CONDITIONALS

COURSE

EXPLANATIONS
 Present Real Conditionals

A conditional is made up of two parts: the if-clause and the main clause. We can put either one first
and it doesn't change the meaning. We usually use a comma if we put the if-clause first.

 If it rains, we'll go to the cinema.

‘If it rains’ is the if-clause and ‘we'll go to the cinema’ is the main clause. We can also say ‘we'll go to
the cinema if it rains’ and the meaning is exactly the same.

Although in grammar books we often learn about the zero, first, second, and third conditionals, there
are also other ways to use conditionals. Here I'll explain some of the other possibilities.

Real Conditionals

Real conditionals are for things that are either true or likely to be true. Grammar books often talk
about how we use them for general truths (this is the zero conditional) and to talk about likely things
in the future (this is the first conditional). But we can also use them in other ways. The tenses in real
conditionals follow the normal rules for tense and modal use.

Present Real Conditionals

1: Present real conditionals can be used for general truths. This is the classic zero conditional. The
result, which is in the main clause, always happens if the condition, which is in the if-clause, happens.
This is very common with mathematical or scientific facts. We generally use the present simple in
both clauses and this makes sense - as in other kinds of sentences, we use the present simple to talk
about things that are generally true.

 If you mix oil and water, the oil floats.

 If you add two and two, you get four.

2: Present real conditionals can be used for habits in the present or general habits. We also often use
the present simple in both clauses when we're talking about habits. Whenever the thing in the if-clause
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happens, then the thing in the main clause follows. Again, it makes sense to use the present simple as
we often use it in all kinds of sentences for present habits.

 If my husband cooks dinner, I clean up. (This means that every time my husband cooks
dinner, I clean up.)
 If John goes to London, he visits his sister. (This means that every time John goes to London,
he visits his sister.)

We can also use other verb tenses for general truths and for habits. We can use the present continuous,
the present perfect or the present perfect continuous with their normal meanings in either clause and
we don't need to use the same tense in both clauses. This is most common with habits.

 If I'm travelling, I phone my children every day.

 If she hasn't had her coffee, she's grumpy.

But we can also use different present tenses even when we're talking about general truths, though it is
much more common to use the present simple in both clauses.

 If this paint has dried properly, it's waterproof. (We use ‘has dried’ to show that the drying
needs to happen before the paint is waterproof.)

We can also use modal verbs in either clause, especially ‘can’ and ‘may’.

 If I move around, I can concentrate better. (This means every time I move around, I can
concentrate better.)

If we want to tell people how they should behave or give advice, we can use an imperative in the main
clause.

 If you discover a fire, call the fire brigade immediately.

 If you have a headache, take some Paracetamol.

We can also use ‘should’ to give advice.

 If you have a headache, you should take some Paracetamol.

3: Present real conditionals can be used to talk about specific situations in the present. These
situations are not general truths or habits, but a specific thing with a result either in the present or in
the future. It's common to use a modal verb in the main clause in this case. And we can use this kind
of conditional when we don't know if the thing are true or not true.

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  If it's raining outside now, we can call a cab. (I don't know if it's raining or not raining.)
 If John and Amanda are on their way here now, you should start making dinner. (Again, I
don't know if they're on their way here or not.)

We can use ‘will + infinitive’ or ‘will + be + verb-ing’ when we're making a guess about the present
in this kind of conditional. This use of will isn't talking about the future. Rather it's about using will to
talk about something we're not certain about in the present. (See the Terrific Tenses course for more
about this use of ‘will’.)

 If Lucy's at home, she'll be reading. (This means that if Lucy's at home, I believe she is
reading now but I'm not certain.)

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 Past Real Conditionals

1: We can use past real conditionals for past habits and past general situations to talk about things that
used to be true In the past, but are not true anymore. Usually, we use two past simple tenses in this
case.

 If we didn't want to cook, we went to a restaurant. (Now we don't do that.)

 If there was too much rain, the roads flooded and we didn't go to school. (This is something
that was true in the past, not true now.)

We can also use the past continuous tense to show that something started before and finished after
another action in the past. And we can use the past perfect to emphasise that one thing happened
before and was finished before another thing in the past.

 If my father was reading, we weren't allowed to disturb him. (The reading started before the
possibility of the disturbing.)
 If I had worked late, I still got up for my early lecture. (This emphasises that the working late
was finished, before getting up.)

We can also use ‘used to’ and ‘would’ for past habits.

 If I had free time, I used to go snowboarding.

 If I had free time, I would read a novel in the little cafe near my house.

We can use past modals in either clause.

 If I could, I went snowboarding.

 If I had free time, I could go snowboarding.

2: We can use past real conditionals for specific situations in the past. Usually, the result is also in the
past and we usually don't know if the thing in the if-clause happened, or didn't happen.

If the storm hit Florida, it caused a lot of damage. (I don't know if the storm hit Florida, or not, but if
it did, I think it definitely caused damage.)

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It's very common to use a modal verb with have and the past participle in the main clause in this kind
of conditional. It makes the result in the main clause less certain.

 If she left early, she will have gone home. (That's my opinion.)
 If she left early, she could have gone home. (It's possible.)
 If she left early, she might have gone home. (Maybe.)
 If she left early, she must have gone home. (I'm quite certain.)
 If she left early, she can't have gone home. (I'm quite certain that she didn't go home.)

In all of these examples, I don't know if she left early or not, but if she did, then in the main clause, I
give you my opinion about what happened next.

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 Future Real Conditionals

When we talk about the future we often use real conditionals to say that we think the condition is
possible or likely. So usually we use if and the present simple and then will and the infinitive. This is
the classic first conditional. Remember that in this case even though we use the present tense it has a
future meaning. This is similar to using the present to talk about the future in other subordinate
clauses of time like after when or as soon as. (You can have a look at the information about the
present simple to learn more about this.)

 If it rains I'll stay at home. (This means that I think it's possible or likely that it will rain and if
it does rain then I will definitely stay at home.)

We don't always need to use the present simple and will here though. Here are some other tenses we
can use.

First, we can use the present continuous in the if-clause.

 If it's raining at 10 a.m. I'll stay at home.

We use the present continuous because in this conditional we imagine that the rain started before 10
a.m. and will finish after 10 a.m. At 10 a.m. the action of raining will be happening. This is a normal
use of a continuous tense and of course this is a real conditional so the tenses have their normal
meanings. Again, just like in subordinate clauses of time the present continuous has a future meaning
here.

Two, we can use be going to in the main clause. This gives a feeling of we intend to stay at home.

 If it rains I'm going to stay at home.

Three, we can use an imperative in the main clause to tell somebody what they should do if the
condition happens.

 If it rains take your umbrella.

 If it rains don't forget to close the windows.

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Four, we can use modal verbs in the main clause. So if I think that the condition is probably going to
happen but I'm not so certain that the result will happen even if the condition does then I can use a
different modal instead of will in the main clause.

 If it rains we might / may / can / should / could / must stay at home. (In this case we don't use
would in the main clause.)

Five, we can use can, may, and must with their normal meanings in the if-clause.

 If I must I'll come at 10 a.m.

 If I can I'll come at 10 a.m.
 If I may I'll come at 10 a.m. (This one means if I'm allowed to I'll come at 10 a.m.)

Six, we can make the condition less certain by using should or happen to or both in the if clause.
Should is extremely formal and sounds very old fashioned but it's good to know about it anyway. So
these examples mean that I am not very sure that it will rain.

 If it should rain I'll stay at home.

 If it happens to rain I'll stay at home.
 If it should happen to rain I'll stay at home.

Seven, we can make a first conditional very, very, very, very formal by dropping if and using should
with inversion. Inversion is when we change the position of two of the words in the sentence.

 Should it rain I will stay at home. (Extremely formal.)

Eight, we can use will or won't in the if-clause when we're using them with their modal meanings of
willingness, refusal, or insistence. Otherwise we don't use a future tense in the if-clause.

 If he won't help I won't either. (This means if he refuses to help.)

 If you'll arrive early I'll be very grateful. (This means if you are willing to arrive early.)
 If you will smoke so much of course you'll get a sore throat. (This means if you insist on
smoking so much.)

Nine, we can use ‘will have + past participle’ (the future perfect tense) in the main clause to talk about
something that we think will happen before another point in the future.

 If we don't hurry, the film will have started. (We mean the film will have started before we
get to the cinema)
 If we miss this train our flight will have left. (We mean by the time we arrive at the airport
our flight will have left.)

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 Mixed Real Conditionals

1: We can use mixed real conditionals to talk about specific past situations with a present result. So,
we can use a past tense, or the present perfect, in the if-clause to say that we’re not certain that the
action in the if-clause happened, but if it did, this is the result in the present.

• If John has seen my message, he is on his way here now. (I don’t know if John has seen my
message or not, but if he has, he is on his way here now.)

It’s very common to use a modal verb in the main clause here, especially ‘will + infinitive’, or ‘will +
be + verb-ing’, to make a guess about the present. We don’t use ‘would’ in this case.

• If Lucy went home, she’ll be there now.

• If she caught the plane, she should be arriving now.
• If the parcel arrived, the children will be happy at the moment.
• If he missed the train, he could still be at the station.
• If he didn’t call Lucy, she might not know about the meeting.

2: We can use mixed real conditionals to talk about specific past situations, but this time with future
results. So, again we can use a past tense, or the present perfect, in the if-clause and ‘will’ in the main
clause to say that we’re not certain that the action in the if-clause happened, but if it did, this will be
the result in the future.

• If Julie went home early, in the past, she’ll be there when the delivery arrives later. (The
result is in the future.)
• If Amanda has been working today, she’ll be tired tonight.

It’s also very common here to use a modal verb in the main clause.

• If Julie went home early, she might be there later.

• If John went to school today, he could be at home at 5 p.m.
• If she’s done the shopping, she can make us a lovely meal tonight.

3: We can use mixed real conditionals to talk about specific present situations with future results. We
can use a present tense in the if-clause, and a future tense in the main clause, if we want to say that a
situation happening now will have an effect on the future. Even though this looks the same as the first
conditional, the present tense here in the if-clause is talking about the present (In the first conditional,

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the present tense in the if-clause is talking about the future.) We usually use a time word to make that
clear.

• If David’s studying now, he’ll go to the gym later.

• If Lucy’s at work at the moment, she won’t leave until at least 7 p.m.

Again, we can choose to use a modal verb, apart from will, in the main clause.

• If it’s raining outside now, we might not go to the park later.

4: We can use mixed real conditionals for specific present or future situations that lead to an idea
about the past. It’s possible to have an if-clause referring to the present, or the future, and a main
clause referring to the past, especially with ‘must have’, and ‘can’t have’, for deductions.

• If she has a hundred percent on the exam, she must have studied very hard. (The ‘has a
hundred percent’ is present and the ‘must have studied’ is me making a guess, or a deduction
about something in the past.)

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 Present Unreal Conditionals

Unreal Conditionals and Backshifting

We use unreal conditionals when we are talking about something that is not real, either something that
is impossible, or something that is imaginary or very unlikely. We move the tenses back one step,
sometimes called backshifting, to show this unreality. So, when we're talking about the present, we
use the past tense or past modals, and when we are talking about the past, we use the past perfect or a
modal with have and past participle. We also use the past tense to talk about future unreal things
which is a little bit less logical. The second and third conditionals are examples of unreal conditionals.

Present Unreal Conditionals

We can use unreal conditionals to talk about impossible things in the present. We can be talking about
one specific thing that is impossible or not true or about things in general. We use the past simple in
the if-clause, and we use ‘would + infinitive’ in the main clause. This is one of the uses of the classic
second conditional.

 If I had enough money, I would buy a car, (but I don't have enough money).
 If I knew her phone number, I would call her, (but I don't know her phone number).

We can use other past modals in the main clause like should, could, might, or ought to.

 If I knew her number, I could call her. (Of course I don't know her number.)
 If I knew her number, I might call her.

In this case, we can't use modals that don't have a past form. So ‘must’ for example, doesn't have a
past form. In this case, we need to use ‘would have to’.

 If I was still at school, I would have to wear a uniform. (NOT: if I was still at school, I must
wear a uniform.)

We can often use ‘were’ instead of ‘was’ with ‘he / she / it’ in the if-clause in formal English, and
some people still think that ‘was’ is not correct. So if you're having a formal conversation or writing
something for an exam, you should use ‘were’.

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  If he were President, he would raise taxes.
 If it were summer, we could go to the beach.
 If she were a student, she would live at the university.

However, in everyday speech, it’s more common to use ‘was’ with ‘he / she / it’. The only place that
we almost always use ‘were’ is in the fixed expression ‘if I were you’.

 If I were you, I wouldn't eat all that chocolate.

When the verb in the if-clause is ‘be’, we can again use ‘were’ instead of ‘was’, drop ‘if’, and invert
were and the subject. This makes the conditional very formal.

 Were I rich, I wouldn't do this job.

 Were you the President, would you raise taxes?

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 Past Unreal Conditionals

Let's talk now about past unreal conditionals. This is the classic third conditional. It's usually used to
talk about imaginary things in the past, things that didn't really happen. So it's often used to talk about
how things we regret could have been different. We use the past perfect in the if-clause which is
backshifted one step from the real tense. The real tense would be past simple and we use would have
and past participle in the main clause which is again back shifted one step from a past modal. It's one
step further back in the past than a past modal.

 If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam (but I didn't study hard and so I didn't
pass).

Here, just a word about pronunciation. Usually in speech, we shorten all these words. We shorten
‘had’. We shorten ‘would’ and we shorten ‘have’. So normally we'd say, ‘if I'd studied harder, I'd've
passed the exam’.

First, we can use continuous forms in both clauses or either clause.

 If I hadn't been working, I would have gone to the party.

 If I hadn't been working, I would have been dancing at midnight.
 If I had caught the plane, I would have been lying on the beach yesterday.

Two, we can use different modals in the main clause. Usually we use might or could.

 If I hadn't been working, I could have gone to the party.

 If I had woken up earlier, I might have caught the plane.

Three, we can use questions in the main clause.

 If her car hadn't broken down, what time would she have arrived?

Four, we can drop if and invert had to make the conditional very formal.

 Had you got up earlier, we wouldn't have missed the plane.

Five, we can also use the structure ‘be to’ in unreal past conditionals. It's not very common and it
makes the conditional less certain and very formal. We use were for all subjects and it's followed by
have and past participle.

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  If she were to have thought about it a bit more, she wouldn't have done that.

Again, we can make it even more formal by dropping if and inverting were.

 Were she to have thought about it a bit more, she wouldn't have done that.

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 Future Unreal Conditionals

Future unreal conditionals are another use of the classic second conditional. Just like present unreal
conditionals, we can use them to talk about something imaginary or impossible, and we can also use
them to talk about something unlikely, but this time, the if-clause is talking about the future, not the
present. We use the same structure as we do for present unreal conditionals: ‘if + past simple’, ‘would
+ infinitive’.

 If I had enough time next week, I would come and see you (but I won't have enough time).
 If she passed the exam, she could become a doctor (but I don't think she's going to pass the
exam).

In the same way as present unreal conditionals, we can use ‘were’ instead of ‘was’ when we have the
verb ‘be’ in the if-clause.

 If it were July next month, and not December, we could go camping.

As well as its use for impossible or unlikely things in the future, we also often use this kind of
conditional to be polite when we're making a request. This is true even if the condition is quite likely
to happen and is similar to the way that we use the past tense to be more polite in requests that are not
conditionals.

 If you came early and helped me get ready that would be very helpful.
 If you were able to drive me to the airport, I would be very grateful.

Here are some of the different verbs and tenses we can use for unreal future conditionals.

One, again, we can use other past modals in the main clause in the same way as with impossible
things in the present.

 If I had enough time next week, I could come and see you.
 If I had enough time next week, I might come and see you.

Two, in the same way that we can use will in the if-clause of real future conditionals when will has a
modal meaning rather than a future meaning, we can also use would in the if-clause of unreal future
conditionals when would is used with a meaning of willingness or refusal or insistence. Again, this is
common in polite requests.

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If you would help me, I'd be very grateful. (This means if you were willing to help me).

Three, in the same way as with real future conditionals, we can use should or happen to or both in the
if-clause to make the condition, to make the thing in the if-clause even more unlikely. Again, this is
quite formal.

 If they should agree to come, we would be delighted.

 If she happened to read the newspaper, she would see your article.
 If she should happen to read the newspaper, she would see your article.

Even more formally, and this is super formal, we can drop if and invert should.

 Should they agree to come, we would be delighted.

Four, we can use the structure ‘be to + infinitive’ in future unreal conditionals. It is also formal, and
again, it makes the speaker sound less certain, even less certain than the usual use of past simple. We
use ‘were’ for all subjects here because it's formal.

 If she were to become a doctor, she would work in Canada. (I'm very uncertain here that she
is going to become a doctor.)

Again, we can make this even more formal by dropping if and using inversion with were.

 Were she to become a doctor, she would work in Canada.

Five, we can use a question in the main clause.

 If you were on holiday, where would you go?

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 Mixed Unreal Conditionals

There are two main sorts of mixed unreal conditionals. The first is when the if-clause is in the present,
and there is a past result. We can use the past simple in the if-clause like the second conditional, and
we use ‘would have + past participle’ in the main clause like the third conditional to talk about
something that's generally true, so it's true in the present, but it had a result in the past.

 If she wasn't French, she wouldn't have moved to Paris. (She is French in real life, and she did
move to Paris, really.)
 If he wasn't so lazy, he wouldn't have failed the exam. (I'm saying that he is generally lazy,
but there was one specific incident in the past where he did fail the exam. He was lazy then,
and he's lazy now.)
 If I was rich, I would have been able to buy a new car.
 If I could speak Spanish, I would have moved to Mexico.

Two, another kind of mixed unreal conditional is when we have a past unreal situation in the if-clause,
something that's not true, and the result or the imaginary result is in the present. We can use the past
perfect in the if-clause like the third conditional, and we use would and infinitive in the main clause
like the second conditional.

 If I had gone to bed earlier last night, I wouldn't be so tired now.

 If she hadn't spent all her money, she would be rich now.

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