If...Else

Relax. We'll talk through this in plain words — no textbook voice.

if...else lets you run different code paths depending on a condition. It's essential for decisions like login success/failure, pass/fail grading, or checking whether something is in stock.

cpp

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    int mark = 75;

    if (mark >= 80) {
        cout << "Excellent";
    } else if (mark >= 40) {
        cout << "Pass";
    } else {
        cout << "Fail";
    }
    return 0;
}

The program checks conditions from top to bottom. mark >= 80 is false, so it moves to the next condition, and since mark >= 40 is true, it prints Pass.

You should see

Pass

Info

Condition order matters. Checking the widest range first and narrowing down as you go is usually the clearest approach.

Easy traps

When writing multiple else if branches, check whether your conditions overlap. For example, if you put mark >= 40 above mark >= 80, the Excellent branch can never be reached.