Conditionals – (If-Clauses)

0 conditional - If – present + present = something that is always

true. Factual information. Scientific information. Instructions.

If you put water in the freezer, it becomes ice.

If your fridge starts to freeze food, lower its power.

Lower its power If your fridge starts to freeze food.

When/if you heat water to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils.

1st Conditional - If – verb present + will/can/may –

Real present or future idea.

If it’s raining (it rains) on Saturday night, I will go out anyway.

If the company doesn’t make me a counter-proposal, I won’t/may
not/cannot stay here.
2nd Conditional – if – simple past + would/could/might+base
form– Unreal/Imaginary/hypothetical situations in the present.
I would invest more in education if I were the president of Brazil.

If we had more free time, we would enjoy our lives more.

To be in the present

I am

You Are

He – She - It is

We are

You are

They are

To be in the past

I was

You were

He – She – it was

We were

They were

Conditionals:

When using conditionals Were is used for all persons

If I were

If you were

If she were

If he were
If it were

If we were

If you were

If they were

Was is not grammatically correct, though it is used in informal

conversations.

3rd -If + past perfect + would have / could have / might have + 3rd column

- Consequence in the past

If I had gone to the dentist when I was younger, my dentist wouldn’t have
told me off 6 years ago.

If I had studied English when I was a child, I could have gotten a promotion
last year.
Mixed Conditional – Consequence in the present/Past
If + past perfect –(3rd)
would/could/might+base form-(2nd)

If I had studied English when I was a child, I could speak English fluently
today. (Mixed)

If I hadn’t studied English for a long time, I wouldn’t be a teacher. (Mixed)

would have/could have/might have+3rd column(3rd)
if + past simple–(2nd)

If I were taller I could have become a basketball player at school.

If Brazil didn’t have so many natural resources, we would have suffered in

the last recession.

1st Conditional – If(when) + present + will/can/may verb (Base form) – Future possibility.

2nd Conditional – If + simple past + would/could/might verb (Base form) – Unreal/imaginary

situations in the present.

3rd Conditional - If + past perfect + would have/could have/might have + verb (3rd column) -
Consequence in the past.
Mixed Conditionals

a - If + simple past + would have/could have/might have + verb (3rd column)

(Consequence in the past)

b - If + past perfect + would/could/might + verb (Base form) (Consequence today/now)

 If I hadn’t been so shy in the interview, I would have been hired yesterday. (3rd conditional)

 If I hadn’t been so shy in the interview, I would be working for that company today. (Mixed
conditionals – 3rd and then 2nd)

 If Ian didn’t show his feelings so easily, he wouldn’t have argued with his sister last week.
(Mixed conditionals – 2nd and then 3rd)