43.2 The Conjunctions 如果 jyu4 gwo2 (‘if’) and 嘅話 ge3 waa2 (‘if’)

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The conjunctions 如果 jyu4 gwo2 and 嘅話 ge3 waa2 mean ‘if’ (as in if you want to steam pork ribs, buy back ribs). We use 如果 jyu4 gwo2 and 嘅話 ge3 waa2 to connect two different parts in a sentence. In the context of this lesson, the first part will be a specific scenario, the second part will be a suggested action for that scenario. We put 如果 jyu4 gwo2 before the scenario and 嘅話 ge3 waa2 after the scenario.

如果 jyu4 gwo2 ‘if’	Scenario	嘅話 ge3 waa2 ‘if’		Suggested Action
如果	你想蒸排骨	嘅話	，	買一字排啦	。
jyu4 gwo2	nei5 soeng2 zing1 paai4 gwat1	ge3 waa2	,	maai5 jat1 zi6 paai2 laa1	.
if	you want to steam pork ribs	if		buy pork back ribs
If you want to steam pork ribs, buy pork back ribs.
如果	四個人食	嘅話	，	買半斤啦	。
jyu4 gwo2	sei3 go3 jan4 sik6	ge3 waa2	,	maai5 bun3 gan1 laa1	.
if	four people eat	if		buy half a catty
If four people eat, buy half a catty.

We can use either 如果 jyu4 gwo2 or 嘅話 ge3 waa2 on their own.

如果 jyu4 gwo2 ‘if’	Scenario		Suggested Action
如果	你想蒸排骨	，	買一字排啦	。
jyu4 gwo2	nei5 soeng2 zing1 paai4 gwat1	,	maai5 jat1 zi6 paai2 laa1	.
if	you want to steam pork ribs		buy pork back ribs
If you want to steam pork ribs, buy pork back ribs.
如果	四個人食	，	買半斤啦	。
jyu4 gwo2	sei3 go3 jan4 sik6	,	maai5 bun3 gan1 laa1	.
if	four people eat		buy half a catty
If four people eat, buy half a catty.

Scenario	嘅話 ge3 waa2 ‘if’		Suggested Action
你想蒸排骨	嘅話	，	買一字排啦	。
nei5 soeng2 zing1 paai4 gwat1	ge3 waa2	,	maai5 jat1 zi6 paai2 laa1	.
you want to steam pork ribs	if		buy pork back ribs
If you want to steam pork ribs, buy pork back ribs.
四個人食	嘅話	，	買半斤啦	。
sei3 go3 jan4 sik6	ge3 waa2	,	maai5 bun3 gan1 laa1	.
four people eat	if		buy half a catty
If four people eat, buy half a catty.

It is possible to move the scenario after the suggested action.

Suggested Action		如果 jyu4 gwo2 ‘if’	Scenario	嘅話 ge3 waa2 ‘if’
買一字排啦	，	如果	你想蒸排骨	嘅話	。
maai5 jat1 zi6 paai2 laa1	,	jyu4 gwo2	nei5 soeng2 zing1 paai4 gwat1	ge3 waa2	.
buy pork back ribs		if	you want to steam pork ribs	if
Buy pork back ribs if you want to steam pork ribs.
買半斤啦	，	如果	四個人食	嘅話	。
maai5 bun3 gan1 laa1	,	jyu4 gwo2	sei3 go3 jan4 sik6	ge3 waa2	.
buy half a catty		if	four people eat	if
Buy half a catty if four people eat.

When we move the scenario after the suggested action, we can still use either 如果 jyu4 gwo2 or 嘅話 ge3 waa2 on their own.

Suggested Action		如果 jyu4 gwo2 ‘if’	Scenario
買一字排啦	，	如果	你想蒸排骨	。
maai5 jat1 zi6 paai2 laa1	,	jyu4 gwo2	nei5 soeng2 zing1 paai4 gwat1	.
buy pork back ribs		if	you want to steam pork ribs
Buy pork back ribs if you want to steam pork ribs.
買半斤啦	，	如果	四個人食	。
maai5 bun3 gan1 laa1	,	jyu4 gwo2	sei3 go3 jan4 sik6	.
buy half a catty		if	four people eat
Buy half a catty if four people eat.

Suggested Action		Scenario	嘅話 ge3 waa2 ‘if’
買一字排啦	，	你想蒸排骨	嘅話	。
maai5 jat1 zi6 paai2 laa1	,	nei5 soeng2 zing1 paai4 gwat1	ge3 waa2	.
buy pork back ribs		you want to steam pork ribs	if
Buy pork back ribs if you want to steam pork ribs.
買半斤啦	，	四個人食	嘅話	。
maai5 bun3 gan1 laa1	,	sei3 go3 jan4 sik6	ge3 waa2	.
buy half a catty		four people eat	if
Buy half a catty if four people eat.

To ask for a suggested action for a scenario, we can put a question in the part of the suggested action.

如果 jyu4 gwo2 ‘if’	Scenario	嘅話 ge3 waa2 ‘if’		Suggested Action
如果	我想蒸排骨	嘅話	，	應該買邊個位呀	？
jyu4 gwo2	ngo5 soeng2 zing1 paai4 gwat1	ge3 waa2	,	jing1 goi1 maai5 bin1 go3 wai2 aa3	?
if	I want to steam pork ribs	if		should buy which part
If I want to steam pork ribs, which part should I buy?
如果	四個人食	嘅話	，	應該買幾多呀	？
jyu4 gwo2	sei3 go3 jan4 sik6	ge3 waa2	,	jing1 goi1 maai5 gei2 do1 aa3	?
if	four people eat	if		should buy how much
If four people eat, how much should I buy? [= How much should I buy for four people?]

When we put a question in the part of the suggested action, we can still use either 如果 jyu4 gwo2 or 嘅話 ge3 waa2 on their own, or move the scenario after the suggested action.