o Conditionals / Wishes / Unreal Past

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112511 Listen and repeat. Then act out.
I
If you exercised more,
you would lose weight.
How about golf?

... and if I put it where I

can see it , I can't hit it .

Conditionals
• Conditional clauses have two parts: the if-clause (hypothesis) and the main clause (the result).
If you post the invitations today, they will arrive on time.
- - - - if-clause - - - - '-.. main clause /
• When the if-clause comes before the main clause, we separate the two clauses with a comma.
If you work hard, you will succeed.
We don't use a comma when the if-clause follows the main clause. You will succeed if you
work hard.
There are four types of conditionals:
- - - -Main
If-clause (hypothesis)
-
clause (result clause) Use
Type 0 if/when + present present simple something which is
general truth simple always true
or scientific
fact If/When water freezes, it turns into ice.
Type 1 if + any present form future/imperative/can/may/ something likely to
real in the (present s., present might/must/should + bare happen in the present or
present/future cont. or present perf.) inf./present simple the future
If you finish work early, we'll go for a walk.
If you have finished your coffee, we can pay the bill.
If you're ill, see a doctor! If you burn yourself, it hurts.
Type 2 If + past simple or would/could/might + bare imaginary situation
unreal in the past continuous infinitive contrary to facts in the
present or present; also used to
advice _ __ __ __ give advice
If I had money, I would travel round the world. (but I don 't have money - untrue in
the present)
If I were you, I would take an umbrella. (advice)
---- would/could/might
If + past perfect or
--+ have
Type 3 imaginary situation
unreal in the past perfect + past participle contrary to facts in the
past continuous past; also used to express
--l. regrets or
If we hadn't left so early, we would have missed the plane.

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 Conditionals / Wishes / Unreal Past o
• Conditionals are usually introduced by if or unless (= if not - normally used with type 1
conditionals). The following expressions can be used instead of 'if': providing, provided
(that) , as long as, in case, on condition (that) , but for (= without), otherwise, or else, what
if, supposing, even if, only if.
It you don 't reserve a ticket, you won 't get a seat.
Unless you reserve a ticket, you won 't get a seat. (NOT: VR!oSS yo& dOR 't FOSOtW3 ... )
You will get a seat providing/provided (that)/as long as/only if you reserve a ticket.
Only if you reserve a ticket will you get a seat. (When we begin the sentence with "only if" , we
invert the subject and the verb of the result clause.)
Reserve a ticket, otherwise/or else you won 't get a seat.
What if it rains, will you still go for a picnic with him?
Supposing it rains, will you still go for a picniC with him?
Will you still go for a picnic with him even if it rains?
But for him, I wouldn 't have been able to pass the test. it hadn't been for him - without his help)
• The future tense is not normally used with an if-clause. Unless you leave now, you will be late.
(NOT: VR/ess yO& will /oa',,{) .. .) If you pay, you will get a receipt. (NOT: Jf )'()& will pay .. .)
• After 'if' we normally use were instead of was in all persons in type 2 conditionals in formal
situations. Was is mainly used in spoken English.
If I were/was you, I wouldn 't buy such an expensive dress.
• We do not normally use will , would or should in an if-clause. However, we can use will,
would, should in conditionals to make a request or express insistence, annoyance, doubt
or uncertainty. If you will/would calm down for a minute, I will be able to help you. (request - Will
you please calm down?)
If you will make that noise, I'll send you out. (inSistence - If you insist on making that noise ... )
If you will take my iPod again without asking, I'll never lend you anything. (annoyance - If you do
that again, I'll be vel}' annoyed.)
If you should need any help, ask me. (uncertainty - I am not sure you will need help.)
• We can omit 'if'. When we omit 'if' should, were and had (past perfect) come before the subject.
If he should turn up, tell him to wait for me. -+ Should he turn up, tell him to wait for me.
It I were you, I would speak to her. -+ Were I you, I would speak to her.
It he had known, he would have told us. -+ Had he known, he would have told us.

1 A friend of yours is going to New York City. You have been there before. What
information do you give him/her? First, match the items in column A to the ones
in column B, then make sentences, as in the example.

A B
OJ]] try New York cuisine a Broadway Avenue (the centre of
lID go clothes shopping the American theatre industry)
@IJ stay at a luxury hotel b The Plaza Hotel (has a pool and
8IJ get a great view of the city a spa)
c The Empire State Building (the
[ [ [ ] enjoy thrilling rides
tallest building in New York City)
[I[J see an entertaining musical
d Macy's (the second largest
department store in the world)
e Coney Island (has a number of
amusement parks)
Katz's Deli (famous for its hot dogs)

If you want to try New York cuisine, go to Katz's Deli. It's famous for its hot dogs.

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2 Write sentences using the ideas in the pictures, as in the example.

What would you do if you .. .

1 had a private jet?
.If.l h41d. J•would. f/.'i tlr.QI.1M ..
. the. world . ................................ .
2 won a million pounds?

1 fly/around world 2 buy/mansion

3 wanted to earn some money?

4 had a week off?

3 find/part-time job 4 go/Athens

Complete the sentences for each picture using type 3 conditionals, as in the example.

not forget/set alarm -+ not wake up/late

.. I.f. B.t{t] to. ;3t;,t
.. be. Mlle.'t,v'okt{t] .up. (qte .......... .
2 not wake up/late -+ not miss/bus

3 not miss/bus -+ not go/cafe

4 not go/cafe -+ not meet/singer

5 not meet/singer -+ not get/free tickets to concert

4 Rephrase the following using unless.

If the neighbours don't stop shouting , I'll call the 4 If the buses aren 't running, we 'll get a taxi.
police.
.fZbouting, . ... .
tbc. ......................... . 5 If the athlete doesn't improve his speed , he
2 If he doesn't pay the fine, he may go to prison . won 't break the record.

3 If the traffic isn't heavy, we should arrive by 6 If the weather doesn 't act better, we will cancel
10 pm. the football game.

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5 Fill in: if or unless .

.... . ...• you take a taxi , you won 't get to the airport on time.
2 .••............. it rains heavily tomorrow, I won 't go to football practice.
3 ................ you have booked a table, you won't be able to eat here tonight.
4 ...............• I have enough time this weekend , I'll visit my grandmother.
5 ................ you are willing to study very hard , you 'll never pass the test.
6 ................ I find a cheap flight, I won 't be going abroad this summer.
7 ..•............. he sets his alarm, he won 't wake up on time in the morning .
8 ................ I go to Paris, I'll buy lots of souvenirs.

6 Underline the correct item.

A: Could we have a table for four, please?
B: Only if/Supposing you have a reservation , sir. We are very busy tonight.
2 A: Would you like to go bowling this evening , Steve?
B: I'd love to ; providing/unless I finish this report by 5 o'clock.
3 A: Unless/As long as you train hard , you won 't be ready to run the marathon next month.
B: I know; I'm trying to run a few kilometres every day.
4 A: Hurry up or else/but for we'll miss the train!
B: I'm walking as fast as I can!
5 A: But for/Only if Tom 's mistake, we would have won that game.
B: I know, but we shouldn 't blame him .
6 A: Supposing/Provided you forgot your wallet at home, what would you do?
B: I'd probably borrow some money from a classmate.

7 Look at the pictures, then use the ideas to write conditional sentences. What
type is each sentence?

Jack missed the train this

morning . He was late for work . 4 Put water in the freezer. It
.If Ja.c;k .. becomes ice .
. .tnip. JVornitJg•. . . ..
. lYo.uldn't tJa..v.e fOf•
. wark. .. . .. ...

2 Tim is still studying . He can 't 5 Greg didn't read his emails.
go to the park. He missed the meeting .

3 Grace has a headache today. 6 We must water the flowers .

She can't go to work . They die.

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8 Rewrite the sentences using inversion, as in the example.

If he had known about the meeting , he would have come.
Had . bt;. knQ"Yn f3:l.b.Ql,1t. the. ((1t;.e.t.ing,. bt;. ......... , ............................ .
2 If the plane leaves on time, I'll arrive in Paris at noon .
Should .. . ............................................•.....•.•......•.....•............. .
3 If you had left earlier, you wouldn 't have missed the bus.
Had ........................................................................................... .
4 If I were you, I wouldn 't tell anyone about it.
Were ............................•...........................•......•.......................... .
5 If you see Paul , tell him I want to see him.
Should .......................................... . ..•........••..........•................... .
6 If he had studied harder, he would have passed the test.
Had ......................................................................................... .
7 If you drink too much coffee, you won 't be able to sleep.
Should .................................................................•............•...... .
8 If I were you , I would write him a thank-you letter.
Were ...................••..........•..........•.•...................................•..•...... .

9 Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

A: My mobile phone hasn 't been working lately.

B: If you ............ ........... (be) you , I ......... w,Ql.Ilci ......... (get) a new one.
2 A: If you ............................ (not/help) me, I ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ... (never/pass) the
driving test.
B: I was glad to be of assistance.
3 A: Can I go to the cinema tonight?
B: OK. As long as you ............................ (do) your chores first.
4 A: If you ..... . ................... (go) to the chemist's, ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. (you/get)
me some vitamin tablets?
B: No problem .
5 A: Unless you ........................... (practise) regularly, you ............... (not/become) a
good golf player.
B: I know. I'll try my best.
6 A: That bag seems too heavy for the old woman .
B: If I were you, I ......... .. .............. (offer) to carry it for her.

10 Complete the following sentences with an appropriate conditional clause.

1 If I won £1 ,000 ,000 , .1WQI,1Jd.!?I,1y, mYf3.e.lf."Jxi}l;3.,b,y ...................................... .

2 If you do well in the interview, ................... .. ....... . ...........•....•...................
3 If you had caught the bus, ......•.•........................•.......••..............•...•.........
4 Should you see Jane tonight, ........•..••.......•......................•........•........•••....
5 But for him , I ................................................................................... .
6 Unless you take a taxi, .....................•.............•..•.........•.........................
7 She would have gone to work ..................................•........•........................
8 Only if you save your money, ................................................................... .

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 Conditionals / Wishes / Unreal Past 0
Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

If he hadn 't read the notice in the newspaper, George ... .would. n.e.v.t<r. .. (never/apply) for
the job.
2 Suppose you . . ........................ (lose) your house keys , what ...........••.•.........•...
(you/do)?
3 If I were you , I ...................... ... .. (accept) the invitation.
4 If Alan . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • .. (not/wake up) late, he would have arrived at work on time.
S I ............................... (go) to the gym providing I have time after work.
6 If Karen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., (not/have to) finish an essay tonight, she would come to the
cinema.
7 If you ............................... (wear) your raincoat, you wouldn 't have got wet.
8 Unless the weather •........................... (improve) , we .....•..................... (not/go)
camping this weekend .
9 Only if David ............................... (arrive) home soon , will we go to the cinema.
But for one mistake, Brian ............................... (get) all the questions correct on the test.

12 What do the if-clauses express: request, insistence, annoyance or uncertainty?

If you will wash up afterwards, I'll make lunch. ....... rc.qt.Je:3.t ... .... .
2 If you will listen to that awful music, you could at least wear headphones.
3 If you will lend me the money, I can pay you back on payday.
If he should come, tell him to wait for me.
S If the dog will keep barking , I'll let it out.
6 If you will let me use your computer, I'll be very grateful.
7 If you would stop shouting , we can try to sort this problem out.
8 If you should have any difficulty, call me.
9 If you will continue ignoring me, I will leave.
If you should solve the puzzle, I'll give you a prize.

Mixed Conditionals
We can mix type 2 and type 3 conditionals.

If-clause Main clause

If I were you, I would have invited her.
(You are not me, so you didn 't invite her.)
Type 2 Type 3
If he were a fast runner, he would have won the race.
(He is not a fast runner, so he didn 't win the race.)
- -
If she had saved her money, she would be going on holiday.
IType 3 (She didn 't save her money, so she isn 't going on holiday.)
Type 2
-

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13 Rewrite the following as mixed conditional sentences, as in the example.

She isn 't at the meeting because she wasn 't told about it.
o if. ;;he; ,hqldo .t(Q/ci .it. 0 0 0 .0.000.000.00000.00 •• 0 0 0 0 ••••••

2 They didn't eat any breakfast. They're hungry now.

3 Susan is inexperienced. She didn 't take the job.

4 He didn't train every day. He won 't win the race.

5 I didn't book seats. We can 't go to the concert tonight.

6 He isn't driving carefully. He crashed the car into a tree.

7 I don't know him very well . I didn't invite him to my party.

8 You don't pay attention . You made so many mistakes.

Implied Conditionals
Often the if-clause is implied, not stated. Conditional verbs are still used in the result clause
(main clause).
He committed the crime, otherwise he wouldn 't have been arrested. (implied conditional)
If he hadn't committed the crime, he wouldn 't have been arrested.
I would have stayed longer, but he didn't ask me to. (implied conditional)
I would have stayed longer if he had asked me to.

14 First underline the implied conditionals, then change them into if-clauses.

I missed the early train , otherwise I wouldn 't have been late .
.I.f.l mdn:"t.lJ1ipsed tn,e. tmiIJ •.I."Yp.L/ ldlJ'ot. .. 0.000 ••••••••••••• 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 The soup would have been delicious, but you added so much salt.

3 I don 't know anything about cars, otherwise I would have changed the tyre myself.

4 I would have lent her the money, but she didn't ask me to.

5 They would be at the reception , but they weren 't invited.

6 I would have gone to the cinema with you , but I had to study.

7 The film had a very original plot, otherwise the director wouldn 't have won an Oscar.

8 The play would have been a success, but the lead actor got ill .

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