conditional mood

In grammar, the conditional mood expresses an action or state that is contingent upon a condition. It is often indicated by the word "if". This mood is used to talk about things that are true or happen only if something else is also true or happens.1

While not always a distinct mood in every language, it is often expressed through verb forms or phrases. In English, conditional ideas are frequently conveyed using modal auxiliary verbs like "would" or "could," which function similarly to a subjunctive mood. For example, "If it doesn't rain, we will go" uses "if" to set a condition for the main clause.234