The tense of verbs of the possible conditional clause is present simple, while the tense in the main clause

is present future.

EXAMPLES
If you run fast,you will catch the bus. If you annoy the dog,it will bite you. If you write fast,you will finish it by an hour.

If the main clause is an imperative sentence,the tense is also present simple,not present future. Examples -If you get up before me,wake me up. -If you go to Tesco,buy a cake for me.

If there is a modal verb should in the conditional clause,the condition becomes less likely. Examples >If the machine should break down again,we shall replace it for you. >If you should be like that again,I shall dismiss you.

 If you work harder, you

A.would B.will

Exercise

pass the exam.

C.should

you go to library, call me.

A.If B.would C.since

If they call you again, you shall report to the police.

A.since B.will C.should

The Second Conditional can be used used to talk about imaginary present situations, where we are imagining something different from what is really the case. We can also use it to talk about things in the future that are unlikely to happen, as the condition is unlikely to be met. We use the past tense in the condition part and would for the result. Formation: if + past simple, + would + base form

*If I knew her number, I would send her a fax. *If these machines were not so expensive, we would buy them.

*If I lost my job tomorrow, I would move to London to find the same kind of job.

Past Perfect

WOULD HAVE + Past Participle

If I had won the lottery

I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won. Look at some more examples in the tables below:

WOULD HAVE + past participle I would have told Mary I would have invited Tara Their teacher would have been sad Would you have stayed at home What would you have done

if if if if if if

past perfect I had seen her. she had been free yesterday. they had not passed their exam. it had rained yesterday? it had rained yesterday?

Examples