BSL Lessons: Conditional Tense

Conditional tenses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened, and what we wish would happen. It is used to link events with dependency for example: IF the first does(not) happen, THEN the second will(not) happen. The ‘if’ element of the clause is always signed before the ‘then’ element. Conditional ‘if’ is shown through non-manual features on the face and tilting the body with the dominant shoulder down. Examples: I’ll get ice cream, if I’m good, I’ll go to the seaside if it’s nice weather tomorrow. If it rains, I will go to the cinema. If I am late for work tomorrow, then I can’t leave early. I can have tomorrow off if I decide to work today I will cancel the BBQ if it rains tomorrow.