THE

CONDITIONALS
LET’S RECAP... 2
Conditionals are also known as ‘if clauses’. They describe the result of
something that might happen (in the present or future) or that might have
happened but didn’t (in the past). Different tenses are used to make the
conditional (if) clauses.
The zero conditional: describes a general statement.
If you don’t sleep properly, you feel lethargic the next day.
** This means every time you don’t sleep properly, you feel tired.

The first conditional : uses the simple present tense after ‘if’, then
the future simple in the other clause.
Let’s Get Technical: 3

if + present simple,… will + infinitive

If it rains, I won’t (will not) go to the park.

If parents are not careful, their children will meet bad
influences.

How is the zero conditional different from the first

conditional?
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Zero conditional :
“If you don’t sleep properly,
This will happen every time
you feel lethargic the next day” you sleep late.

First conditional :
This talks about what
will happen today,
“IF YOU DON’T SLEEP PROPERLY, YOU’LL
another day might be FEEL LETHARGIC THE NEXT DAY”
different. You will
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The second conditional:

This clause uses the simple past tense after ‘if’, then followed by ‘would’ and
an infinitive.
It is used for (1) to talk about something in the future that probably won’t
come true and (2) to talk about something in the present which is
impossible, because it’s not true. It is different from the first conditional in
that it is more unlikely to happen.
**Let’s get technical:
if + past simple,… would + infinitive
(1) If they met the Prime Minister, they would ask him to sponsor their event.
(2) If the community college had more teachers, they would conduct more classes.
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The third conditional:

The third conditional is used by putting the past perfect tense after ‘if’
followed by ‘would have’ and the past participle in the second part of the
sentence. It is used to talk about the past to describe a situation that
didn’t happen and to imagine the result if it did.

**Let’s get technical:

if + past perfect,… would have + past participle
(1) If the school had won the cash prize, they would have spent it on school
supplies.
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Thanks!

Any questions?
Please go back to the Classwork page
for practice on the conditionals.