Comprehension of English Factual, Nonfactual, and Counterfactual Conditionals by Iranian EFL Learners

The aim of present study was to investigate comprehension of English factual, nonfactual, and counterfactual structures by Iranian EFL learners advocating mental model theory of propositional reasoning. To this end 68 learners studying EFL in 4 language centers participated in the study. A consistency judgment test adopted from Byrne & Tasso (1999) was administered to determine comprehension of 3 English conditional types in indicative vs. subjunctive mood, and past or present tense aspect i.e. Factual, nonfactual, and counterfactual structures. The result showed that when participants encountered factual conditional having a general knowledge that it is real, possible and very likely to fulfill, build a mental model of its premises and are more likely to perceive that indicative conditional is consistent with the truth of antecedent and consequent(TA-TC). Also encountering nonfactual or counterfactual conditionals in subjunctive mood having a general knowledge that they are very unlikely or impossible to fulfill, participants build a mental model of their premises, and are more likely to perceive that subjunctive conditionals are consistent with the falsity of antecedent and consequent(FA-FC).

Keywords:

conditional reasoning , indicative mood , subjunctive mood , factuals , nonfactuals , counterfactuals