konsequenten

Konsequenten is the plural form of Konsequent, a term found in German-language logic and linguistics to denote the part of a conditional statement that expresses what follows from the antecedent; in other words, the consequence or result of the condition. In a sentence of the form "If P, then Q," Q is the Konsequent; P is the antecedent (Voraussetzung).

Usage and terminology vary in practice. Some authors treat Konsequent as the singular term and Konsequenten as the standard plural; others prefer Konsequente as the plural form. In everyday German, the general word for a consequence is Konsequenz, though this is a broader, non-grammatical sense of outcome. In technical discussions, Konsequent is sometimes kept to emphasize the “then” part of a conditional, while Konsequenz may be used to describe the overall outcome of a reasoning process.

Contexts and relations. In both logic and linguistics, Konsequenten are discussed when analyzing conditional clauses, hypothetical syllogisms, and the semantics of implication. The term is more common in German-language scholarly sources than in English, where the standard terms are antecedent and consequent or the then-clause. Distinctions among these terms can vary by tradition, but the Konsequent is generally understood as the stated result that follows from the antecedent in a conditional construction.

Etymology and related terms. The word derives from Latin consequens through German adaptations, while the everyday concept is more often expressed by Konsequenz (consequence). In teaching materials, the Konsequent may be contrasted with the Antezedens (antecedent) to illustrate the structure of conditional reasoning.