CONDITIONALS: REAL CONDITIONALS
USE:
To talk about real possibilities in "general time" and uncertain but possible
events in the future.
FORM:
The condition clause begins with IF/IF... NOT (or sometimes UNLESS).The verb
is usually in the present.
The result clause usually contains Present Tense verbs (to talk about
possibilities in "general time") or Future Tense verbs and Modals such as CAN,
MAY, MUST, or SHOULD (to talk about uncertain events in the future).
You can begin a sentence with either a condition or a result clause.
POSSIBILITIES IN GENERAL TIME
(Verb in result clause is in the Present.)
EXAMPLES:
CONDITION CLAUSE RESULT CLAUSE
Unless you give
plants enough water, they die."
If it isn't cold enough, it doesn't snow."
RESULT CLAUSE CONDITION CLAUSE
"It's time to eat unless you are not hungry."
"Talk to your plants if you want them to grow."
UNCERTAIN EVENTS IN THE FUTURE
(The result clause has Future verb or Modal.)
EXAMPLES:
CONDITION CLAUSE RESULT CLAUSE
"If you say that again, I'm going to hit you!"
"If it rains, I'll take an umbrella."
"If she doesn't study, she may fail the exam."
RESULT CLAUSE CONDITION CLAUSE
They will come to the
"party if they find a baby-sitter."
I'm going to buy a new
"dress if I get paid today."
"He won't wash the car unless you pay him."
automatic gearshift
break down
dealer
economy-sized
extra features
great deal
have work done
latest model
luxury
oil leak
tires
used car
PAST PERFECT: PROGRESSIVE
USE:
To talk about continuous actions or states which continued up to a point in the
past.
FORM:
[SUBJECT + HAD/HAD NOT + BEEN + VERB+ING...]
EXAMPLES:
"I'd been waiting for an hour when the train pulled in."
"He hadn't been studying much until he failed his first exam."
Describing Two Events:
"They'd been waiting for two hours when the bus finally arrived."
USE of FOR and SINCE
If we want to say how long the action or state lasted, we generally use FOR at
the beginning of the "time expression": "... for ten minutes." "... for twenty
years." "... for two centuries." "... for a very long time.", etc.
If we want to say when the action or state began, we use SINCE, followed by
the time or another expression which indicates the time: "... since two o'clock."
"... since the previous Monday." "... since 1975." "... since the end of the war."
"... since I was a baby.", etc.
EXAMPLE:
The two scientists had been working for fifty years (since 1945) when they
finally discovered the Youth Drug.
afraid
bleed
cliff
get stuck
injury
left behind
recover
rescue
rocky
slippery
take a wrong turn
terror
CONDITIONALS
USE:
To talk about real possibilities in "general time," possible events in the future,
unreal/impossible situations and results in the present or future.
FORM:
Statements and questions of this type often have two parts: a "condition" (the
hypothesis), usually a subordinate clause beginning with IF, and a "result,"
described in the main clause of a sentence.
We can begin a sentence with either a condition or a result clause.
[IF (Condition) Clause, + RESULT CLAUSE] or
[RESULT CLAUSE + IF (Condition) Clause]
EXAMPLES:
"What would you do if you won a million dollars?"
"If I won that much money, I'd stop working tomorrow."
REAL CONDITIONALS
USE:
To talk about real possibilities in "general time" and uncertain but possible events in the
future.
FORM:
The condition clause begins with IF/IF... NOT (or sometimes UNLESS). The verb is in
the Present.
The result clause usually contains Present Tense verbs (to talk about possibilities in
"general time") or Future Tense verbs and Modals such as CAN, MAY, MUST, or
SHOULD (to talk about uncertain events in the future).
You can begin a sentence with either a condition or a result clause.
POSSIBILITIES IN GENERAL TIME
(Verb in result clause is in the Present.)
EXAMPLES:
CONDITION CLAUSE RESULT CLAUSE
"If it's two in New York it's nine o'clock in Paris."
"If it isn't cold enough it doesn't snow."
RESULT CLAUSE CONDITION CLAUSE
"It's time to eat unless you are not hungry."
"Talk to your plants if you want them to grow."
UNCERTAIN EVENTS IN THE FUTURE
(The result clause has Future verb or Modal.)
EXAMPLES:
CONDITION CLAUSE RESULT CLAUSE
"If you say that again, I'm going to hit you!"
"If she doesn't study, she may fail the exam."
RESULT CLAUSE CONDITION CLAUSE
"They will come to the party if they find a baby-sitter."
"I'm going to buy a dress if I get paid today."
UNREAL CONDITIONALS
USE:
To talk about unreal, impossible, or very improbable hypotheses in the present and
future.
The CONDITION CLAUSE begins with IF/IF... NOT (or sometimes UNLESS).
The verb can take the Past of "BE", the Past Simple/Past Progressive (to talk about a
hypothetical fact), or the Modal COULD (to talk about a hypothetical ability).
NOTE: If we use the verb "BE" as the main verb, or in the past progressive form, we
use WERE instead of WAS. The verb in the result clause always has a Modal, usually
WOULD/'D (to express a certainty), MIGHT (to express a possibility), or COULD (to
express ability).
CONDITION CLAUSE RESULT CLAUSE
"If I had a new car, I'd be very happy."
"If he weren't so tired, he'd go to the party."
RESULT CLAUSE CONDITION CLAUSE
"I might pass English if I studied more."
"They'd tell me if they knew."
PAST PERFECT: SIMPLE
USE:
To emphasize that one event happened before another (connected by
conjunctions like WHEN/BEFORE) or in reported speech, when the "reporting
verb" is in the Past Tense and the "original" statement or idea was in the Past
or Present Perfect Tense.
We also use the Past Perfect to interrupt a story (in the Past Tense) with a
reference to an earlier time (before the story began).
EXAMPLE:
"I went home. I was very tired and I wanted my supper. But when I arrived I
couldn't get into my house because I had left the key in my office!"
FORM:
AFFIRMATIVE
[SUBJECT + HAD... + Past Participle.[V3]..]
HAD NOT/HADN'T
EXAMPLES:
"She had just arrived when he came in."
"We had already eaten by the time she arrived."
"The opera had just begun when we arrived."
"I had never been in love until I met you!"
REPORTED SPEECH
[PAST TENSE + (THAT) + PAST PERFECT]
EXAMPLES:
"I thought (that) you had already seen this."
"She said (that) she had never met me before."
acquaintance
attend a party
get dressed
gossip
have your hair done
hold a conversation
impress
in common
insult
part of the game
run into
show up
PAST PERFECT
USE:
To emphasize the difference in time between two states, actions, or events in
the past which are mentioned in the same sentence. We generally use the Past
Perfect Tense when we want to emphasize that one event or state happened
before another.
EXAMPLE:
"I was really surprised when I met Fred at Jill's party last week. I hadn't
seen him for five years, and he looked really different. I asked him what he'd
been doing since we left school, but he didn't tell me. Then somebody told me
he'd been in prison..."
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
USE:
To emphasize that one event happened before another (connected by
conjunctions like WHEN/BEFORE) or in reported speech, when the "reporting
verb" is in the Past Tense and the "original" statement or idea was in the Past
Simple, Present Perfect, or Past Perfect.
FORM:
AFFIRMATIVE
[SUBJECT + HAD (+Adverb) + Past Participle[V3]...]
HAD NOT/HADN'T
EXAMPLES:
"She had just arrived when he came in."
"We had already eaten by the time they arrived."
"The opera had just begun when we arrived."
"I had never been in love until I met you!"
REPORTED SPEECH
[PAST TENSE + (THAT) + PAST PERFECT]
EXAMPLES:
"I thought (that) you'd already seen this."
"She said (that) she'd never met me before."
PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
USE:
To talk about continuous actions or states which continued up to a point in the
past.
FORM:
[SUBJECT + HAD/HAD NOT + BEEN + VERB + ING...](HADN'T)
EXAMPLES:
"I'd been waiting for an hour when the train pulled in."
"He hadn't been studying much until he failed his first exam."
"They'd been waiting for two hours when the bus finally arrived."
REPORTED SPEECH: STATEMENTS and QUESTIONS
USE:
To report or describe statements/ideas or questions without using the speaker's
exact words.
FORM:
The main clause contains the "reporting or question verb":
REPORTING VERBS: SAY, TELL, PROMISE, KNOW, BELIEVE, THINK, CLAIM, etc.
QUESTION VERBS: ASK, WONDER, WANT/WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
The noun clause contains the statement or question which is being reported.
For statements, we use the conjunction THAT, which is omitted in informal
English.
[MAIN CLAUSE + (THAT) + NOUN CLAUSE]
EXAMPLES:
"Mr. Jones says (that) he'll call later."
"She said (that) she was leaving."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Jones says (that) he is too busy to talk to you."
"Everybody tells me (that) I should stop smoking."
For questions, we use IF (Yes/No questions) or WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHY,
WHERE, HOW, HOW MUCH, or HOW MANY (Wh-Questions).
Notice that the verb in the noun clause takes the normal affirmative or negative
form and not the question form.
We often use "double questions" with ASK, TELL, or KNOW to make a polite
request for information.
"May I ask what your name is?" is politer than "What's your name?"
[MAIN CLAUSE + IF or WH-WORD + NOUN CLAUSE]
EXAMPLES:
"He's asking you if you like chocolate."
"Please ask him who that boy is."
"I wonder why the President didn't go to Rome."
"Do you know how many windows were broken."
"Could you tell me where the station is?"
advice
borrow
check
damage
furnace
handyman
hint
home repairs
leak
redecorate
repair
replacement part
