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Conditionals Unit 10

The document discusses the three main types of conditional sentences in English: 1) Zero conditional refers to general truths and advice using present tense in both clauses. 2) First conditional refers to possible future events using present tense and future tense. 3) Second conditional refers to unlikely events using past tense in the if-clause and "would" in the main clause. It expresses imaginary or contrary to fact situations. The third conditional, using past perfect in the if-clause and "would have" in the main clause, refers to situations in the past that were contrary to reality. The differences between conditionals involve their reference to probability and time rather than just tense.

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110 views13 pages

Conditionals Unit 10

The document discusses the three main types of conditional sentences in English: 1) Zero conditional refers to general truths and advice using present tense in both clauses. 2) First conditional refers to possible future events using present tense and future tense. 3) Second conditional refers to unlikely events using past tense in the if-clause and "would" in the main clause. It expresses imaginary or contrary to fact situations. The third conditional, using past perfect in the if-clause and "would have" in the main clause, refers to situations in the past that were contrary to reality. The differences between conditionals involve their reference to probability and time rather than just tense.

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Queens English
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CONDITIONALS

ZERO CONDITIONAL

If you don’t water flowers, they die.


If you have a headache, stop watching TV.

If clause: Main clause:


PRESENT SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE
or IMPERATIVE

With zero conditional


we express a general truth or we give advice.
FIRST CONDITIONAL

If the weather is nice, we will go for a walk.


If you don’t apologize, she will never trust you again.

If clause: Main clause:


PRESENT SIMPLE FUTURE SIMPLE

The first conditional refers to the present and future.

It expresses a possible condition and


its probable result in the future.
SECOND CONDITIONAL

Jack wants to buy a house but he can’t do this


because he doesn’t have any money.

If I had a lot of
money,
I would buy a big
house.
SECOND CONDITIONAL

Susan wants to phone Paul but she can’t do


this because she doesn’t know his number.

If I knew his number,


I would phone him.
SECOND CONDITIONAL

If I had a lot of money, I would buy a big house.


If I knew his number, I would phone him.

if-clause: main clause:


PAST TENSE SIMPLE PRESENT CONDITIONAL
would + infinitive

The second conditional refers to the present and future.


It expresses an unreal situation and its probable result.
The situation or condition is improbable, impossible,
imaginary, or contrary to known facts.
FIRST v. SECOND CONDITIONAL

If John runs fast, he will win the race.


This is still possible to happen.

If John ran fast, he would win the race.

This is unlikely to happen because John doesn’t run fast.

THE DIFFERENCE: FIRST and SECOND CONDITIONAL


Both conditionals refer to the present and future.
The difference is about probability, not time.
First conditional: real and possible situations
Second conditional: unlikely to happen
THIRD CONDITIONAL

Jack wanted to buy a house last year but he


couldn’t do that because he didn’t have any money.

If I had had a lot of money,


I would have bought
a big house.
THIRD CONDITIONAL

Yesterday, Susan wanted to phone Paul but she


couldn’t do that because she didn’t know his number.

If I had known his


number,
I would have phoned him.
THIRD CONDITIONAL

If I had had a lot of money, I would have bought a big house.


If I had known his number, I would have phoned him.

if-clause: main clause:


PAST PERFECT SIMPLE PAST CONDITIONAL
would + have + past participle

The third conditional refers to the past and


it is not based on facts. It expresses the a situation
which is contrary to reality in the past.
SECOND v. THIRD CONDITIONAL

If I saw a car accident, I would call an ambulance.

But I don’t see an accident now. This is unlikely to happen.

If I had seen a car accident, I would have called an ambulance.

But I didn’t see an accident yesterday.

This is contrary to the fact in the past.


THE DIFFERENCE: SECOND and THIRD CONDITIONAL
The difference is about time.
Second conditional: refers to the present and future
Third conditional: refers to the past situations
ALL CONDITIONALS

0. If he drives carefully, he avoids the accident.


General time reference.

1. If he drives carefully, he will avoid the accident tomorrow.


This is still possible to happen.

2. If he drove carefully, he would avoid the accident today.


But he doesn’t drive carefully. This is unlikely to happen.

3. If he had driven carefully, he would have avoided the accident


yesterday.

But he didn’t drive carefully, so he didn’t avoid the accident.


THE END

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