Generally, both in English and Polish, the majority of conditionals follow the basic formula of if p … then q. Usually, the reversed order is also possible. The choice depends on the speaker's intention as to what to emphasise. It is usual that more important or more recent information comes first. Another crucial factor is the length of the clauses – it is more frequent to find the shorter clause in the initial position.

The domination of protasis – apodosis sentences results from the fact that mostly it is the speaker's intention to stress the condition and, what follows, the non-factual character of the sentence. Thus

emphasises the condition the fulfilment of which is necessary to perform the action described in the apodosis. The if-clause is crucial in relation to the preceding context, it makes a sort of link to make a connection with the whole discourse. On the other hand, in the construction with the apodosis in an initial position the if-clause seems to have a mainly complementary function, just to complete the meaning of the whole sentence. Here, however, two possibilities can be distinguished in English. At first, both of them look almost identical:

What differentiates these structures in writing is either the presence or the absence of a comma.