Anankastic conditional

An anankastic[1] conditional is a grammatical construction of the form

If you want X, you have to do Y.

where Y is required in order to get X, insisting a peremptory conditionate. For example:

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends.[2]

Notes edit

  1. ^ From Greek ἀναγκαστικός "compulsory" from ἀνάγκη "necessity."
  2. ^ Spice Girls (1996), "Wannabe", Spice, Virgin Records

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