conditionalplural

Conditionalplural is a term used in linguistic typology to describe a morphosyntactic pattern in which nouns bear plural marking specifically when they occur in conditional or irrealis contexts. The phrase is largely used in discussions of theoretical or constructed languages, and it is not a standard feature described for a broad range of well-documented natural languages. As a concept, conditionalplural aims to capture how plurality can be marked or emphasized differently in hypothetical situations compared with ordinary, realis statements.

In languages described as exhibiting conditionalplural, the plural marker on a noun may be triggered by the conditional clause itself and can be realized on the noun, on a surrounding determiner, or through agreement with a following element. This phenomenon is distinct from ordinary plural marking, which is typically used in all contexts referring to multiple referents. It is also distinct from pluractionality, which involves verb-level marking for distributive or repetitive actions rather than subject or noun plurality in conditionals.

Example situations are typically hypothetical or constructed to illustrate the idea. For instance, in a hypothetical language, a conditional sentence might show the noun in the conditional clause carrying a plural marker (dog-pl come) while the main clause uses a standard singular form. Such examples are often used to discuss how a language could encode potential plurality specifically in irrealis contexts, rather than describing an established, real-world pattern.

Related concepts include pluractionality, distributive marking, and irrealis mood.