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Glite Dictionary
📝 If-clause 🎭 Opening part
protasis

protasis

9.9
Part of a sentence that tells the condition, often starting with if
  • noun
  • /proʊˈtæsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : protasis
  • In her essay, she wrote a protasis when she said, 'If I pass my exams, I will celebrate with friends.'

Examples

  • In the sentence, 'If it rains tomorrow, we will stay indoors,' the phrase 'If it rains tomorrow' is the protasis.

  • The teacher explained that the protasis of a conditional statement usually starts with 'if' to express the condition.

  • The protasis is important because it conveys less confidence than is displayed at the end of Act III.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Protasis states the offense, "if a man does ...," and apodosis the penalty now affixed by law.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

adverbial of condition
vsprotasis
8.8

A group of words that says when something will happen or what must happen first, often starting with if

is specifically the clause that states the condition usually introduced by if

Surface Forms

protasis singular
protases plural

Etymology

Protasis comes from Greek parts pro- meaning 'before' and a root meaning 'to place', so it means 'what is placed before'. Think of it like a proposition put before the main idea, which is why the protasis is the 'if' clause that usually comes before the result.