CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

CONDITIONAL
SENTENCES

CONDITION RESULT
CLAUSE CLAUSE

If you study hard,* you'll pass your exams.

or
You'll pass your exams if you study hard.

*notice the use of commas

 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

LINKING CONDITIONAL CLAUSES : Conjunctions

If :We can join the two parts with If and other conjunctions too.

Unless ( =if not, except if): i.e. We'll miss the buss unless we hurry = if wedon't hurry

on condition (that)
as long as
so long as They are more formal and suggest an
provided (that) element of only if
providing (that)

i.e. I will do this only if you do that

I will do this on condition that /as long as/ provided (that)....you do that
 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

CONDITIONAL
SENTENCES

REAL UNREAL
CONDITIONALS CONDITIONALS

Refer to imaginary, untrue

Refer to real situations, hypothesis,
situations and speculations or to unlikely or
events impossible situations
 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
REAL CONDITIONALS UNREAL CONDITIONALS

“real”
“real” “imaginary”
“imaginary”
situations
situations situations
situations

Normal
Normal Past/
Past/Backshifted
Backshifted
verb
verbtenses
tenses tenses
tenses

Time
Reference Tense
Time
Reference Tense
Present Past
Present Present Future
Future Future
Past Past Past Past
i.e. Perfect
If it rains, you can stay here i.e.
If you want to go home, I'll give you a lift If I were president, I wouldn't sweep the
If we met in the café, we always talked streets. ( =But I'm not)
for hous If you had arrived earlier, we would have
gone shopping. ( =But you didn't arrive
earlier)
 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
REAL CONDITIONALS

Condition
ConditionClause
Clause Result
ResultClause
Clause

Present
If/unless...+ Present *, Future (will, going to..)
Modals (will, may,
might, must...)
Imperative(for advice and
*(Simple, Continuous, Perfect) instructions)

i.e.
If you eat too much, you get fat Traditionally Zero Conditional
If you drink, don't drive
If you study hard, you will pass the exam
If you have finished, we could go now Traditionally 1st Conditional
If they’re watching TV, they may not/won’t hear you
 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
UNREAL CONDITIONALS

Condition
ConditionClause
Clause Result
ResultClause
Clause

would
Present If/unless...+ Past , could + infinitive (traditionally 2nd Cond)
might
Future ______________________
------------------------------------------------- would
could +have +past participle (traditionally 3rd Cond.)
Past If/unless...+ Past Perfect , might

i.e.
If we bought this house, we would have to remodel the kitchen
If I had more time, I’d help you
If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exams
If you had asked me, I’d have helped you

Note: was/were are both used as the past form of be: If she was/were here
 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

MIXED CONDITIONALS

A present situation can have a past result, and a past situation can have a present
result.
Present
Present Past
situation Past
situation result
result

If I had more money, I wouldn’t have walked

If I weren’t so busy, I could have taken off a few days last week

Past
Past Present
Present
situation
situation result
result

If she had tried harder, she wouldn’t be where she is today

If you hadn’t wasted so much money, we’d be able to afford a better
holiday