Skip to main content
Practice

Conditional Statements (if, elif, else)

Sometimes your program needs to make decisions — just like you do.

  • If your score is above 90, you get an A.
  • If it’s above 80, you get a B.
  • Otherwise, you try harder next time.

This is what conditional logic is all about.


How Python Makes Decisions​

Python uses the keywords if, elif, and else to control which lines of code get executed.

Let’s look at a simple example:

score = 85

if score >= 90:
    print("Grade: A")
elif score >= 80:
    print("Grade: B")
else:
    print("Grade: C or below")

What’s Happening Here?​

  • Python checks the first condition: score >= 90. It’s false, so it skips that block.
  • Then it checks the next: score >= 80. It’s true, so it prints "Grade: B".
  • It does not check further once a match is found.
  • If none match, the else block is executed.

Key Ideas to Remember​

  • Conditions are evaluated top to bottom.
  • Indentation (spacing) shows which lines belong to each block.
  • You can use as many elif as needed, but only one if and one else.

Want to learn more?

Join CodeFriends Plus membership or enroll in a course to start your journey.