GRAMMAR I - CONDITIONALS

Conditional sentences usually consist of two clauses: a conditional clause (or if clause) and a main clause
(or result clause). The result in the main clause is dependent on the condition in the conditional clause.
(In Grammar II we will see these clauses as subordinated clauses of condition). Here we will see the
basic types of conditional sentence, and some variation on these, and introduce a number of words and
phrases used to express conditions.
GENERAL POINTS
We usually form conditional sentences in one of these basic structures:
if clause main clause OR main clause if clause

If I had a car, I would take you. I would take you if I had a car.
If we put the if clause first, we usually separate the clauses with a comma, especially if one clause is
quite long.
If the bill is passed by both parliamentary houses, it becomes law.
We can use then in the main clause to emphasize that the result depends on the condition being
achieved.
If the bill is passed by both parliamentary houses, then it becomes law.
We can put the if clause in the middle, but this is rare.
It may be possible, if both parties desire it, to reduce the time scale.
In conversation we often use only the main clause; the if clause is implied:
Actually, it would be pretty difficult. (if we did as you asked)
There are four basic conditional patterns where our choice of tense depends on the time of the condition
(past, present or future) and how possible or impossible we think the event is:

Zero conditional Possible at any time, but most commonly in the present:
If your dog is depressed, he probably needs more exercise.

First conditional Possible in the future:

If the single flops, they’ll sack the manager.
Second conditional Impossible in the present / possible (but improbable) in the future:
If you were a bit nicer, he wouldn’t get so cross.
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Third conditional Impossible in the past:
If you had answered the door, she wouldn’t have gone away again.

ZERO CONDITIONAL
This is also known as the general conditional.
If + present simple present simple
If you don’t look after tomato plants, they die very quickly.
We can use other present tenses in both clauses, e.g. present perfect or present continuous.
Prawns are very risky to eat if they haven’t been kept at the right temperature.
If she’s travelling abroad on business, she always phones me every evening.
We can use modal verbs in either clause, especially can and may:
Prawns can be very risky to eat if they haven’t been kept at the right temperature.
If you can’t understand this, you aren’t concentrating.
We use the zero conditional to talk about events or situations that can occur at any time, and often occur
more than once, and their results:
If I eat dairy products, I get red spots on my skin.
We also use the zero conditional to talk about actions which always have the same result:
If you use a very hot iron on nylon, it melts.
We can use an imperative instead of a present tense in the result clause to give a general insruction:
If a chip pan sets alight, throw a fire blanket, not water, on it.

FIRST CONDITIONAL
This is also known as the likely or possible conditional.
If + present simple will / won’t + infinitive
If the museum charges for entry, a lot of people won’t be able to visit it.
We can use other present tenses in the if clause:
If you’re coming on the motorway you’ll need change for the tolls.

We can also use other future forms in the main clause:

If the results of the customer survey are favorable, the supermarket is going to introduce a new
range.
We can use modal verbs in either clause, especially can, may and should:
If the regime can keep the loyalty of the army, they may retain power.
If the Spanish team continues to do so well, they should win the World cup.
It is usually incorrect to use a future form in the if clause.
If the weather is good tomorrow, we’ll have a picnic.
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However, it is appropriate if will / won’t refers to willingness or refusal
The company will impose sanctions if the workers won’t abandon the strike.
We use the first conditional to describe possible future events or situations and their results:
If the result of the test is negative, you’ll receive notification through the post.
The bank will be starting a recruitment drive if it receives head approval.
We can use the first conditional to express a variety of functions:
 Commands: If you get home late, don’t wake me up!
Don’t forget to close the windows if you go out, will you?
 Offers: I’ll call the hotel if you don’t have time.
 Suggestions: Shall we go out tomorrow if the weather’s good?
 Warnings: I’ll call the police if you don’t leave right now!

Note that we use an imperative in the main clause for commands.

To make this conditional pattern more formal, we can omit if and use should before the subject:

Should you be less than delighted with our product, we will refund your money immediately.

SECOND CONDITIONAL

This is also known as the unlikely or improbable conditional.

If + past simple would /wouldn’t + infinitive

If they wanted to make an offer, she would listen and think it over.

We can also use the past continuous or was going to in the if clause.

If a celebrity were staying in the hotel, security arrangements would be tightened.

We often use a modal in the main clause, especially might or could.

More funding for AIIDS could be secured if people were more aware of the dire situation in Africa.

With be in the if clause, we usually use the subjunctive were for all persons. You may hear English
speakers using was in the example above. It is becoming accepted today, but you should not use it in
formal situations.

If the programmer was familiar with the language, it would be an easy job.

If the programmer were familiar with the language, it would be an easy job.

The second conditional has two main meanings.

1. It can describe an improbable future event or situation. The condition is unlikely to be fulfilled
because the future event is unlikely to happen.

If the result of the test were positive, we would call you within two days.

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 2. It can also describe a hypothetical current situation or event. i.e. one which is contrary to known
facts. It is therefore impossible to fulfill the condition

If the police were confident of their case against Sykes, surely they wouldn’t hesitate to
take him into custody? (=The police aren’t confident of their case.)

The choice between the first conditional and Use 1 of the second conditional often depends on
how possible the speaker believes an event to be:

If Mike rings the travel agent tomorrow, he might get a cancellation. (The speaker thinks
that it is likely that Mike will ring the travel agent.)

If Mike rang the travel agent tomorrow, he might get a cancellation. (The speaker thinks
that it is unlikely that Mike will ring the travel agent)

We use the second conditional to express a variety of functions:

 Giving advice (with were): If I were you, I would take her out of that school.
 Polite requests: If you could deal with this matter, I’d be very grateful.
 Desires / regrets: If we didn’t have to work so hard, we could spend more time together.

We can use should + infinitive or were to + infinitive in the second conditional to emphasize that the
condition is unlikely to happen:

If the printer should break down within the first year, we would repair it at our expense.
If you were to listen more carefully, you might understand a bit more.

We can put was / were (to) before the subject to sound more formal:

Were you to accept our offer, we could avoid the costs of a court case.

We do not put do or the main verb in front of the subject:

If the builders finished the work to schedule, they would receive a bonus.
Were the builders to finish the work to schedule, they would receive a bonus.

We can make this condition more formal by placing houd before the subject:

Should the tickets fail to arrive before the departure date, we could arrange to have
duplicates waiting at the airport.

THIRD CONDITIONAL
This is also known as the past or impossible conditional:
If + past perfect would / wouldn’t have + past participle

If we had paid our cleaner more, she wouldn’t have left us.
We can use continuous forms in either or both clauses of this conditional.
If someone had ben teasing your child so nastily, you would have behaved in the same
way.
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We can use a modal in the main clauses, usually might or could.
It might have been easier to break the news if I had known her a bit better.
If the spy had intercepted the message, he could have averted the crisis.

It is becoming more common to use would have in the if clause (especially in American English), although
many people consider it incorrect.
If the play (would) have finished on time, we wouldn’t have missed the train.
If the play had finished on time, we wouldn’t have missed the train.

The third conditional describes a hypothetical situation or event in the past. The past situation or event
is contrary to known facts, i.e. it is an unreal or impossible situation:
I would have used your builder if I had managed to contact him. (but I didn’t manage to
contact him).
We can use the third conditional to express criticism:
If you’d been driving more slowly, you could have stopped in time.
We can put the auxiliary had before the subject to create a more literary style.
Had the film been released in the summer, it would not have been so successful.

MIXED CONDITIONALS
Mixed conditionals include the verb forms from two different conditional patterns. These are two of the
most common mixed patterns:
This conditional (second and third) describes a hypothetical situation or event in the present, which is
contrary to known facts. The result in the main clause refers to the past:

If the island were still a tourist attraction, last week’s earthquake would have caused far
more deaths. (=The island is no longer a tourist attraction so the earthquake didn’t cause a large
number of deaths).

This conditional (third and second) describes a hypothetical situation or event in the past, which is
contrary to known facts. The result in the main clause refers to the present:

If Fleming hadn’t discovered penicillin, there would be far more fatalities every
year than there actually are. (=Fleming did discover penicillin so there are fewer fatalities now).