Two if-clauses
"This raises concerns about what happens if a future weapon system is fed erroneous data or its links to human command, which can block the system’s use of lethal force, are disrupted."
(The Guardian.)
Does "or" coordinate two if-clauses in the sentence above?
Top answer
This raises concerns about what happens [ if a future weapon system is fed erroneous data ] or [ if its links to human command ], which can block the system’s use of lethal force , are disrupted. I can see only one "if". It looks as though the other one belongs between "or" and "its", as I've inserted.
- This raises concerns about what happens [ if a future weapon system is fed erroneous data ] or [ if its links to human command ], which can block the system’s use of lethal force , are disrupted.
- I can see only one "if".
- It looks as though the other one belongs between "or" and "its", as I've inserted.
- Yes, the bracketed if phrases form a coordination of protases linked by "or" in a conditional construction.
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This raises concerns about what happens [if a future weapon system is fed erroneous data] or [if its links to human command], which can block the system’s use of lethal force, are disrupted.
I can see only one "if". It looks as though the other one belongs between "or" and "its", as I've inserted.
Yes, the bracketed if
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