By TeacherP

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CONDITIONALS

 There are two parts to a conditional sentence –

the condition and the result. The result depends on the
condition.
 In English, we have "real conditionals" (which talk about
real possibilities) and "unreal conditionals" (which talk
about imaginary or impossible situations). Here are some
examples of each type:

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Real conditionals:
o Zero Conditional:
o If someone breaks a window, an alarm goes off.
o First Conditional:
o If I miss the bus tonight, I'll take a taxi instead.

Unreal conditionals:
o Second Conditional:
If I owned a car, I would drive to work.
o Third Conditional:
If I had studied harder, I would have passed the test.
o Mixed Conditional:
If I had finished my work yesterday, I wouldn't be
so stressed out today.
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ZERO CONDITIONAL

If you don’t water flowers, they die.

CONDITION RESULT

If you have a headache, stop watching TV.

If clause: Main clause:

PRESENT SIMPLE, PRESENT SIMPLE or

IMPERATIVE

With zero conditional, we express a general truth or we

give advice.

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 Use of “If” (condition) vs “When” (time
clauses)
The word if implies that a situation happens less frequently,
and the word when implies it happens more frequently:

 If I have a day off from work, I usually go to the park.

(it implies that having a day off from work is not frequent)

 When I go to my favorite restaurant, the waiters greet

me by name.
(it implies that I go to this restaurant frequently)

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FIRST CONDITIONAL
Whereas the zero conditional talks about real present situations,
the first conditional talks about real future possibilities.

If the weather is nice, we will go for a walk.

If you don’t apologize, she will never trust you again.

If clause: Main clause:

PRESENT SIMPLE FUTURE SIMPLE

Unless (=if not) is also possible.

Ex: Unless the weather is nice, we won’t go for a walk.
Unless you apologize, she’ll never trust you again

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First Conditional: Real Future Possibilities

We can also reverse the order of the condition and result in the
sentence, with no change in meaning:
 We'll go to the beach if it's sunny tomorrow.
 We'll go to the movies if it rains tomorrow.

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Other words besides “If”

 In first conditional sentences, it is possible to use other
words instead of “if” or “unless”:

o “As long as” or “providing that” mean “but only if”.

Compare:
They’ll succeed but only if they try hard.
They’ll succeed as long as they try hard.

o As soon as (to emphasize immediacy):

Ex: This situation is very urgent. I’ll call you as soon as I
have more information.
When, as soon as, by the time, the moment (that), until…
They are called time clauses but they have the same
structure as First Conditional Sentences.

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Second Conditional
If I had a lot of money, I would buy a big house.
Condition Result
If I knew his number, I would (I’d) phone him.
if-clause: main clause:
PAST SIMPLE TENSE CONDITIONAL SIMPLE
would / might / could + infinitive

We use would when the result is more definite or certain.

Ex: If Peter asked Karen out, she would say yes.
We use might when the result may or may not happen:
Ex: If Peter asked Karen out, she might say yes... or she might say no.
We use could to talk about possibilities or abilities.
Ex: If I had a million dollars, I could buy a helicopter,
I could live in a mansion, I could quit my job….
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One final note on Second Conditional

 Which is correct?
 If I was rich, I’d buy a boat. Or If I were rich, I’d buy a boat.
 If Dana was here right now, she’d agree.
 If Dana were here right now, she’d agree.
 Technically the correct answer is were in both cases…
even though the subject is singular, we use were when
talking about hypothetical situations. However, informally,
more and more people are saying sentences like these
with was when the subject is singular. It’s not correct, but it
is common. To be on the safe side, it’s best to stick with
were!
 One very common phrase for giving advice is in the
second conditional: “If I were you, I’d…”
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SECOND CONDITIONAL

Jack wants to buy a house but he can’t do

this because he doesn’t have any money.

If I had a lot of money,

I would buy a big house.

I wish I …
I wish I had a lot of money to buy a
house.
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SECOND CONDITIONAL

Susan wants to phone Paul but she can’t do

this because she doesn’t know his number.

If I knew his number,

I would phone him.

I wish…
I wish I knew his number…
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 Practise time! 2nd conditional
 Complete the sentences with the verbs in the correct
tenses. Pay careful attention to which part of the
sentence is the condition, and which part is the
result! When possible, abbreviate “would” to “‘d”.
a) ate
If you _____(eat) ‘d have
a healthy breakfast, you __________
(have) more energy.
b) ‘d call
I ___________ had
(call) him if I ___________ (have) his
number.
c) were
If he __________ (be) more organized, he
__________________
wouldn’t forget (not forget) so many things.
d) would it take (it take) if we
How long _________________
hired (hire) someone to do this work?
__________
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FIRST v. SECOND CONDITIONAL

If John runs fast, he will win the race.

This is still possible to happen.

If John ran fast, he would win the race.

This is unlikely to happen because John doesn’t run fast.

THE DIFFERENCE: FIRST and SECOND CONDITIONAL

Both conditionals refer to the present and future.
The difference is about probability, not time.
First conditional: real and possible situations
Second conditional: unlikely to happen
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THIRD CONDITIONAL

Jack wanted to buy a house last year but he

couldn’t do that because he didn’t have any money.

If I had had a lot of money,

I would have bought
a big house.

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THIRD CONDITIONAL

Yesterday, Susan wanted to phone Paul but she

couldn’t do that because she didn’t know his number.

If I had known his number,

I would have phoned him.

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 SECOND v. THIRD CONDITIONAL

If I saw a car accident, I would call an ambulance.

But I don’t see an accident now. This is unlikely to happen.

If I had seen a car accident, I would have called an ambulance.

But I didn’t see an accident yesterday.

THE DIFFERENCE: SECOND and THIRD CONDITIONAL

The difference is about time.
Second conditional: refers to the present and future.
Third conditional: refers to the past situations.

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A bit of rephrasing…
a) I’m not rich so I don’t travel a lot. => If I…
If I were rich, I’d travel a lot.
b) She didn’t wake up early, so she missed the train. =>
If she the train.
If she had woken up earlier, she wouldn’t have missed the train.
c) I didn’t call you because I came back really late. =>
I earlier.
I would have called you if I had come back earlier.
d) He doesn’t have a job, that’s why he can’t buy a house. =>
If he …
If he had a job, he would be able to buy a house.
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e) He had that terrible accident because he wasn’t careful. =>
If he accident.
If he had been careful, he wouldn’t have had that terrible accident.
e) I didn’t work hard, so I didn’t pass the exam. =>
If I the exam.
If I had worked hard, I would have passed the exam.
f) They can’t live in this country because they can’t find a job here.
=>They a job here.
They’d live in this country if they found a job here.
g) Visiting Israel won’t be possible without a visa. =>
Unless you Israel.
Unless you have a visa, you won’t be able to visit Israel / it will be
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ALL CONDITIONALS

0. If it rains, the grass gets wet.

General time reference.

1. If it rains today, you will get wet (you don’t have an umbrella).
This is still possible to happen.

2. If it rained, you would get wet.

But the sky is blue. This is unlikely to happen.

3. If it had rained yesterday, you would have got wet.

But it didn’t rain, so you didn’t get wet.(past situation)

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True or False

stamens True or
False

1. Real conditionals talk about situations that are likely or possible.

2. Unreal conditionals are used for events that will definitely happen in
the future.

3. The sentence “If I study, I will pass” is an example of a real conditional.

4. Unreal conditionals use the present simple tense in the if-clause.

5. “If I had a million dollars, I would travel the world” is an unreal

conditional.

6. The structure “If I was…” is always correct in unreal conditionals.

7. Unreal conditionals often describe imaginary or hypothetical situations.

8. The main clause of a real conditional might use “can,” “will,” or “might.”

9. Unreal conditionals describe something that is true in the present.

10. Real conditionals are common when making plans or talking about the
future.
Real Conditional – Present/Future

Choose the correct verb form to complete each sentence. These are real conditionals (possible and likely to
happen).

1. If I (see / saw) her later, I (will tell / would tell) her the news.

2. If it (doesn’t rain / didn’t rain) tomorrow, we (go / will go) hiking.

3. You (will be / would be) late if you (don’t hurry / didn’t hurry).

4. If she (finishes / finished) the report on time, the boss (will be / would be) happy.

5. They (will miss / would miss) the train if they (arrive / arrived) after 7 a.m.

Unreal Conditional – Present/Future

Choose the correct verb form to complete each sentence. These are unreal conditionals (imaginary, hypothetical,
or unlikely).

1. If I (am / were) you, I (will quit / would quit) that job.

2. If he (know / knew) how to drive, he (will rent / would rent) a car.

3. We (will have / would have) more fun if it (is / were) sunny today.

4. If she (have / had) more confidence, she (will apply / would apply) for the role.

5. If they (live / lived) closer, we (visit / would visit) them more often.

Write Conditionals from Situations Write real or unreal conditional sentences for each situation.

1. Situation: You don’t have enough time to go to the gym.

➤ If I ________________________________________________________

2. Situation: You’re tired because you stayed up too late.

➤ If I ________________________________________________________

3. Situation: You want to join a cooking class, but it’s full.

➤ If the class __________________________________________________

4. Situation: You’ll get a new phone if your parents allow.

➤ If my parents _________________________________________________

5. Situation: You’re not good at math, but you want to improve.

 ➤ If I ________________________________________________________

Mixed Conditionals (Advanced Option)

Identify whether each sentence is real or unreal. Then rewrite the sentence with the opposite condition (real →
unreal, unreal → real).

1. Original: If I were taller, I would play basketball.

➤ Type: __________ → Rewrite: ___________________________________

2. Original: If she studies hard, she will pass.

➤ Type: __________ → Rewrite: ___________________________________

3. Original: If we had more money, we would travel more.

➤ Type: __________ → Rewrite: ___________________________________

4. Original: If he arrives early, we will start on time.

➤ Type: __________ → Rewrite: ___________________________________