CONDITIONAL
SENTENCES
Definition of Conditional
Sentence:
Conditional
sentences (also known as conditional clauses or if clauses) are made up of two
halves. One half (the half with the word if in) is a condition, and the other
half (the main clause) states the action to occur if the condition is
fulfilled.
1.The Types of Conditional
Sentence with if.
There
are three types of conditional sentence:
a. Conditional
Sentence Type 1
Type 1
sentences are used when it is likely that the condition will be fulfilled. It
is formed like this:
Examples
of Conditional Sentence Type 1:
·
If
you swallow some of the cleaning fluid, it will kill you.
·
If
I get a little humility, I will be perfect.
How to Use First Conditional
Sentences
First
conditional sentences are used to express situations in which the outcome is
likely (but not guaranteed) to happen in the future. Look at the examples
below:
·
If
you rest, you will feel better.
·
If
you set your mind to a goal, you’ll eventually achieve it.
Note
that we use the simple present tense in the if-clause and simple future tense
in the main clause—that is, the clause that expresses the likely outcome. This
is how we indicate that under a certain condition (as expressed in the
if-clause), a specific result will likely happen in the future. Examine some of
the common mistakes people make using the first conditional structure.
·
If
you will rest, you will feel better.
·
If
you rest, you will feel better.
Explanation:
Use the simple present tense in the if-clause.
·
If
you set your mind to a goal, you eventually achieve it.
·
If
you set your mind to a goal, you’ll eventually achieve it.
Explanation:
Use the zero conditional (i.e., simple present + simple present) only when a
certain result is guaranteed. If the result is likely, use the first
conditional (i.e., simple present + simple future).
b. Conditional
Sentence Type 2
Type 2
sentences are used when it is unlikely that the condition will be fulfilled. It
is formed like this:

Examples
of Conditional Sentence Type 2:
·
If
you swallowed some of the cleaning fluid, it would kill you.
·
If
I had a little humility, I would be perfect.
How to Use Second Conditional
Sentences
Second
conditional sentences are useful for expressing outcomes that are completely
unrealistic or will not likely happen in the future. Consider the examples
below:
·
If
I inherited a billion dollars, I would travel to the moon.
·
If
I owned a zoo, I might let people interact with the animals more.
Notice
the correct way to structure second conditional sentences is to use the simple
past tense in the if-clause and an auxiliary modal verb (e.g., could, should,
would, might) in the main clause (the one that expresses the unrealistic or
unlikely outcome). The following sentences illustrate a couple of the common
mistakes people make when using the second conditional:
·
If
I inherit a billion dollars, I would travel to the moon.
·
If
I inherited a billion dollars, I would travel to the moon.
Explanation:
When applying the second conditional, use the simple past tense in the
if-clause.
·
If
I owned a zoo, I will let people interact with the animals more.
·
If
I owned a zoo, I might let people interact with the animals more.
Explanation:
Use a modal auxiliary verb in the main clause when using the second conditional
mood to express the unlikelihood that the result will actually happen.
c. Conditional
Sentence Type 3
Type 3
sentences are used when it is impossible for condition to be fulfilled because
the possibility has already passed. It is formed like this:

Examples
of Conditional Sentence Type 3:
·
If
you had swallowed some of the cleaning fluid, it would have killed you.
·
If
I had had a little humility, I would have been perfect.
How to Use Third Conditional
Sentences
Third
conditional sentences are used to explain that present circumstances would be
different if something different had happened in the past. Look at the
following examples:
·
If
you had told me you needed a ride, I would have left earlier.
·
If
I had cleaned the house, I could have gone to the movies.
These
sentences express a condition that was likely enough, but did not actually
happen in the past. The speaker in the first sentence was capable of leaving
early, but did not. Along these same lines, the speaker in the second sentence
was capable of cleaning the house, but did not. These are all conditions that
were likely, but regrettably did not happen.
Note
that when using the third conditional, we use the past perfect (i.e., had +
past participle) in the if-clause. The modal auxiliary (would, could, shoud,
etc.) + have + past participle in the main clause expresses the theoretical
situation that could have happened.
Consider
these common mistakes when applying the third conditional:
·
If
you would have told me you needed a ride, I would have left earlier.
·
If
you had told me you needed a ride, I would have left earlier.
Explanation:
With third conditional sentences, do not use a modal auxiliary verb in the
if-clause.
·
If
I had cleaned the house, I could go to the movies.
·
If
I had cleaned the house, I could have gone to the movies.
Explanation:
The third conditional mood expresses a situation that could have only happened
in the past if a certain condition had been met. That’s why we use the modal
auxiliary verb + have + the past participle.
2. Conditional Sentence with
Expressing Hope
We use
'hope' to talk about things in the present or future that we think have a good
chance of happening. On the other hand, we use 'wish' to talk about things that
are impossible or unlikely. See more about 'wish' here.
We
usually need to use '(that) + clause' after 'hope' or 'to + infinitive'. It's
very common to drop 'that'.
·
I
hope that you have a great time.
·
I
hope that she passed the exam.
·
I
hope to pass the exam.
·
I
hope to get there early.
We can
also use two short answers: 'I hope so' and 'I hope not'.
a.Hope for the present
We can
use the present simple (mostly for stative verbs) or the present continuous.
·
I
hope (that) it's sunny where you are.
·
I
hope (that) she's having a wonderful time.
b.Hope for the future
We can
use either the present simple (more common) or the future simple (less common).
It usually doesn't change the meaning.
·
I
hope that she comes to the party tomorrow.
·
I
hope that she'll come to the party tomorrow.
We often
use 'can' with 'hope' for the future.
·
I
hope you can come to the party tomorrow.
We can
use 'to + infinitive' with 'hope' for the future. When we use 'to +
infinitive', the subject is the same as the subject of 'hope'.
·
I
hope to come to the party tomorrow. (=I hope I can come to the party tomorrow.)
·
I
hope to run a marathon this year.
c.Hope for the past
We can
also use 'hope' to talk about the past when we think it was possible for the
thing to really happen.
1: We
can use 'hope' for the past when something happened and is finished, but we
don't know what the result was. For example, if you have taken an exam, but I
don't know if you passed or not. We still use 'hope' in the present tense,
because it's something that we hope now, but the thing that we're thinking
about is in the past. We can use the past tenses and the present perfect in the
normal way (if something has an effect on the present, we use the present
perfect and so on).
·
I
hope she passed the exam.
·
I
hope John hasn't got lost.
·
I
hope Amanda found her keys.
2: We
can use 'hope' for the past when we do know the result or outcome. For example,
if you have taken an exam and failed and I know you failed. In this case, we
use 'hope' in a past tense, because we no longer hope for the event or thing;
we know it didn't happen. We use it to tell someone about how we felt in the
past.
·
I
hoped you would pass the exam. (But you didn't pass).
·
I
hoped I'd see Lucy at the meeting. (But I didn't see her.)
It's
common to use 'hope' in the past continuous (which doesn't really change the
meaning from the past simple) and in the past perfect (which makes the idea
that the hoping is finished stronger) in these kinds of sentences.
·
I
was hoping you would pass the exam.
·
I
had hoped you would pass the exam.
This use
is very compatible with the third conditional.
·
I
was hoping to pass the exam, and I would have passed it if I hadn't got sick.
d.Hope for 'future in the past'
Advanced
point: Sometimes we use 'hope' for 'future in the past'. So, in the following
example, the mother thought, in the past, 'I hope my son will go to
university', and when we talk about this from the present, we use 'would'. We
don't know if the son in fact went to university or not from this sentence.
·
She
always hoped that her son would go to university.
Another
example:
·
I
got lost in the middle of London and I hoped that I would be able to find my
way back to my hotel. (We don't know if the person found the hotel or not.)
e.Hope for negative wishes
It's
also possible to use 'hope' in a very negative way. In this case, the thing
doesn't need to be possible.
·
I
hope your hair falls out and you lose all your money!
3. Conditional Sentence with
Expressing Wish
The
English word “wish” is used when the speaker wants reality to be different than
it actually is. Wish is followed by a noun clause using past tense verb forms.
The following pairs of examples express “true” statements about the past,
present, and future, and how you would express a desire for the opposite (the
wish) to be true.
a. A
wish about the past:
·
Ellen
couldn’t come to the convention.
·
I
wish Ellen could have come to the convention.
b.
A wish about the present:
·
It
is snowing right now.
·
I
wish it weren’t snowing right now.
c.A wish about the future:
·
Robbie
isn’t going to be able to attend the party.
·
I
wish Robbie could attend the part.
4. Conditional Sentence without
If
·
If
I had known his real motive, I wouldn’t have supported him.
We can express the
same idea without if.
·
Had
I known his real motive, I wouldn’t have supported him.
Another
example is given below.
·
If
I had realized the importance of physical training, I would not have wasted my
time in front of the television.
The above
sentence can also be written as:
·
Had
I realized the importance of physical training, I would not have wasted my time
in front of the television.
·
If
problems arise, we will seek professional help.
The same
idea can be expressed without if.
·
Should
problems arise, we will seek professional help.
We can
also make conditional forms by putting ‘were’ at the beginning of the sentence.
·
Were
I you, I wouldn’t permit this. (= If I were you, I would not permit this.)
Conditional
sentences can also be made with unless.
·
Unless
you work hard, you will not pass. (= If you do not work hard, you will not
pass.)
Sources:
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