Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 47 views

    Conditionals: There Are Four Main Kinds of Conditionals

    Uploaded by

    Mahnoor Khan
    There are four types of conditionals in English: 1) Zero conditional uses present simple verbs to describe results that always happen (e.g. if you touch fire, you get burned) 2) First conditional uses present simple and future simple to describe possible future events (e.g. if it rains, I won't go to the park) 3) Second conditional uses past simple and "would" to describe unlikely or impossible present/future situations (e.g. if I had his number, I would call him) 4) Third conditional uses past perfect and "would have" to describe hypothetical past situations and their results (e.g. if she had studied, she would have passed the

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Conditionals: There Are Four Main Kinds of Conditionals

    Uploaded by

    Mahnoor Khan
    47 views3 pages
    There are four types of conditionals in English: 1) Zero conditional uses present simple verbs to describe results that always happen (e.g. if you touch fire, you get burned) 2) First conditional uses present simple and future simple to describe possible future events (e.g. if it rains, I won't go to the park) 3) Second conditional uses past simple and "would" to describe unlikely or impossible present/future situations (e.g. if I had his number, I would call him) 4) Third conditional uses past perfect and "would have" to describe hypothetical past situations and their results (e.g. if she had studied, she would have passed the

    Original Description:

    Conditional sentences

    Original Title

    Conditionals

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    There are four types of conditionals in English: 1) Zero conditional uses present simple verbs to describe results that always happen (e.g. if you touch fire, you get burned) 2) First conditional uses present simple and future simple to describe possible future events (e.g. if it rains, I won't go to the park) 3) Second conditional uses past simple and "would" to describe unlikely or impossible present/future situations (e.g. if I had his number, I would call him) 4) Third conditional uses past perfect and "would have" to describe hypothetical past situations and their results (e.g. if she had studied, she would have passed the

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    47 views3 pages

    Conditionals: There Are Four Main Kinds of Conditionals

    Uploaded by

    Mahnoor Khan
    There are four types of conditionals in English: 1) Zero conditional uses present simple verbs to describe results that always happen (e.g. if you touch fire, you get burned) 2) First conditional uses present simple and future simple to describe possible future events (e.g. if it rains, I won't go to the park) 3) Second conditional uses past simple and "would" to describe unlikely or impossible present/future situations (e.g. if I had his number, I would call him) 4) Third conditional uses past perfect and "would have" to describe hypothetical past situations and their results (e.g. if she had studied, she would have passed the

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Conditionals

    What are conditionals in English grammar? Sometimes we call them 'if clauses'. They
    describe the result of something that might happen (in the present or future) or
    might have happened but didn't (in the past) . They are made using different English
    verb tenses.

    There are four main kinds of conditionals:

    The Zero Conditional


    We can make a zero conditional sentence with two present simple verbs (one in
    the 'if clause' and one in the 'main clause'):

     If + present simple, .... present simple.

    This conditional is used when the result will always happen. So, if water reaches 100
    degrees, it always boils. It's a fact. I'm talking in general, not about one particular
    situation. The result of the 'if clause' is always the main clause.
    The 'if' in this conditional can usually be replaced by 'when' without changing the
    meaning.

    For example: If water reaches 100 degrees, it boils. (It is always true, there can't be
    a different result sometimes). If I eat peanuts, I am sick. (This is true only for me,
    maybe, not for everyone, but it's still true that I'm sick every time I eat peanuts)

    Here are some more examples:


     If people eat too much, they get fat.
     If you touch a fire, you get burned.
     People die if they don't eat.
     You get water if you mix hydrogen and oxygen.
     Snakes bite if they are scared
     If babies are hungry, they cry

    The First Conditional


    The first conditional has the present simple after 'if', then the future simple in
    the other clause:

     if + present simple, ... will + infinitive

    It's used to talk about things which might happen in the future. Of course, we can't
    know what will happen in the future, but this describes possible things, which could
    easily come true.

     If it rains, I won't go to the park.


     If I study today, I'll go to the party tonight.
     If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes.
     She'll be late if the train is delayed.
     She'll miss the bus if she doesn't leave soon.
     If I see her, I'll tell her.

    First vs. Zero Conditional:


    The first conditional describes a particular situation, whereas the zero
    conditionaldescribes what happens in general.

    For example (zero conditional): if you sit in the sun, you get burned (here I'm talking
    about every time a person sits in the sun - the burning is a natural consequence of the
    sitting)

    But (first conditional): if you sit in the sun, you'll get burned (here I'm talking about
    what will happen today, another day might be different)

    First vs. Second Conditional:


    The first conditional describes things that I think are likely to happen in the future,
    whereas the second conditional talks about things that I don't think will really
    happen. It's subjective; it depends on my point of view.

    For example (first conditional): If she studies harder, she'll pass the exam (I think it's
    possible she will study harder and so she'll pass)

    But (second conditional): If she studied harder, she would pass the exam (I think
    that she won't study harder, or it's very unlikely, and so she won't pass)

    The Second Conditional


    The second conditional uses the past simple after if, then 'would' and the infinitive:

     if + past simple, ...would + infinitive

    (We can use 'were' instead of 'was' with 'I' and 'he/she/it'. This is mostly done in
    formal writing).

    It has two uses.

    First, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be
    true. Maybe I'm imagining some dream for example.

     If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.(I probably won't win the lottery)
     If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.
     She would travel all over the world if she were rich.
     She would pass the exam if she ever studied.(She never studies, so this won't
    happen)
    Second, we can use it to talk about something in the present which is impossible,
    because it's not true. Is that clear? Have a look at the examples:

     If I had his number, I would call him. (I don't have his number now, so it's
    impossible for me to call him).
     If I were you, I wouldn't go out with that man.

    How is this different from the first conditional?


    This kind of conditional sentence is different from the first conditional because this is
    a lot more unlikely.

    For example (second conditional): If I had enough money I would buy a house with
    twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool (I'm probably not going to have this much
    money, it's just a dream, not very real)

    But (first conditional): If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes (It's much
    more likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes)

    The Third Conditional


    We make the third conditional by using the past perfect after 'if' and then 'would
    have' and the past participle in the second part of the sentence:

     if + past perfect, ...would + have + past participle

    It talks about the past. It's used to describe a situation that didn't happen, and to
    imagine the result of this situation.

     If she had studied, she would have passed the exam (but, really we know she
    didn't study and so she didn't pass)
     If I hadn't eaten so much, I wouldn't have felt sick (but I did eat a lot, and so I
    did feel sick).
     If we had taken a taxi, we wouldn't have missed the plane
     She wouldn't have been tired if she had gone to bed earlier
     She would have become a teacher if she had gone to university
     He would have been on time for the interview if he had left the house at nine

    You might also like