IF Function

The IF function tests a condition and returns one value if it's true and another if it's false - the foundation of conditional logic in Excel.

Syntax

=IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)

=IF(B2>=50, "Pass", "Fail")
' Returns "Pass" if the score in B2 is 50 or more, otherwise "Fail"

Multiple IF functions can be nested to handle more than two outcomes.

=IF(B2>=90, "A", IF(B2>=75, "B", IF(B2>=50, "C", "D")))

AND and OR let a single IF statement check multiple conditions at once.

=IF(AND(B2>=50, C2="Present"), "Eligible", "Not Eligible")

For more than three or four outcomes, IFS is usually cleaner and easier to read than deeply nested IF statements.