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Conditional0

Conditional sentences express hypothetical situations and their consequences, consisting of a subordinate clause (condition) and a main clause (outcome). There are four main types of conditionals: zero, first, second, and third, each indicating different levels of likelihood. Mixed conditionals combine elements of the second and third conditionals to convey more complex meanings regarding unreal conditions and outcomes in the past and present.

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4 views

Conditional0

Conditional sentences express hypothetical situations and their consequences, consisting of a subordinate clause (condition) and a main clause (outcome). There are four main types of conditionals: zero, first, second, and third, each indicating different levels of likelihood. Mixed conditionals combine elements of the second and third conditionals to convey more complex meanings regarding unreal conditions and outcomes in the past and present.

Uploaded by

akramtahir200
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

A. WHAT IS A CONDITIONAL SENTENCE?


 A conditional sentence refers to a hypothetical situation and its possible consequence.
 Conditional sentences always contain a subordinate clause that expresses a condition (e.g., “If it snows
tomorrow”) and a main clause indicating the outcome of this condition (e.g., “school will be canceled”).
 There are four main types of conditionals in English, each of which expresses a specific level of likelihood or
possibility:
 0 – The zero conditional
 1 – The first conditional
 2 – The second conditional
 3 – The third conditional

1. ZERO CONDITIONAL
We use the zero conditional to talk about permanent truths, such as scientific facts, and general habits. The present
tense signifies that these actions are both possible and typical.

Form: If + simple present, simple present / simple present + if + simple present


Example 1: If it rains, I take an umbrella with me to work.

Example 2: If I wake up early, I always read in bed.

2. FIRST CONDITIONAL

The first conditional uses the present tense in the if clause and the future tense in the main clause. This form is used to
talk about something that is a probable future result of a condition.

Form: If + simple present, will + Simple future / Simple future + if + simple present
Example 1: If I see you later, I will say hello.

Example 2: If I don’t see you later, I won’t be able to say hello.

3. SECOND CONDITIONAL

The second conditional uses the past tense in the if clause and a modal and base verb in the result clause. This form is
used to talk about a hypothetical situation that cannot happen or is unlikely to happen.

Form: If + simple past, modal + base verb / modal + base verb + if + simple past
Example 1: If I had a million dollars, I would buy a large vacation home.

Example 2: If I were you, I wouldn’t wait to study for the test.

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Note: The condition and the result are not taking place in the past, but the past tense is used to indicate the unreal
nature of the situation.

4. THIRD CONDITIONAL
The third conditional uses the past perfect in the if clause and a modal and present perfect in the result clause. This form
is used to talk about a hypothetical situation in the past that did not happen – typically with an outcome that did not
happen and is perhaps the opposite of what did happen. Most of the time, it is used to regret about the past action.

Form: If + past perfect, conditional perfect / Conditional perfect + if + past perfect

Example 1: If it had rained last week, the plants would not have died.

Example 2: If I had finished college, I would have become a doctor.

B. MIXED CONDITIONAL
Mixed conditionals combine the second and third conditionals to present both an unreal condition either in the past or the
present and an unreal result either in the past or the present.

The first form presents an unreal condition in the past that changes an unreal outcome in the present (the past changes
the present).

Form 1: If + past perfect, modal + base


Example 1: If I had finished college, I would be a doctor now.

Example 2: If it had rained last week, the plants would be alive now.

The second form presents an unreal condition in the present that changes an unreal outcome in the past (the present
changes the past).

Form 2: If + simple past, would/could + present perfect


Example 1: If I spoke louder, you would have heard me before.

Example 2: If you were nicer, you could have had more friends when you were younger.

We use mixed conditionals to make an already difficult portion of the English language even more so. On a more
serious note, we use mixed Conditionals to express more nuanced meanings than we could with regular
conditional sentences.
There are two types of mixed Conditionals, and in both types, you mix the Second and the Third Conditional.
You use the “if” part of one and the “main” part of the other to form two new types of conditional sentences.
1. Past condition/present result – This is where we take the “if” part of the Third Conditional and the
“main” part of the Second Conditional. So, if-clause – Past Perfect Tense; Main clause – would and the
main verb.
This mixed Conditional expresses that there was a condition that could have been fulfilled in the past and that it
bears a result in the present.
 If I hadn’t missed my bus, I would be in France now.
 If I had slept longer, I wouldn’t be tired now.
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 If she had tried harder, she would be more successful now.

2. Present condition/ past result – The other mixed conditional is even more difficult than the last. We take
the “main” part of the Third Conditional and the “if” part of the Second Conditional. We use Past Simple
Tense in the if-clause and would + have + past participle in the main clause.
We use this mixed Conditional to express a present condition, i.e. something that hasn’t changed from the past, to
describe why a certain past result didn’t occur.
 If I had more money, I would have gone to France.
 If I slept longer, I would not have been too tired to go to class.
 If she tried harder, she would have been more successful.

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