XXX Possibly rename this chapter, as subordinating conjunctions (subordinators) should be treated under dependent clauses instead.
XXX List all (coordinating) conjunctions and describe them shortly.
Clauses introduced with se ‘if’ describe the condition under which a hypothetical situation might be or become true. The hypothetical situation is described in the main clause. In English, the main clause is optionally introduced with ‘then’; in Lugamun, this word is simply omitted. As in English, the main clause can follow or precede the se clause.
Mi ba go, se mi ha tem. – I would go if I had the time.
Se mi ha tem, mi ba go. – If I had the time, (then) I would go.
The mood marker ba ‘would’ is often used in the main clause. In the se clause, it is typically omitted, since se already implies that one talks about a hypothetical situation.
Se ta xvan xi kat, ya ba pakar mas [mouse]. – If that dog were a cat, it would catch more mice.
If one is more confident about a hypothetical situation becoming real, on can use ga in the main clause; optionally it can also be used in the se clause, but again this is not necessary, since the clause itself implies that the situation is not (yet) real.
Mi ga go, se mi (ga) ha tem. – I will go if I have the time.
When talking about counterfactuals – hypothetical situations that lie in the past and hence no longer can become true – li ba ‘would have’ is used in the main clause. In the se clause, it is often shortened to li, since the unreality expressed by ba is already implied. But if you want to use li ba instead, that’s fine too.
Se [taxi] li (ba) tiba ni tem, nas no li ba [miss] tara. – If the taxi had arrived on time, we would not have missed our flight.