First Conditional: real possibility

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do? IF condition present simple If it rains result WILL + base verb I will stay at home.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?): IF condition present simple If If If If If I see Mary Tara is free tomorrow they do not pass their exam it rains tomorrow it rains tomorrow IF result WILL + base verb I will tell her. he will invite her. their teacher will be sad. will you stay at home? what will you do? condition present simple if if I see her. she is free tomorrow.

result WILL + base verb I will tell Mary He will invite Tara

Their teacher will be sad Will you stay at home What will you do

if if if

they do not pass their exam. it rains tomorrow? it rains tomorrow?

Sometimes, we use shall, can, or may instead of will, for example: If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.

Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream

The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible. IF condition past simple If I won the lottery result WOULD + base verb I would buy a car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples: IF condition past simple If If If I married Mary Ram became rich it snowed next July result WOULD + base verb I would be happy. she would marry him. would you be surprised?

If

it snowed next July

what would you do? IF condition past simple if if if if I married Mary. he became rich. it snowed next July? it snowed next July?

result WOULD + base verb I would be happy She would marry Ram Would you be surprised What would you do

Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would, for example: If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.

Third Conditional: no possibility

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true. Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-( condition Past Perfect If I had won the lottery result WOULD HAVE + Past Participle I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now. Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.

Look at some more examples in the tables below: IF condition past perfect If If If If If I had seen Mary Tara had been free yesterday they had not passed their exam it had rained yesterday it had rained yesterday result WOULD HAVE + past participle I would have told her. I would have invited her. their teacher would have been sad. would you have stayed at home? what would you have done? IF condition past perfect if if if if if I had seen her. she had been free yesterday. they had not passed their exam. it had rained yesterday? it had rained yesterday?

result WOULD HAVE + past participle I would have told Mary I would have invited Tara Their teacher would have been sad Would you have stayed at home What would you have done

Zero Conditional: certainty

We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact. Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not. IF condition present simple If you heat ice result present simple it melts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result. We can also use when instead of if, for example: When I get up late I miss my bus. Look at some more examples in the tables below: IF condition present simple If If If If I miss the 8 o'clock bus I am late for work people don't eat you heat ice IF result present simple I am late for work. my boss gets angry. they get hungry. does it melt? condition present simple if if if if I miss the 8 o'clock bus. I am late for work. they don't eat. you heat it?

result present simple I am late for work My boss gets angry People get hungry Does ice melt

Conditionals: Summary
Here is a chart to help you to visualize the basic English conditionals. Do not take the 50% and 10% figures too literally. They are just to help you. probability 100% conditional zero example If you heat ice, it melts. time any

conditional 50% 10% 0% first conditional second conditional third conditional If it rains, I will stay at home. If I won the lottery, I would buy a car. If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a car.

time future future past