Third (and Fourth) Class Conditions -- By: James L. Boyer

Journal: Grace Theological Journal
Volume: GTJ 03:2 (Fall 1982)
Article: Third (and Fourth) Class Conditions
Author: James L. Boyer


Third (and Fourth) Class Conditions

James L. Boyer

Third class conditional sentences, a very frequent type of conditional sentence, are identified and characterized by their use of the subjunctive mood in the protasis. The subjunctive indicates potentiality, contingency, or simple futurity. It is the condition which points to a future eventuality. The common notion that it indicates a degree of probability is examined by inductive study of all the NT examples and is concluded to be totally incorrect. Also, the often-made distinction between present general and future particular conditions within this third class is shown to be neither helpful nor indicated by NT Greek texts. All third class conditions are essentially future contingencies.

* * *

The third classification of conditional sentences in the Greek NT occurs almost as frequently as the first and five times more frequently than the second.1 It is designated by many names, reflecting different understandings on the part of grammarians of its basic significance.

Form Identification

This group of conditional clauses is identified by the use of ἐάν and the subjunctive mood in the protasis. The ἐάν of course is the ordinary conditional particle ἐι, found in all the other types of conditions, combined by crasis and contraction with the modal particle ἄν.2 Primarily it is the use of the subjunctive mood which

identifies the type. All other conditions use the indicative mood3 in the protasis.

The apodosis appears in a wide variety of forms. About 150 are simple statements of fact, 32 are questions, 32 are promises or threats, 27 are admonitory, 16 are warnings, 12 are commands, 11 are instructions.

There is no pattern of tenses used, either in the protasis or in the apodosis. In the NT examples there are 110 present, 205 aorist, and 3 perfect subjunctive4 verbs in the protases. In the apodoses there are 116 present, 119 future, 7 aorist, and 6 perfect indicatives, 25 aorist subjunctives, 26 present and 16 aorist imperatives, 1 present optative, 1 present infinitive (of indirect discourse), and 2 present participles (dependent on an imperative verb). The relationship of this great variety to the significance of this class of condition will be examined later.

In the discussion of this many-faceted grammatical constr...

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