Typological Analysis of Counterfactual Conditions in Persian Language

The purpose of this article is to contribute to studies on counterfactuals by exploring counterfactual conditions in Persian. Here, counterfactual sentences in Persian have been studied based on typological findings of the same in different languages. In order to study the typology, two main parameters are examined: symmetrical and asymmetrical morphological patterns of counterfactual conditional sentences and the range of TAM (Tense Aspect Mood) values in protasis and apodosis. The main concepts of counterfactual conditionals, including the construction of complex sentences, imagined conditions that have not occurred, false events, and the two above parameters were taken into account. This is a librarybased research and the required data was extracted from the Persian Linguistic Database (PLDB). Findings show that the counterfactual conditions in Persian have a complex sentence construction and protasis acts as a subordinate clause and in typological classifications, Persian has counterfactual conditionals for past, present and future and counterfactual conditionals have both symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns. Also in the TAM spectrum, counterfactual conditions have both symmetrical and asymmetric morphological patterns. In these patterns, both protasis and apodosis are used in the past continuous and past perfect tenses. In all three types of counterfactual conditions, the past tense is used, with either perfective or imperfective appearance.