How do parenthetical if-statements work? E.g. "he is a happy, if quiet, boy."

Question

I might even be using it wrong in the example. How are these statements usually structured, and what's the implication of using this construct ("he is a happy, if quiet, boy") rather than something more straightforward? The examples I can think of usually seem to have a adjective in the parenthetical that is somewhat counter to the main statement.

Can it be a verb instead of an adjective ("he is a quiet, if amused, boy")?

Sorry if this has been answered, it's a very difficult thing to search for without knowing the name for it (if there is one).

Hunter · Answer

Try rearranging the sentence like this:

"Although he is quiet, he is a happy boy."

The word "although" shows that you need a contrast there. This if statement is simply another way of ordering the idea. It's a question of style. That sounds like something you would find in a book, a narrative style. But it could be speech. Imagine:

"Tyler's entrance to the race is a welcome, if unexpected
  development..."

Notice we're still talking about a third party, like commentary (narrative style). If I reword it:

"Tyler's entrance to the race is an unexpected, but welcome
  development..."

It now sounds more like speech and less stilted.

How do parenthetical if-statements work? E.g. "he is a happy, if quiet, boy."

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