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Conditional Structures 1st Conditional: If + Present Tense, Will/won't

This document discusses different types of conditional structures in English. It explains the first conditional which uses present tense to talk about possible future events. The second conditional uses past tense to imagine unreal present or impossible situations. The third conditional uses past perfect tense to talk about unreal past events. A mixed conditional combines elements of the second and third conditionals by referring to both present and past time frames.

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Henrietta Cioba
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46 views1 page

Conditional Structures 1st Conditional: If + Present Tense, Will/won't

This document discusses different types of conditional structures in English. It explains the first conditional which uses present tense to talk about possible future events. The second conditional uses past tense to imagine unreal present or impossible situations. The third conditional uses past perfect tense to talk about unreal past events. A mixed conditional combines elements of the second and third conditionals by referring to both present and past time frames.

Uploaded by

Henrietta Cioba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Conditional structures

1st conditional:
If + Present tense, will/wont
- We use the first conditional to talk about things that we think might happen in the future.
- E.g.: If I find your watch, I will tell you.
(Youve lost your watch, and Ill look for it perhaps Ill find it)
2nd conditional:

If + Past tense, would/wouldnt


- We use the second conditional to imagine unreal things in the present:
a) We use it to imagine things that we dont expect to happen
e.g.: If I found a watch in the street, Id (= I would) take it to the police.
(No-one has really lost a watch Im just imagining the situation)
b) We use it to imagine things that cant be true
e.g.: If I lived in Hawaii, Id go swimming every morning.
(I dont live in Hawaii Im just imagining it)
- In second conditionals, we can use were instead of was. This is used in a more formal style, and also in
the phrase If I were you:
e.g.: If I were you, Id see a doctor.
3rd conditional:
If + past perfect tense, would/wouldnt have (done)
- We use the third conditional to imagine unreal things in the past
- E.g.: If Id known (=had known) you were alone, I would have visited you.
(Unfortunately I didnt know, so I didnt visit you.)
- E.g.: I would have been upset if they hadnt invited me to the party.
(In fact they did invite me, so it was all right.)
Mixed conditional:
- We can mix second and third conditionals in one sentence. One part can refer to the present (second
conditional) and one part can refer to the past (third conditional)
- E.g.: If Id (= I had) remembered to buy some petrol, wed (= we would) be home by now.
(You didnt remember, so we are not home now.)

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