Conditional tenses are used to speculate about

what could happen, what might have happened, and

what we wish would happen. In English, most
sentences using the conditional contain the word if.
Many conditional forms in English are used in
sentences that include verbs in one of the past
tenses. This usage is referred to as "the unreal
past" because we use a past tense but we are not
actually referring to something that happened in the
past. There are five main ways of constructing
conditional sentences in English. In all cases, these
sentences are made up of an if clause and a main
clause. In many negative conditional sentences,
there is an equivalent sentence construction using
"unless" instead of "if".

THE ZERO CONDITIONAL

The zero conditional is used for when the time being
referred to is now or always and the situation is real
and possible. The zero conditional is often used to
refer to general truths. The tense in both parts of the
sentence is the simple present. In zero conditional
sentences, the word "if" can usually be replaced by
the word "when" without changing the meaning.

IF clause Main clause

IF + Simple present Simple present

If this thing happens that thing happens.

If it rains the grass gets wet.
TYPE 1 CONDITIONAL
The type 1 conditional is used to refer to the present
or future where the situation is real. The type 1
conditional refers to a possible condition and its
probable result. In these sentences the if clause is in
the simple present, and the main clause is in the
simple future.

IF clause Main clause

IF + Simple present Simple future

If this thing happens that thing will happen.

If you don't hurry you will miss the train.
If it rains today you will get wet.

TYPE 2 CONDITIONAL
The type 2 conditional is used to refer to a time that
is now or any time, and a situation that is unreal.
These sentences are not based on fact. The type 2
conditional is used to refer to a hypothetical
condition and its probable result. In type 2
conditional sentences, the if clause uses the simple
past, and the main clause uses the present
conditional.

If clause Main clause

If + simple past Present Conditional or
Present Continuous Conditional
If this thing happened that thing would happen.
(but I'm not sure this thing
will happen) OR that thing
would be happening.
If you went to bed earlier you would not be so
tired.
If it rained you would get wet.

If I spoke Italian I would be working in Italy.

TYPE 3 CONDITIONAL

The type 3 conditional is used to refer to a time that

is in the past, and a situation that is contrary to
reality. The facts they are based on are the opposite
of what is expressed. The type 3 conditional is used
to refer to an unreal past condition and its probable
past result. In type 3 conditional sentences, the if
clause uses the past perfect, and the main clause
uses the perfect conditional.

If clause Main clause

If + past perfect perfect conditional or perfect
continuous conditional

If this thing had happened that thing would have

happened. (but neither
of those things really
happened) OR that
thing would have been
happening
If you had studied harder you would have passed
the exam.
If it had rained you would have gotten
wet.
If I had accepted that promotion I would have
been working in
Milan.
MIXED TYPE CONDITIONAL
The mixed type conditional is used to refer to a time
that is in the past, and a situation that is ongoing
into the present. The facts they are based on are the
opposite of what is expressed. The mixed type
conditional is used to refer to an unreal past
condition and its probable result in the present. In
mixed type conditional sentences, the if clause uses
the past perfect, and the main clause uses the
present conditional.

If clause Main clause

If + past perfect or simple past present conditional

or perfect conditional
If this thing had happened that thing would
happen. (but this
thing didn't happen
so that thing isn't
happening)
If I had worked harder at school I would have a
better job now.
If we had looked at the map we wouldn't be
lost.
If you weren't afraid of spiders you would have
picked it up and
put it outside.
ZERO CONDITIONAL

FORM
In zero conditional sentences, the tense in both parts of the sentence is the simple present.

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + simple present simple present

If this thing happens that thing happens.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange the
pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning is
identical. In zero conditional sentences, you can replace "if" with "when", because both express
general truths. The meaning will be unchanged.

EXAMPLES
 If you heat ice, it melts.
 Ice melts if you heat it.

 When you heat ice, it melts.

 Ice melts when you heat it.

 If it rains, the grass gets wet.

 The grass gets wet if it rains.

 When it rains, the grass gets wet.

 The grass gets wet when it rains.

FUNCTION
The zero conditional is used to make statements about the real world, and often refers to general
truths, such as scientific facts. In these sentences, the time is now or always and the situation
is real and possible.

EXAMPLES
 If you freeze water, it becomes a solid.
 Plants die if they don't get enough water.

 If my husband has a cold, I usually catch it.

 If public transport is efficient, people stop using their cars.

 If you mix red and blue, you get purple.

The zero conditional is also often used to give instructions, using the imperative in the main clause.
EXAMPLES
 If Bill phones, tell him to meet me at the cinema.
 Ask Pete if you're not sure what to do.

 If you want to come, call me before 5:00.

 Meet me here if we get separated.

TYPE 1 CONDITIONAL

FORM
In a Type 1 conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the simple present, and the tense in the main
clause is the simple future.

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + simple present simple future

If this thing happens that thing will happen.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange the
pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning is
identical.

EXAMPLES
 If it rains, you will get wet.
 You will get wet if it rains.

 If Sally is late again I will be mad.

 I will be mad if Sally is late again.

 If you don't hurry, you will miss the bus.

 You will miss the bus if you don't hurry.

FUNCTION
The type 1 conditional refers to a possible condition and its probable result. These sentences are based
on facts, and they are used to make statements about the real world, and about particular situations.
We often use such sentences to give warnings. In type 1 conditional sentences, the time is the present
or future and the situation is real.

EXAMPLES
 If I have time, I'll finish that letter.
 What will you do if you miss the plane?

 Nobody will notice if you make a mistake.

 If you drop that glass, it will break.

 If you don't drop the gun, I'll shoot!

  If you don't leave, I'll call the police.

In type 1 conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause instead of the future tense
to express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.

EXAMPLES
 If you drop that glass, it might break.
 I may finish that letter if I have time.

 If he calls you, you should go.

 If you buy my school supplies for me, I will be able to go to the park.

TYPE 2 CONDITIONAL

FORM
In a Type 2 conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the simple past, and the tense in the
main clause is the present conditional or the present continuous conditional.

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + simple past present conditional or present continuous conditional

If this thing happened that thing would happen.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange the
pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning is
identical.

EXAMPLES
 If it rained, you would get wet.
 You would get wet if it rained.

 If you went to bed earlier you wouldn't be so tired.

 You wouldn't be so tired if you went to bed earlier.

 If she fell, she would hurt herself.

 She would hurt herself if she fell.

FUNCTION
The type 2 conditional refers to an unlikely or hypothetical condition and its probable result. These
sentences are not based on the actual situation. In type 2 conditional sentences, the time is now or
any time and the situation is hypothetical.

EXAMPLES
 If the weather wasn't so bad, we would go to the park. (But the weather is bad so we can't go.)
 If I was the Queen of England, I would give everyone a chicken. (But I am not the Queen.)
  If you really loved me, you would buy me a diamond ring.

 If I knew where she lived, I would go and see her.

It is correct, and very common, to say "if I were" instead of "if I was" (subjunctive mood).

EXAMPLES
 If I were taller, I would buy this dress.
 If I were 20, I would travel the world.

 If I were you, I would give up smoking.

 If I were a plant, I would love the rain.

In type 2 conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause instead of "would" to
express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.

EXAMPLES
 We might buy a larger house if we had more money
 He could go to the concert if you gave him your ticket.

 If he called me, I couldn't hear.

THE PRESENT CONDITIONAL TENSE

The present conditional of any verb is composed of two elements:
would + the infinitive of the main verb, without "to"

Subject + would + infinitive

He would go

They would stay

TO GO: PRESENT CONDITIONAL

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Interrog

I would go I wouldn't go Would I go? Wouldn

You would go You wouldn't go Would you go? Wouldn

He would go He wouldn't go Would he go? Wouldn

She would go She wouldn't go Would she go? Wouldn

We would go We wouldn't go Would we go? Wouldn

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Interrog

They would go They wouldn't go Would they go? Wouldn

TYPE 3 CONDITIONAL

FORM
In a Type 3 conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the
main clause is the perfect conditional or the perfect continuous conditional.

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + past perfect perfect conditional or perfect continuous conditional

If this thing had happened that thing would have happened.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange the
pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning is
identical.

EXAMPLES
 If it had rained, you would have gotten wet.
 You would have gotten wet if it had rained.

 You would have passed your exam if you had worked harder.

 If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam.

 I would have believed you if you hadn't lied to me before.

 If you hadn't lied to me before, I would have believed you.

FUNCTION
The type 3 conditional refers to an impossible condition in the past and its probable result in the past.
These sentences are truly hypothetical and unreal, because it is now too late for the condition or its
result to exist. There is always some implication of regret with type 3 conditional sentences. The reality
is the opposite of, or contrary to, what the sentence expresses. In type 3 conditional sentences, the
time is the past and the situation is hypothetical.
EXAMPLES
 If I had worked harder I would have passed the exam. (But I didn't work hard, and I didn't pass
the exam.)
 If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake. (But I didn't know and I didn't bake
a cake.)

 I would have been happy if you had called me on my birthday. (But you didn't call me and I am
not happy.)

In type 3 conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause instead of "would" to
express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.

EXAMPLES
 If I had worked harder I might have passed the exam.
 You could have been on time if you had caught the bus.

 If he called you, you could go.

 If you bought my school supplies for me, I might be able to go to the park.

CONTRACTIONS
Both would and had can be contracted to 'd, which can be confusing if you are not confident with type 3
conditional sentences. Remember 2 rules:
1. would never appears in the if-clause so if 'd appears in the if clause, it must be abbreviating had.
2. had never appears before have so if 'd appears on a pronoun just before have, it must be
abbreviating would.

EXAMPLES
 If I'd known you were in hospital, I'd have visited you.
 If I had known you were in hospital, I would have visited you.

 I'd have bought you a present if I'd known it was your birthday.

 I would have bought you a present if I had known it was your birthday.

 If you'd given me your e-mail, I'd have written to you.

 If you had given me your e-mail, I would have written to you.

THE PERFECT CONDITIONAL TENSE

The perfect conditional of any verb is composed of three elements:
would + have + past participle
Have followed by the past participle is used in other constructions as well. it is called the "perfect infinitive".

Subject + would + have + past participle

He would have gone

They would have stayed

TO GO: PERFECT CONDITIONAL

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I would have gone I wouldn't have gone Would I have gone?

You would have gone You wouldn't have gone Would you have gone?

He would have gone He wouldn't have gone Would he have gone?

She would have gone She wouldn't have gone Would she have gone?

We would have gone We wouldn't have gone Would we have gone?

They would have gone They wouldn't have gone Would they have gone?

MIXED CONDITIONAL

It is possible for the two parts of a conditional sentence to refer to different times, and the resulting
sentence is a "mixed conditional" sentence. There are two types of mixed conditional sentence.

PRESENT RESULT OF A PAST CONDITION

FORM
In this type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the
main clause is the present conditional.

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + past perfect present conditional

If this thing had happened that thing would happen.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange the
pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning is
identical.
EXAMPLES
 If I had worked harder at school, I would have a better job now.
 I would have a better job now if I had worked harder at school.

 If we had looked at the map we wouldn't be lost.

 We wouldn't be lost if we had looked at the map.

 If you had caught that plane you would be dead now.

 You would be dead now if you had caught that plane.

FUNCTION
This type of mixed conditional refers to an unreal past condition and its probable result in the present.
These sentences express a situation which is contrary to reality both in the past and in the present. In
these mixed conditional sentences, the time is the past in the "if" clause and in the presentin the main
clause.

EXAMPLES
 If I had studied I would have my driving license. (but I didn't study and now I don't have my
license)
 I would be a millionaire now if I had taken that job. (but I didn't take the job and I'm not a
millionaire)

 If you had spent all your money, you wouldn't buy this jacket. (but you didn't spend all your
money and now you can buy this jacket)

In these mixed conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause instead of would to
express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.

EXAMPLES
 If you had crashed the car, you might be in trouble.
 I could be a millionaire now if I had invested in ABC Plumbing.

 If I had learned to ski, I might be on the slopes right now.

PAST RESULT OF PRESENT OR CONTINUING CONDITION

FORM
In this second type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the simple past, and the tense
in the main clause is the perfect conditional.

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + simple past perfect conditional

If this thing happened that thing would have happened.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange the
pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning is
identical.
EXAMPLES
 If I wasn't afraid of spiders, I would have picked it up.
 I would have picked it up if I wasn't afraid of spiders.

 If we didn't trust him we would have sacked him months ago.

 We would have sacked him months ago if we didn't trust him.

 If I wasn't in the middle of another meeting, I would have been happy to help you.

 I would have been happy to help you if I wasn't in the middle of another meeting.

FUNCTION
These mixed conditional sentences refer to an unreal present situation and its probable (but unreal)
past result. In these mixed conditional sentences, the time in the if clause is now or always and the
time in the main clause is before now. For example, "If I wasn't afraid of spiders" is contrary to present
reality. I am afraid of spiders. "I would have picked it up" is contrary to past reality. I didn't pick it up.

EXAMPLES
 If she wasn't afraid of flying she wouldn't have travelled by boat.
 I'd have been able to translate the letter if my Italian was better.

 If I was a good cook, I'd have invited them to lunch.

 If the elephant wasn't in love with the mouse, she'd have trodden on him by now.

Zero conditional: “Real condition”

This conditional deals with “real” conditions. We don’t call it “real” because it has already
happened: we call it real because it *always* happens this way. We use this to describe a
condition with an absolutely predictable result—in other words, to state a fact.

If you stick your fingers in the fire, they get burned. (fact—happens every time)

When the situation is completely likely, use present tense in both clauses.

First conditional: “Unreal, but likely”

This conditional deals with “unreal, but likely” situations in the present or future. We call it
“unreal” because situation we are describing hasn’t happened yet, and “likely” because we can
easily imagine it happening. We use the first conditional to describe these situations.

For example, a 3 year old child is reaching toward the fire. She hasn’t put her fingers into the
fire yet, but we know that small children don’t understand fire, so we can easily imagine her
touching it. We would say:

If you stick your fingers into the fire, you will burn yourself. (Same idea as above, but
rather than stating a general fact, you are talking about a specific incident.)

If you stick your fingers into the fire, you will be crying all day.
Notice that the verb “stick” is in the present tense. Using the present tense verb shows two
things:

1. it hasn’t happened yet (it’s unreal)

2. you believe it could happen (it’s likely)

Also notice that the main clause verbs (will burn, will be crying) can be in simple form or -ing
form. It depends on whether you want to emphasize a single moment in time (simple form) or
the an extended period of time (-ing form). In either case, use will + verb in the main clause.

When the situation is unreal, but likely, use present tense in the conditional clause and will +
verb in the main clause.

Second conditional: “Unreal and unlikely”

This conditional deals with situations in the present and future that are both unreal and
unlikely. The situation we are describing hasn’t happened yet, and we really can’t imagine it
happening very easily, except in a freak accident or a moment of great stupidity.

For example, a 25 year old is joking about reaching into the fire. He hasn’t put his fingers into
the fire yet, and we don’t think he’s serious about doing it, but we want to warn him about the
consequences just in case. We would say:

If you stuck your fingers into the fire, you would need medical attention.

If you stuck your fingers into the fire, you would be screaming in pain all day.

Notice that the verb “stuck” is in the past tense. Using the past tense verb shows two things:

1. it hasn’t happened yet (it’s unreal)

2. you don’t really believe it will happen (it’s unlikely)

Also notice that the main clause verbs (would need, would be screaming) can be in simple
form or -ing form. It depends on whether you want to emphasize a single moment in time
(simple form) or the an extended period of time (-ing form). In either case, use would + verb in
the main clause.

When the situation is unreal and unlikely, use past tense in the conditional clause and would +
verb in the main clause.

Third conditional: “Unreal condition”

This conditional deals with situations in the *past* that are unreal—they didn’t happen. We can
still imagine what the consequences would have been.

For example, the 25 year old was joking about reaching into the fire, but he didn’t actually do it.
We would say:

If you had stuck your hand into the fire, you would have needed medical attention.

If you had stuck your hand into the fire, you would have been screaming in pain.
In the next two examples, the 25 year old actually did stick his hand into the fire. The “unreal”
situation is the opposite:

If you hadn’t stuck your hand into the fire, you wouldn’t have spent the evening in the
emergency room.

If you hadn’t stuck your hand into the fire, you wouldn’t have blistered it so badly.

When the situation is unreal and in the past, use past perfect (had + -ed) in the conditional
clause and would have + verb in the main clause.

Mixing time references

In the examples of the third conditional (unreal and in the past), both the conditional clause
and the main clause refer to past time: If you had done this in the past, you would have
experienced this in the past.

It is also possible to mix time references—to talk about a condition in the past and the
consequences in the present. For example:

If you had stuck your fingers into the fire last night, you would be in a lot of pain right
now.

If you hadn’t stuck your fingers into the fire last night, you wouldn’t be wearing
bandages today.