ZERO CONDITIONAL

ZERO CONDITIONAL

talk about habits or things people explaining natural phenomena and processes:
generally do: “Water boils when/if you heat it to 100°C .
“If I'm really tired I take a nap in the
afternoon”
ZERO CONDITIONAL

talking about usual consequences / results:

explaining how things work:
“If you download all the media they send to your
“It unlocks when/if you press this button.”
whatsapp, you run out of space very fast.”
ZERO CONDITIONAL

The use:
we use it to talk about things that are generally true
(present simple sentence with “if”)

“If / when you do X, usually Y happens.”

The form:

CONDITION RESULT
IF + SIMPLE PRESENT VERB IN SIMPLE
PRESENT
If you press this button, it opens.
If they have extra money, they spend it on sweets
FIRST CONDITIONAL
FIRST CONDITIONAL

discuss “plan B”:

Possible plans in the future:
“If it rains we'll take a taxi .”
“If she gets this job, she'll move to London .”
FIRST CONDITIONAL

give a warning: motivate:

“If you don't change your attitude, you'll get fired.” “If you do well in your performance assessment, you’ll get a
bonus.”
FIRST CONDITIONAL

negotiate: Talk about future possible consequences:

“If you wash the dishes, I will clean the “If they apply new restrictions, more business will close.”
bathroom .”
FIRST CONDITIONAL

The use:
we use it to talk about possible results
of present or future actions:
“If you do X, it's very likely Y will happen”

The form:

CONDITION RESULT Sometimes we use other modal verbs,

IF + PRESENT SIMPLE WILL + VERB not only will, in conditional sentences:
If you don't know, you should ask her.
If you want to go, I can buy the tickets.
If it rains, we might stay in.
If you exercise, you will loose weight.
If I get a raise, I will buy a new car.
SECOND CONDITIONAL
SECOND CONDITIONAL

daydream:
complain and make excuses:
“If I won the lottery, I would move o a castle
“If they paid me more, I would work harder
in London.”
SECOND CONDITIONAL

talk about hypothetical situations: give advice:

“If they cut down on taxes, there would be more start-ups.” “If I were you, I wouldn't do it .”
SECOND CONDITIONAL

The use:
we use it to talk about impossible
or very unlikely situations and their consequences
now and in the future:
“If you did X (although it's not possible), Y would happen.”

The form:

CONDITION CONSEQUENCE
IF + SIMPLE PAST WOULD + VERB
If I had more money, I would go on holiday.
If he wasn't sick, he could play with us.
THIRD CONDITIONAL
THIRD CONDITIONAL

Regrets:
Analyzing mistakes:
““If I hadn't partied so much, I would have
“If we had read the instructions right away, we
studied more and
wouldn’t have made so many mistakes with the crib”
gotten better grades .”
THIRD CONDITIONAL

Past actions and how the consequences in the past could have been different
“If we had left earlier we wouldn’t have been stuck in a traffic jam for three hours”
THIRD CONDITIONAL

The use:
we use it to talk about impossible
changes that we would like to make to the past:
“If you HAD DONE X (although it's not possible), Y would have
happened.”

The form:

CONDITION CONSEQUENCE
IF + PAST PERFECT WOULD + HAVE+ VERB
If I had paid more attention, I wouldn’t have had to revise the notes
after the meeting.
If he hadn’t been sick, she may have come with us last Saturday
night.
MIXED CONDITIONAL
MIXED CONDITIONAL

Regrets (present results of past actions):

Analyzing mistakes in the past and their present
““If I had passed the exams in December, I
consequences:
wouldn’t be studying now .”
“If we had read the instructions right away, we
wouldn’t still be working on this”
MIXED CONDITIONAL

Past actions and how the consequences in the present could be different
“If we had left earlier we would be home already”
MIXED CONDITIONAL

The use:
we use it to talk about impossible
changes that we would like to make to the past and their present
consequences:
“If you HAD DONE X (although it's not possible), Y would happen /
be happening now.”

The form:

CONSEQUENCE
CONDITION
WOULD + SIMPLE PRESENT / PRESENT
IF + PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
If I had listened to her, I wouldn’t be in the middle of this mess now.
If he hadn’t been sick all weekend, she may be here with us now.
SOME GENERAL TIPS
SOME GENERAL TIPS

The CONDITION clause:

The SIMPLE PAST FORM in the “if” clause, refers to THE PRESENT – FUTURE TIME.
This is because it is actually the SUBJUNCTIVE FORM which, in English, is exactly the
same as simple past. The subjunctive expresses a HYPOTHETICAL OR IMAGINARY
SITUATION

If she wasn’t so busy, she could practice more sports. (She is very busy)

I would help you if I had some extra time (I don’t have extra time)

If we received more resources, we would improve the system. ( We are not expecting to
receive more resources)
SOME GENERAL TIPS

The CONSEQUENCE clause:

WILL (1st cond) and WOULD (2nd, 3rd and mixed cond) express that the
consequence is certain. If you want to express less certainty, you can use WILL
“MAY, MIGHT, COULD” WOULD
CAN
COULD
MAY MIGHT

If it hadn’t rained we MAY have had an outdoors party

She might go to the concert if she tests negative for COVID. (I don’t think it’s very
likely as she is not feeling well)

If I didn’t have to work, I could be in Mallorca now.

SOME GENERAL TIPS

The CONSEQUENCE clause:

If you want to refer to A HYPOTHETICAL CONSEQUENCE IN THE PAST, use the

PRESENT PERFECT FORM of the verb.
NEVER USE PAST PERFECT (HAD DONE) OR SIMPLE PAST (DID) AFTER MODAL
VERBS (WOULD, MAY, SHOULD, MUST, CAN, COULD, MIGHT)

If it hadn’t rained we COULD had an outdoors party

If it hadn’t rained we COULD have had an outdoors party.

She would had asked for a raise if her boss had been more accessible.
She WOULD HAVE ASKED for a raise if her boss had been more accessible
SOME GENERAL TIPS

Alternatives to “IF”:
SOME GENERAL TIPS

Alternatives to “IF”: