Difference Between If and When

If vs When
 

If and When are two words that are often confused during usage though, strictly speaking, there is a lot of differences between if and when. These differences between if and when begin with the fact that the word if comes from the Old English word gif while the word when comes from the Old English word hwanne, hwenn. Also, when you look at how these two words, if and when, are used in the English language, you will find that if is used as a conjunction and also as a noun while when is used a relative adverb. When is also used as a conjunction. If is used as a conditional conjunction and, as a noun, it means a supposition or a condition.

What does If mean?

If is used as a conditional word to introduce a conditional clause as in the example given below.

If you come today, I shall show the book.

In this example, you can see that the word if is used as a conditional word. The person says that he will show the book only if his friend comes today.

It is interesting to note that the word if is used either at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle of a sentence. It is normally used as a conjunction as in the sentence given below.

I can come tomorrow if you can complete the work today.

In this sentence, you can see that the word if is used as a conditional conjunction. As a conjunction it joins the two sentences, ‘I can come tomorrow’ and ‘You can complete the work today.’ At the same time, it is also used in a conditional sense.

What does When mean?

The word when is used as a relative adverb and in the sense of ‘time’ as in the sentences:

I went home when the boys slept.

She came to my house when I was taking my dinner.

In the first sentence, the word when indicates the time of someone reaching home. The sentence would mean ‘I when home at the time the boys slept’. In the same way, the second sentence would mean ‘she came to my house at the time I was taking my dinner’. Thus, the word when is indicative primarily of the time connected with a particular action. Actually, in these instances, the word when is used as a relative adverb that carries the meaning ‘at or on which.’

The word when can also be used either at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle of a sentence. It is also used as a conjunction. In fact, it is used as a conjunction indicative of the time.

What is the difference between If and When?

• If is used as a conditional word to introduce a conditional clause. On the other hand, the word when is used in the sense of ‘time.’

• The word when is used as a relative adverb that carries the meaning ‘at or on which.’

• Both the words, if and when, are used as conjunction, but if is used as a conditional conjunction while when is used as a conjunction indicative of the time.

These are the differences between if and when. However, they both can either be used at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle of a sentence.

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