Conditional Sentences / If-Clauses Type I, II und III

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. There are three types of
Conditional Sentences.

Conditional Sentence Type 1

→ It is possible and also very likely that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form: if + Simple Present, will-Future

If Clause Type 1
Form
if + Simple Present, will-Future

Example: If I find her address, I will send her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't
use a comma.

Example: I will send her an invitation if I find her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Simple

Present und will-Future on how to form negative sentences.

Example: If I don’t see him this afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.

Use
Conditional Sentences Type I 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.

Example: If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.

I want to send an invitation to a friend. I just have to find her address. I am quite
sure, however, that I will find it.

Example: If John has the money, he will buy a Ferrari.

I know John very well and I know that he earns a lot of money and that he loves
Ferraris. So I think it is very likely that sooner or later he will have the money to buy
a Ferrari.
Conditional Sentence Type 2
→ It is possible but very unlikely, that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form: if + Simple Past, Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)

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

If Clause Type 2
Form
if + Simple Past, main clause with Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)

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

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't
use a comma.

Example: I would send her an invitation if I found her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Simple

Past und Conditional I on how to form negative sentences.

Example: If I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t stay here.

Were instead of Was

In IF Clauses Type II, we usually use ‚were‘ – even if the pronoun

is I, he, she or it –.

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

Use
Conditional Sentences Type II refer to situations in the present. An action could
happen if the present situation were different. I don't really expect the situation to
change, however. I just imagine „what would happen if …“

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

I would like to send an invitation to a friend. I have looked everywhere for her
address, but I cannot find it. So now I think it is rather unlikely that I will eventually
find her address.

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

I know John very well and I know that he doesn't have much money, but he loves
Ferraris. He would like to own a Ferrari (in his dreams). But I think it is very unlikely
that he will have the money to buy one in the near future.
Conditional Sentence Type 3
→ It is impossible that the condition will be fulfilled because it refers to the
past.

Form: if + Past Perfect, Conditional II (= would + have + Past Participle)

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

If Clause Type 3
Form
if + Past Perfect, main clause with Conditional II

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't
use a comma.

Example: I would have sent her an invitation if I had found her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Past

Perfect and Conditional II on how to form negative sentences.

Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.

Use
Conditional Sentences Type III refer to situations in the past. An action could have
happened in the past if a certain condition had been fulfilled. Things were different
then, however. We just imagine, what would have happened if the situation had
been fulfilled.

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

Sometime in the past, I wanted to send an invitation to a friend. I didn't find her
address, however. So in the end I didn't send her an invitation.

Example: If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.

I knew John very well and I know that he never had much money, but he loved
Ferraris. He would have loved to own a Ferrari, but he never had the money to buy
one.
If Clause Type 3
Form
if + Past Perfect, main clause with Conditional II

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't
use a comma.

Example: I would have sent her an invitation if I had found her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Past

Perfect and Conditional II on how to form negative sentences.

Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.

Use
Conditional Sentences Type III refer to situations in the past. An action could have
happened in the past if a certain condition had been fulfilled. Things were different
then, however. We just imagine, what would have happened if the situation had
been fulfilled.

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

Sometime in the past, I wanted to send an invitation to a friend. I didn't find her
address, however. So in the end I didn't send her an invitation.

Example: If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.

I knew John very well and I know that he never had much money, but he loved
Ferraris. He would have loved to own a Ferrari, but he never had the money to buy
one.
Exceptions for Conditional Sentences
So far you have only learned the basic rules for Conditional Sentences. It depends
on the context, however, which tense to use. So sometimes it's possible for example
that in an IF Clause Type I another tense than Simple Present is used, e.g. Present
Progressive or Present Perfect.

Conditional Sentences Type I (likely)

Condition refers
IF Clause Main Clause
to:

Future I …I will buy it.

Imperative …buy it.

future action Simple Present If the book is interesting, …
Modal
…you can buy it.
Auxiliary

Future I …I will wake him up.

action going on Present Imperative …wake him up.

If he is snoring, …
now Progressive
Modal …you can wake him
Auxiliary up.

Future I …we will visit him.

If he has moved into his Imperative …visit him.

finished action Present Perfect
new flat, …
Modal
…we can visit him.
Auxiliary

…I will congratulate
Future I
her.
improbable should + If she should win this
Imperative …congratulate her.
action Infinitive race, …
Modal …we can congratulate
Auxiliary her.

Simple
present facts Simple Present If he gets what he wants, … …he is very nice.
Present

Conditional Sentences Type II (unlikely)

Condition refers to: IF Clause Main Clause

Simple If I had a lot of …I would travel around the

present / future event Conditional I
Past money, … world.

consequence in the Simple Conditional

If I knew him, … …I would have said hello.
past Past II
Conditional Sentences Type III (impossible)

Condition refers
IF Clause Main Clause
to:

Past …I would not be here

present If I had known it, … Conditional I
Perfect now.

Past If he had learned for the Conditional …he would not have
past
Perfect test, … II failed it.