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Conditionals

probability conditional example time

100% 0 conditional If you heat ice, it melts. any time

50% 1rst. conditional If it rains, I will stay at home. future

10% 2nd. conditional If I won the lottery, I would buy a car. future

0% 3rd. conditional If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a car. past

0. The Zero conditional is used for things that are always true as long as the condition is met.

present simple present simple

If you heat water to 100 degrees celsius, it boils.

If I drink coffee, I get a headache.

I. First Conditional: A real possibility in the future

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A First Conditional sentence is one connecting two future actions, where one must take place before the second
is possible. Take a student who wants to go to university but hasn't got the results of their exams yet. They cannot
go to university until they have received their results. In the case of a good student who is expected to get good
grades, then there is a good possibility of achieving the marks required to get to university, so the following
sentence could be used:

IF Condition Result

present simple WILL + base verb

If she gets good grades, she will go to university.

We can use other modal verbs in the result part of the sentence:

IF Condition Result Possibility

she gets good

If she will go to university. If the condition is met, then she definitely will go
grades,

If he gets good grades, he may go to university. He is not sure about going to university.

she gets good she should go to The speaker is expressing his or her opinion, giving
If
grades, university. advice.

If he gets good grades, he can go to university. This means that it is possible.

she gets good

If she could go to university. This means that it is possible, but not that likely.
grades,

If he gets good grades, he might go to university. This means that it is possible, but not that likely.

We can also use different present forms in the condition part of the sentence:

IF Condition Reason for tense Result

present simple an action in the future

If I see her, I'll ask her about it.

present progressive an unfinished present action

If they are still working, I'll go home.

present progressive a future arrangement

If they are going, I'll stay at home.

present perfect a finished action related to now

you have finished your I'll clear away the

If
meal, plates.
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WILL + base verb making an agreement WILL + base verb

I will let you have

If you will work late today,
Friday off.

expressing displeasure because someone insists on

WILL + base verb WILL + base verb
doing something

If you will drive too fast, the police will stop you.

II. Second Conditional: Imaginary Present or Unlikely Future

The Second Conditional can be used used to talk about imaginary present situations, where we are imagining
something different from what is really the case. We can also use it to talk about things in the future that are
unlikely to happen, as the condition is unlikely to be met. We use the past tense in the condition part and would
for the result.

IF Condition Time Result Possibility

past simple present WOULD + base verb impossible

If I had the time, I would learn Italian. I don't have the time, so I'm not going to learn Italian.

past simple future WOULD + base verb unlikely

I won the I would travel around the There's a very small chance of winning the lottery, so
If
lottery world. the trip is unlikely

We can use other modal verbs in the past tense in the result part of the sentence:

IF Condition Result Certainty

past simple WOULD + base verb

I had the Although unlikely to happen, the speaker is sure that they would
If I would learn Italian.
time, do it given the opportunity.

I had more
If I might learn Spanish. Although unlikely to happen, it is only a possibility anyway.
time,

I had more I should learn some Although unlikely to happen, the speaker is saying that it would be
If
time, more about IT. a good idea, but is not committed to it.

I had more
If I could learn Hindi. Although unlikely to happen, it is only a possibility anyway.
time

With the verb to be, there are two forms that can be used with I, he, she & it:
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IF Condition Result

I, he, she, it Were

If I were you, I'd marry her.

I, he, she, it Was

If I was you, I'd marry her.

III. Third Conditional: Imaginary Past

The third conditional is used when we are talking about the past and imagining something different from what
actually happened:

Condition Result What actually happened

Past Perfect WOULD HAVE + Past Participle

If I had known, I would have helped. I didn't know and didn't help.

IF Condition Result Certainty

WOULD HAVE+ past

past perfect
participle

Although this didn't happen, the speaker is sure about

If I had known, I would have helped.
the result.

Although this didn't happen, the result is only a

If I had known, I could have helped.
possibility.

Although this didn't happen, the result is only a

If I had known, I might have helped.
possibility.

Although this didn't happen, it is only a good

If you had known, you should have helped.
suggestion or piece of advice.
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MIXED CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

It is possible for the two parts of a conditional sentence to refer to different times, and the resulting sentence is a
"mixed conditional" sentence. There are two types of mixed conditional sentence:

A. Present result of past condition:

1. Form
The tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the main clause is the present conditional:

'IF' CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

If + past perfect Present conditional
If I had worked harder at school I would have a better job now.
If we had looked at the map we wouldn't be lost.

2. Function
In these sentences, the time is past in the 'if' clause, and present in the main clause. They refer to an unreal
past condition and its probable result in the present. They express a situation which is contrary to reality both
in the past and in the present:
'If I had worked harder at school' is contrary to past fact - I didn't work hard at school, and 'I would have a better
job now' is contrary to present fact - I haven't got a good job.
If we had looked at the map (we didn't), we wouldn't be lost (we are lost).

Examples:

• I would be a millionaire now if I had taken that job.

• If you'd caught that plane you'd be dead now.
• If you hadn't spent all your money on CDs, you wouldn't be broke.

B. Past result of present or continuing condition.

1. Form
The tense in the If-clause is the simple past, and the tense in the main clause is the perfect conditional:

'IF' CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

If + simple past Perfect conditional
If I wasn't afraid of spiders I would have picked it up.
If we didn't trust him we would have sacked him months ago.

2. Function
In these sentences the time in the If-clause is now or always, and the time in the main clause is before now.
They refer to an unreal present situation and its probable (but unreal) past result:

• 'If I wasn't afraid of spiders' is contrary to present reality - I am afraid of spiders, and 'I would have picked
it up' is contrary to past reality - I didn't pick it up.

• 'If we didn't trust him' is contrary to present reality - we do trust him, and 'we would have sacked him' is
contrary to past reality - we haven't sacked him.
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Examples:

a. If she wasn't afraid of flying she wouldn't have travelled by boat.

b. I'd have been able to translate the letter if my Italian was better.
c. If I was a good cook, I'd have invited them to lunch.
d. If the elephant wasn't in love with the mouse, she'd have trodden on him by now.

Present result of a past condition

Here we use a past perfect in the if-clause and would + infinitive in the main clause.

 If I had accepted that job I would be a millionaire now.

 If I had married him I would live happy now.

In these sentences the time is past in the If-clause and present in the main clause. They refer to an unreal past
condition and its probable result in the present.

Past result of a present or continuing condition

Here we use a simple past in the If clause and would have + past participle in the main clause.

 If I didn't love him I wouldn't have married him. (= I love him and that is why I married him.)
 If I were invited I would have come. (= I was not invited. Therefore I did not go)

They refer to an unreal present situation and its probable (but unreal) past result.

 If I were a good cook, I would have invited them to lunch. (= I am not a good cook so I can't invite them
to lunch.)
 If I knew English, I would have got a better job.

I ) Third Second Mixed Conditionals

If + Past Perfect, + Would + Base Form
1/ For imaginary present actions or situations that are not possible because the necessary conditions were not
met in the past. eg: If you had taken the course, you would know about it. (The conditions were not met because
the person did not do the course and as a result does not know about it now.)

II ) Second Third Mixed Conditionals

If + Past Simple, + Would have + Past Participle
1/ To avoid the illogicality of saying 'If I had been you', which means that I was not you on that occasion, but could
be in the future, which is, of course, impossible.

eg:If I were you, I wouldn't have done that.

2/ Where the first part is still true:

eg:If I could speak Spanish, I wouldn't have needed to get the letter translated.

This means that I couldn't speak Spanish then when I needed the translator and still can't.
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Would and Would

EG: I would be very grateful if you would be so kind as to send me the forms as soon as possible.

Mixed Conditional Patterns

PAST PRESENT
Examples:

• If I had won the lottery, I would be rich.

BUT I DIDN'T WIN THE LOTTERY IN THE PAST AND I AM NOT RICH NOW.
• If I had taken French in high school, I would have more job opportunities.
BUT I DIDN'T TAKE FRENCH IN HIGH SCHOOL AND I DON'T HAVE MANY JOB OPPORTUNITIES.
• If she had been born in the United States, she wouldn't need a visa to work here.
BUT SHE WASN'T BORN IN THE UNITED STATES AND SHE DOES NEED A VISA NOW TO WORK HERE.
PAST FUTURE
Examples:

• If she had signed up for the ski trip last week, she would be joining us tomorrow.
BUT SHE DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THE SKI TRIP LAST WEEK AND SHE ISN'T GOING TO JOIN US TOMORROW.
• If Mark had gotten the job instead of Joe, he would be moving to Shanghai.
BUT MARK DIDN'T GET THE JOB AND MARK IS NOT GOING TO MOVE TO SHANGHAI.
• If Darren hadn't wasted his Christmas bonus gambling in Las Vegas, he would go to Mexico with us
next month.
BUT DARREN WASTED HIS CHRISTMAS BONUS GAMBLING IN LAS VEGAS AND HE WON'T GO TO MEXICO WITH US NEXT MONTH.
PRESENT PAST
Examples:

• If I were rich, I would have bought that Ferrari we saw yesterday.

BUT I AM NOT CURRENTLY RICH AND THAT IS WHY I DIDN'T BUY THE FERRARI YESTERDAY.
• If Sam spoke Russian, he would have translated the letter for you.
BUT SAM DOESN'T SPEAK RUSSIAN AND THAT IS WHY HE DIDN'T TRANSLATE THE LETTER.
• If I didn't have to work so much, I would have gone to the party last night.
BUT I HAVE TO WORK A LOT AND THAT IS WHY I DIDN'T GO TO THE PARTY LAST NIGHT.
PRESENT FUTURE
Examples:

• If I didn't have so much vacation time, I wouldn't go with you on the cruise to Alaska next week.
BUT I DO HAVE A LOT OF VACATION TIME AND I WILL GO ON THE TRIP NEXT WEEK.
• If Cindy were more creative, the company would send her to New York to work on the new advertising
campaign.
BUT CINDY IS NOT CREATIVE AND THE COMPANY WON'T SEND HER TO NEW YORK TO WORK ON THE NEW CAMPAIGN.
• If Dan weren't so nice, he wouldn't be tutoring you in math tonight.
BUT DAN IS NICE AND HE IS GOING TO TUTOR YOU TONIGHT.

FUTURE PAST
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Examples:

• If I weren't going on my business trip next week, I would have accepted that new assignment at work.

BUT I AM GOING TO GO ON A BUSINESS TRIP NEXT WEEK, AND THAT IS WHY I DIDN'T ACCEPT THAT NEW ASSIGNMENT AT WORK.

• If my parents weren't coming this weekend, I would have planned a nice trip just for the two of us to
Napa Valley.
BUT MY PARENTS ARE GOING TO COME THIS WEEKEND, AND THAT IS WHY I DIDN'T PLAN A TRIP FOR THE TWO OF US TO NAPA
VALLEY.
• If Donna weren't making us a big dinner tonight, I would have suggested that we go to that nice
Italian restaurant.
BUT SHE IS GOING TO MAKE US A BIG DINNER TONIGHT, AND THAT IS WHY I DIDN'T SUGGEST THAT WE GO TO THAT NICE ITALIAN
RESTAURANT.

FUTURE PRESENT
Examples:

• If I were going to that concert tonight, I would be very excited.

BUT I AM NOT GOING TO GO TO THAT CONCERT TONIGHT AND THAT IS WHY I AM NOT EXCITED.
• If Sandy were giving a speech tomorrow, she would be very nervous.
BUT SANDY IS NOT GOING TO GIVE A SPEECH TOMORROW AND THAT IS WHY SHE IN NOT NERVOUS.
• If Seb didn't come with us to the desert, everyone would be very disappointed.
BUT SEB WILL COME WITH US TO THE DESERT AND THAT IS WHY EVERYONE IS SO HAPPY.

Mixed Conditionals
Unreal conditionals (type II + III)

Past --> Present

If I had taken an aspirin, I wouldn't have a headache now.

Past --> Future

If I had known that you are going to come by tomorrow, I would be in then.

Present --> Past

If she had enough money, she could have done this trip to Hawaii.

Present --> Future

If I were you, I would be spending my vacation in Seattle.

Future --> Past

If I weren't flying to Detroit, I would have planned a trip to Vancouver.

Future --> Present

If I were taking this exam next week, I would be high-strung.