Conditionals

Conditional Sentences are also known as Conditional Clauses or If Clauses. They are used to express
that the action in the main clause (without if) can only take place if a certain condition (in the clause
with if) is fulfilled.

What are conditional sentences?

• Conditional (situation or circumstance) sentences connect two things: a condition and a result.
• Something happens as a result of something else, or happens only if a certain condition is met,
takes place, is fulfilled.
• The condition and the result can be real or imagined. They can also refer to the present, past or
future.
 If the if clause is first, there is a comma between the clauses - There is no comma if the main clause
is first
• There are three types of conditional sentences.
 Conditional type 1 real
 Conditional type 2 unreal
 Conditional type 3 past
• Additionally, there is what is known as the zero conditional.

CONDITIONAL SENTENCE TYPE 1

→ It is possible and also very likely that the condition will be fulfilled.
Use
Conditional Sentences Type 1 refer to the future. An action in the future will only happen if a certain
condition is fulfilled by that time. We don't know for sure whether the condition actually will be
fulfilled or not, but the conditions seems rather realistic – so we think it is likely to happen.

Usage If clause Main clause

possible condition + probable result present simple will + base verb

Form: if + Simple Present, will/shall + bare infinitive Examples:
If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.
I will send her an invitation if I find her address.

Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.

Forms: If + not + simple present, will/shall + bare infinitive.

Example: If you are late again, I will not (won’t) wait for you.
If I don’t see him this afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.

Note: You can use when instead of if, but the meaning is different.

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 Examples: If I go to the supermarket, I will buy some bread.
When I go to the supermarket, I will buy some bread.

Exercises

Some friends are planning a party. Everybody wants to party, but nobody's really keen on preparing
and organising the party. So everybody comes up with a few conditions, just to make sure that the
others will also do something.

Complete the Conditional Sentences Type 1.

prepare mix buy look bring give be

organize help play clean hoover peel do
decorate let cut make move tidy

1. If Caroline and Sue ___prepare_ ___________________ the salad, Phil ___will

organize______________________the house.

2. If Sue ____peels_______________________the onions for the sd, Caroline ___will

cut_______________________the mushrooms.

3. Jane __will decorate_________________the sitting room if Aaron and Tim

____move__________________the furniture.

4. If Bob ________tidies_________________up the kitchen, Anita ____will clean______________________the

toilet.
5. Elaine _____will bring_____________________the drinks if somebody
__helps_______________________her carry the bottles.

6. If Alan and Rebecca ______buy_________________the food, Mary and Conor ___will

make_______________ the sandwiches.

7. If Bob ____looks_____________________after the barbecue, Sue ______will let____________________the

guests in.
8. Frank ___________be______________the DJ if the others _______bring_________________along their
CDs.

CONDITIONAL SENTENCE TYPE 2

→ It is possible but very unlikely, that the condition will be fulfilled.
• It refers to the present.
• An action could happen if the present situation were different.
• An action in the future will only happen if a certain condition is fulfilled by that time.
Example: I don't really expect the situation to change, however. I just imagine “what would
happen if …”
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 Usage If clause Main clause

hypothetical condition + possible result past simple would + base verb

Form if + Simple Past, main clause with Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)

Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

If John had the money, he would buy a Ferrari.

Were instead of Was

In IF Clauses Type 2, we usually use were – even if the pronoun is I, he, she or it –.

Example: If I were you, I would not do this.

Complete the Conditional Sentences Type 2

1. If I ____________ (have) more time, I would read more.

2. If she won the lottery, she _______________ (can buy) a new house.

3. Would you live in an apartment if you ______________ (live) downtown?

4. If I could play the guitar, I would _____________ (join) a band.

5. I ______________ (eat) more fruit if I lived in a warmer country.

6. If I played soccer, I _____________ (be) in better shape.

7. Where would you go on vacation if you _____________ (can) go anywhere in the world?

8. Would you work in France if you _____________ (have) the chance?

CONDITIONAL SENTENCE TYPE 3

→ It is impossible that the condition will be fulfilled because it refers to the past.

• It refers to the unreal past.

• We use to express regrets or criticism.

Usage If clause Main clause

expired past condition + possible past result past perfect would have + past participle

Examples: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.
If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.

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The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.
Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.
.
Exercises
Complete the Conditional Sentences Type 3.

1 If I _________ (see) him last week, I ____________ (invite) him.

2 If I __________ (know) you were in trouble, I ___________ (help) you.
3 I ___________ (never met) you if __I __________ (not go) to that party!
4 If I _ (take) my car for a service, it ____________ (not break down) last night.
5 She ____________ (not gone) there if I __________ (warn) her.

What a match – your favourite team has lost again! So after the game, the supporters discuss what could
have been different. Complete the Conditional Sentences Type 3.

1 If the midfielders _had passed________________________ (pass) the ball more exactly, our team _would
have had________________________ (have) more chances to attack.

2 If the forwards _had run________________________ (run) faster, they ___would have

scored___________________ ____________________ (score) more goals.

3 Their motivation _would have improved________________________ (improve) if they __had

kicked_________________ ______________ (kick) a goal during the first half.

4 The fullbacks would have prevented one or the other goal if they __had marked________________
________________ (mark) their opponents.

5 If the goalie __had jumped_______________________ (jump up), he _would have

caught________________________ (catch) the ball.
6 If the referee __had seen_______________________ (see) the foul, he __would have
awarded_______________________ (award) a penalty kick to our team.

7 Our team ___would have been______________________ (be) in better form if they __had
trained________________ ____________ (train) harder the weeks before.

SPEAKING

Conditionals for real and unreal situations

• What do you do at weekends?

• What will you do if you get the chance to work abroad?
• Which famous person would you like to meet if you had the chance?

IELTS Grammar: opinion + conditional

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 Give an opinion, then follow it with a conditional sentence.

Look at these examples:

1. In my opinion, governments should invest more money in public transport. If rail and bus
services were more reliable, fewer people would need to drive.

2. Schools have an important role to play in children's health. If schools banned junk food, they
would help to reduce the problem of childhood obesity.

3. In the future I think more people will do their shopping online. But if Internet shopping
becomes more popular, many traditional shops will lose customers.

speaking part 3 - Hypothetical

The grammar we use for this is:

If + (subject 1) + past participle, then (subject 2) + would + verb

Example Question
If you could choose any country to live in, where would you choose?

If I could live in any country, I would probably choose Australia. The weather is great; the people are
super friendly and just imagine living beside all those beaches. If I could choose another country, it
would have to be Italy, for the architecture, the culture and its fascinating history.

Activity: answer the following questions. Work with a partner.

1. If you could be anyone in the world, who would you be?

2. If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
3. If you went back in time, what year would you go to?
4. If you had a special power, what would you be able to do?
5. If you could make one change to the world, what would you do?
6. If you could change something about your past, what would you change?

Vocabulary - Government

A quick note on spelling

GOVERNMENT is one of the most commonly misspelled words in English – don’t forget that N.

Forms of government
It helps to distinguish between different types of government – not all government is equal. If you do
this, you will find that you have more to say by comparing what different type of government can do.

This is a great example of how words and ideas connect.

 central government: this is the national government of a country

• local government: this is the regional form of government that typically takes care of more local
issues

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• the authorities: this is a general term for all forms of government – note that we use it in the
plural
• enforcement agencies: these are bodies that have direct control of how laws are being obeyed.
This is something central government does not always do itself. An example of an enforcement
agency is the body that monitors pollution in rivers.
• international organisations: don’t forget these either. many problems need global solutions and
demand international cooperation from bodies like the UN
• NGOs: these are the opposite of governments! NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organisation.

Immigration vocabulary and ideas

Get the key immigration vocabulary right. The key words for describing immigration are:
- immigrant – the person
- immigrate – the verb
- immigration – the idea

Note the mm. Also note that immigrants (people who enter a country) are also emigrants (people who
leave a country) and also migrants.

Some common word combinations

To discuss this topic well, it helps to distinguish between different types of immigration.

• illegal immigrants: – people who enter a country illegally

• economic migrants: – people who move country to earn more money
• migrant workers: – note that migrant can also work as an adjective
• immigrant community/population: – this can be used for people who have settled in country for
some time
• first generation immigrant: – this is either an immigrant or a child on an immigrant [sometimes it is
hyphenated as “first-generation”]

Arguments in favour of immigration

• unskilled labour: In many countries there is a shortage of unskilled labour and the immigrant
population is typically willing to do work that the native population is not.
• skilled labour: A large proportion of young immigrants are highly-qualified university graduates
and they work in fields where there is a shortage of skilled labour.
• boost the economy: Most research shows that encouraging immigration actually provides a boost
to the economy as immigrants are net contributors to the GDP.
• principle of freedom of movement: There is also the consideration that the principle of freedom
of movement is a human right and that people should be allowed to choose where they live.

Arguments against immigration

These arguments are normally based on social consequences of immigration and the impact it has on
the native population. There are also arguments (factual or otherwise) that immigrants are bad for the
economy.

Also note the range of language to discuss problems:

• local services and jobs: One common difficulty is that they increase the pressure on local services
and create competition for local jobs and this creates ill-will.
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• claim benefits/social housing: One reason why people want less immigration is that immigrants do
not pay tax and still claim benefits and require social housing that is paid for by taxpayers.
• schools: Another serious issue is that in some areas schools do not have sufficient places for the
children and so class sizes become unmanageable.
• language: Related to this is the problem that many immigrants only have a basic command of the
language and this can lead to difficulties in the classroom and elsewhere.
• loss of trained workers: The impact on poorer countries who lose much of their trained workforce
through emigration should also not be forgotten.
• overcrowding/population: Many countries need to limit immigration because they are already
suffering from over-population.

Measures and solutions

You may also need to consider how immigration should be controlled.

• taxes and law: One possible measure is to ensure that migrants pay taxes and are subject to the
criminal justice system.
• language requirements: Another measure that could be put in place is to insist on a minimum
language requirement so that all immigrants are able to integrate into the community.
• deportation: Some people believe that all illegal immigrants should be deported immediately.
• quota: The United States for example has a quota system whereby a fixed number of green cards are
issued every year.

Task 1 - Thinking about reasons for emigration

There are many reasons why people choose to emigrate. Have a look at this list of possible reasons .
Then try to put them into order from the most important to the least important. You can add more
reasons of your own.

Poverty better job opportunities a better

To escape War To have education for your children
Political systems a higher quality of life
natural disasters
To learn a foreign language To be with someone you love

SPEAKING - Immigration Discussion Cards

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Exercise
Match the items on the right to the items on the left.

tortured nutritional imprisoned conflict laboured

employer sponsor consumers ruthless pension
factory benefit weapons currently refugees

1. The Canadian dollar is _______________ worth about $1.02 American.

2. Each month my employer matches my contribution to my _______________ plan, so I should have
enough money when I retire to live comfortably.

3. Within the clock tower of Big Ben in London, there are jail cells where members of Parliament can
be ________________.

4. When _______________ buy products at the cheapest possible price, they often don't realize that the
people making these goods receive very poor salaries.

5. I have a really boring job in a shoe ________________, working on an assembly line.

6. Our organization helps _______________ who flee their country due to wars or natural disasters.
7. Her grandfather _______________ in the coal mines for over 40 years before dying of lung cancer.
8. In ancient China, silk-making was a secret art, and anyone who revealed the secret was punished
by being ________________ to death.

9. The government is offering more programs which ________________ low income families.
10. The provincial government is probably the largest __________________ in Victoria.
11. We are looking for a ________________ to help fund our local soccer team.
12. The U.S. and Russia are meeting today to try to find a way of bringing an end to the armed
________________ in Afghanistan.

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13. The soldiers threw down their _________________, and held up a white flag.
14. The _________________ information on the label of food products in Canada must be written in
French and English.

15. The leader of the government is _________________, and will do anything to stay in power.

Post-war Immigration Cloze

Choose the correct Word.

The black Britons were not welcomed by all white 1______________________ Immigrants from the West
Indies with a different skin colour often 2 ______________________ unfriendly reactions. Even though
post-war Britain needed labour, the new immigrants 3 ______________________ found it difficult to get
good jobs. In many cases they were compelled to accept low paid jobs they were overqualified for, or
their 4 ______________________ were less than for white workers.
Proper 5______________________ for immigrants from the West Indies was also a problem. The lack of
money made them find cheap accommodation, often in the inner cities, and 6______________________,
white landlords were 7______________________ to rent rooms to black people. This resulted in a lot of
West Indians being forced to rent homes in the most miserable 8______________________ areas. Since
the West Indians had been9 ______________________ to come to Britain, they felt that being
discriminated10 ______________________ was a shock and a surprise they were definitely not prepared
for. Some were not able to cope 11______________________ these new conditions and returned to their
home countries, but many 12______________________ - despite the difficulties they were facing.
However, they were hard-working people and have made contributions to Britain’s multicultural
diversity.

housing Britons frequently residential besides

provoked against diversity wages with
unwilling encouraged remained