A conditional sentence is based on the

word ‘if’. There are always two parts to

a conditional sentence – one part
beginning with ‘if’ to describe a possible
situation, and the second part which

Conditional Sentence describes the consequence.

Ex: If it rains, we’ll get wet.

We can also invert the two parts of a

conditional sentence so that the ‘if’ part
comes second, and this is especially
common in questions.

Ex: What will you do if you miss the

train?
 •If you were given the opportunity to be
born again, what would you change in your
life?
•If you could have dinner with someone,
dead or alive, who would you choose and
why?

What would you •If you always had to tell the truth, what
kind of problems would you encounter?
do if ...? •If you could live without sleeping, how
would you spend your nights?
•If you were given a choice beween great
wisdom or great wealth, which would you
choose?
•If you could live forever on earth, as it is
now, would you? Why or why not?

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 We use the zero conditional to talk about
permanent truths, such as scientific facts, and
general habits. The structure is simple:

The Zero Examples:

Conditional If you heat water to 100°, it boils.
If you eat a lot, you put on weight.
If it doesn’t rain for a long time, the
earth gets very dry.
If we go out with friends, we normally go to a
restaurant.
If I’m tired, I go to bed early.

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 We use the first conditional to talk about a realistic situation in
the present or future. The structure of the first conditional is as
follows:

Examples:

The First If you’re free later, we can go for a walk.

If they’re hungry, I’ll make some sandwiches.

Conditional If you’re not back by 5pm, give me a ring.

If we arrive late, we must get a taxi.

Another way to make first conditional sentences is to use

‘unless’ which means ‘only if’ or ‘except’. As with ‘if’, the word
‘unless’ can never be followed by ‘will’ but only by the present
simple.
Examples:
Unless you hurry up, you won’t catch the bus.

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 We use the second conditional to talk about improbable or
impossible situations in the present or future. Here is the
structure:

Examples:
The Second If I had more time, I’d exercise more. (But I don’t have more time
so I don’t.)
Conditional If I were rich, I’d spend all my time travelling. (But I’m not rich so I
can’t.)
If she saw a snake, she’d be terrified.
A common expression used to give advice has the second
conditional structure. The expression is ‘If I were you, I’d..’,
meaning ‘in your situation, this is what I would do’.
Examples:
A: I’ve got a headache.
B: If I were you, I’d take an aspirin.

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 We use the third conditional to talk about
impossible situations, as in the second
conditional, in the past. We often use the third
conditional to describe regrets. The structure is:

The Third Examples:

Conditional If we had left earlier, we would have arrived on time.
If you hadn’t forgotten her birthday, she wouldn’t
have been upset.
If they had booked earlier, they could have
found better seats.

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 It’s possible to combine the second and third
conditional in one sentence when we want to
make a hypothesis about the past that has a
consequence in the present. In this case, the
structure is:

Mixed
Conditionals Examples:
If you’d studied harder, you’d be at a higher
level now.
We’d be lying on a beach now if we hadn’t
missed the plane.

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