Conditional Sentences

Dragana Filipovi

Conditions deal with imagined situations:

some are possible,

some are unlikely, some are impossible.

Conditional clauses are usually introduced by the subordinating conjunction if:

If it rains, well stay in the house.

The first conditional

If + present simple + future tense ( e.g. will / shall) or modal verb with future reference ( e.g.may)

A speaker or writer predicts a likely result in the future if the condition is fulfilled.

If Sally comes too, there ll be five of us.

If they promote her, shell get a big pay rise.

We wont have enough time if we want to do some shopping too.

Unless = if not
She wont come unless you invite her personally. (= She wont come if you dont invite her personally.) Unless you can reduce the weight of that case, Im afraid you wont be allowed on the flight. (= If you cant reduce )

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

1. If it ___ this evening, I wont go out. (rain)

2.
3. 4.

If I need your help, I ___ you. (ask)

Everyone will be surprised if he ___ the exam. (pass) Hurry up! Ann will be annoyed if we ___ late. (be)

5.

You wont pass the exam unless you ___ more. (study)

1.

If it rains this evening, I wont go out.

2.
3. 4.

If I need your help, I will ask (Ill ask) you.

Everyone will be surprised if he passes the exam. Hurry up! Ann will be annoyed if we are late.

5.

You wont pass the exam unless you study more.

The second conditional

If + past simple tense +

would / could/ might + infinitive

A speaker or writer responds to a possible or hypothetical situation by indicating a possible outcome. The condition must be fulfilled for the present or future to be different.

If I knew what you wanted, maybe I could help you. (I dont know what you want. You must tell me.) I would do a computer course if I had the time. (I dont have the time.) If I were you, I would tell him the truth.

or: If I was you (I am not you.)

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

1. If I found $100 in the street, I ___ it. (keep)
2. If she sold her car, she ___ much money for it. (not / get) 3. Many people would be out of work if that factory ___ down. (close)

4. What would happen if you ___ to work tomorrow? (not / go)

5. They might be angry if I ___ them. (not / visit) 6. If I was offered the job, I think I ___ it. (take)

1. If I found $100 in the street, I would keep it.

2. If she sold her car, she wouldnt get much money for it.
3. Many people would be out of work if that factory closed down. 4. What would happen if you didnt go to work tomorrow? (not / go) 5. They might be angry if I didnt visit them.

6. If I was offered the job, I think I would take it. (take)

The third conditional

If + past perfect tense +

modal verb (e.g. would / could / might)

+ perfect infinitive (have + past participle)

An imagined past situation is described. We are talking about a past event which did not happen, and therefore things are different from how they might have been.

If I had seen you walking, I could have offered you a lift. (I didnt see you.)

Tessa would have been furious if she had heard him say that. (She didnt hear him.)
If she had gone there, she might have enjoyed it. (She didnt go there.)

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

1. I ___ out if I hadnt been so tired. (go)

2.
3. 4.

If I ___ you, I would have said hello. (see)

We could have gone out yesterday if the weather ___ so bad. (not / be) If I ___ that you were ill last week, Id have gone to see you. (know)

5.

I would have been late for the interview if I ___ the bus. (miss)

1. 2.

I would have gone out if I hadnt been so tired. If I had seen you, I would have said hello.

3.
4. 5.

We could have gone out yesterday if the weather hadnt been so bad.
If I had known that you were ill last week, Id have gone to see you. I would have been late for the interview if I had missed the bus.

Real situations
If you want to learn the guitar, you really need to practise for at least a couple of hours a day. (for any person who wants to learn) If I criticised her unfairly, then I always apologized. (It did sometimes happen that I criticised her and I did apologise.)

If you have a toothache as bad as that, you must go to a dentist today. If steel is exposed to air and water, it resists rust for a considerable length of time. If you are getting backache all the time, then you are not sitting properly. Come over tomorrow around five unless my secretary contacts you.

Mixed conditionals
If he hadnt graduated with top marks, now he wouldnt have such a good job. If the island were still a tourist attraction, last weeks earthquake would have caused far more deaths.

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
1. 2. 3. Fleas can jump up to thirty centimetres. If humans ___ (be) as good at jumping as fleas, theyd be able to jump 300 metres! Some worms will eat themselves if they ___ (not find) enough food. If she knew how pointless it is, perhaps she ___ (stop) doing it.

4.

If we leave the dog alone all day, it ___ (destroy) the furniture.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

If I had a million dollars, I ___ (buy) you a beautiful house. If I had gone to the party last night, I ___ (be) tired now. If I had gone to the party last night, I ___ (see) Ann. If we ___ (play) better, we might have won. We ___ (go) out if the weather hadnt been so bad. If I were you, I ___ (not buy) that coat.

11.

We wouldnt have any money if we ___ (not work).

12.
13.

If you stopped smoking, you ___ (feel) healthier.

If the museum charges for entry, a lot of people ___ (not be able) to visit it.

14. If we had paid our cleaner more, she ___ (not leave) us. 15. I wouldnt be willing to help you unless you ___ (pay) me.

Answers
1. Fleas can jump up to thirty centimetres. If humans were as good at jumping as fleas, theyd be able to jump 300 metres! 2. Some worms will eat themselves if they dont find enough food.
3. If she knew how pointless it is, perhaps she would stop doing it. 4. If we leave the dog alone all day, it will destroy the furniture. 5. If I had a million dollars, I would buy you a beautiful house. 6. If I had gone to the party last night, I would be tired now. 7. If I had gone to the party last night, I would have seen Ann.

8. If we had played better, we might have won. 9. We would have gone out if the weather hadnt been so bad. 10. If I were you, I wouldnt buy that coat 11. We wouldnt have any money if we didnt work.

12. If you stopped smoking, you would feel healthier.

13. If the museum charges for entry, a lot of people wont be able to visit it. 14. If we had paid our cleaner more, she wouldnt have left us. 15. I wouldnt be willing to help you unless you paid me.

Read a situation and write a sentence with if.

Example: We dont visit you so often because you live so far away.

If you didnt live so far away, we would visit you more often.
1. People dont understand him because he doesnt speak very clearly. If he spoke (more) clearly, people would understand him. 2. Im not going to buy that book because its too expensive.

If that book wasnt/werent so expensive, I would buy it.

3. We cant have lunch in the garden because it is raining.

If it wasnt/werent raining we could (would be able to) have lunch in the garden 4. The accident happened because the driver in front stopped suddenly. If the driver in front hadnt stopped suddenly, the accident wouldnt have happened. 5. I didnt wake John because I didnt know he wanted to get up early.

If I had known John wanted to get up early, I would have woken him.

6. You are hungry now because you didnt have breakfast.

If youd had (had had) breakfast, you wouldnt be hungry now. 7. She didnt buy the shoes because she didnt have enough money on her. If shed had (had had) enough money on her, she would have bought the shoes. 8. She doesnt go out very often because she cant walk without help.

If she could walk without help, she would go out more often.


The End