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CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

Type 0

If/When/Unless + present simple + present simple

It expresses general truths. Verdades de la naturaleza.

“When you heat water to 100ºC, it boils.”

“If you want to live longer, you must eat healthier food.”

Type 1

If/When/Unless + present simple + will/might/may/present continuous

It expresses a condition referring to a possible present or future event. Es

altamente probable que suceda.

“When I am older, I will study medicine.”

“Unless you study enough, you will not past the exam.”
“If you go to Canary Islands, you will have guaranteed good weather.”

Type 2

If/Unless + past simple/past continuous + would/could/might/ought +

infinitive

It expresses a hypothetical condition referring to the present or future. La

probabilidad de que suceda es inferior a la del primer condicional. El
hablante considera menos probable que ocurra lo expresado con este tipo
de condicional.

“If I were a rich man, I would buy a palace.”

Type 3

If/Unless + past perfect + would/could/might/ought to + present simple

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It is used to talk about something that could have passed in the past but it
never happened. Es un condicional imposible, pues habla de cuestiones que
podrían haber ocurrido en el pasado pero no ocurrieron.

“If Anna had gone to the party, we would have gone as well.”

Formal style

“If” can be omitted and the auxiliary verb placed before the subject.

“If I had known that you were there, I would have visited you.”
“Had I known that you were there, I would have visited you.”

Supposing/imagine

We use supposing and imagine in place of “if”. The meaning is similar.

“Imagine you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?”

If + was7were to

If + was/were to is used to make an event seem more hypothetical.

“If they were to find a way of wiping out malaria, millions of lives would
be saved.”

If + will/would

If + will/would is used to make requests more polite.

“If you would be kind enough to send your account details, we will settle
the matter immediately.”
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Inversion

1- If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

2- If Peter had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.

3- If you hadn’t helped me with my children I wouldn’t have been able

to go to work.

4- She could have passed the exams, if she had studied.

5- If we had gone to the cinema, we might have watched an interesting

film.

6- I would have done my homework, if the teacher had explained it

properly.

7- If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have gone to university.

8- If he had spoken more slowly, Mary could have understood him.

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9- If they had waited for another 10 minutes, they would have seen the
pop star.