then” out; Hindi almost never leaves out तो. The if-clause normally comes first: अगर तुम आओगे, तो हम साथ चलेंगे.
For a condition about the future, the if-clause can take three forms, all correct: the future (अगर बारिश होगी), the subjunctive (अगर बारिश हो), or — surprisingly for English speakers — the simple past (अगर बारिश हुई). The past form presents the event as if it had already happened, and it is very common in speech.
The result clause takes whatever the sense needs: a future (तो हम नहीं जाएँगे), an imperative (तो मुझे फ़ोन कीजिए), or a present for something that always follows (अगर पानी गरम हो, तो चाय जल्दी बनती है).
The subjunctive in the if-clause sounds a little more tentative and polite: अगर आपके पास समय हो, तो …, “if you should have time …”. In formal writing यदि replaces अगर; the grammar is the same.
A closer look
Why the past for the future?
अगर बारिश हुई literally says “if it rained”, but it is about tomorrow. The speaker jumps forward and looks back: “should it turn out that it has rained”. English does something similar in “if it has stopped raining by then”.
The three forms are close in meaning. The future is the most neutral, the subjunctive the most hypothetical and polite, the past the most conversational. A learner can use the future everywhere and be understood.
अगर can go, तो stays
In quick speech अगर is often dropped, and तो alone makes the sentence a condition: बस छूट गई, तो टैक्सी ले लेना, “if you miss the bus, take a taxi”. The opposite — अगर without तो — is possible but sounds unfinished.
Worth knowing (1)
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नहीं तो: otherwise
नहीं तो, literally “if not, then”, is the everyday “or else”: छाता ले लो, नहीं तो भीग जाओगे, “take an umbrella, or you’ll get wet”. It is a whole condition squeezed into two words.
जल्दी उठो, नहीं तो बस छूट जाएगी।Get up quickly, or you’ll miss the bus.
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