title: Python raises SyntaxError on "=" in if statement
body: <p>I'm writing a program that takes user input and compares it to different command strings. When I attempt to run the program, I get a <code>SyntaxError</code> about the line <code>if method = 'addition':</code> and IDLE highlights the <code>=</code> in red.</p>
  
  <pre><code>num1 = input('Enter your first value: ')
  num2 = input('Enter your second value: ')
  method = input('Which method will you be using? ')
  
  if method = 'addition':
      solveFor = num1 + num2
  elif method = 'subtraction':
      solveFor = num1 - num2
  else:
      print("Please enter 'addition' or 'subtraction'")
  </code></pre>