Conditionals

First conditional
The first conditional is used to talk about things that will probably
happen in the future.

If you work hard, you will be successful.

If Present Simple Result the future/ modal

verbs + infinitive
or

You won’t be successful if you don’t work hard.

Result the future/ modal If Present Simple

verbs + infinitive
Complete the sentences with the first conditional.

don’t mind
1. If you ______________ (not/ mind), the headline will be about your
story.

2. If he reads the newspaper daily, he ______________

will be (be) better
prepared for the meetings.

3. If she writes that news report on time, she ______________

will get (get)
the job at the newspaper.

4. If you ______________
listen (listen) to that radio commercial carefully,
you will get its gist.

5. He won’t be a good journalist if he ______________

doesn’t know (not/ know)
how to write a good lead.
 Second conditional
The second conditional is used to talk about unreal situations in the
present or future.

If journalists did their job properly, readers would be better informed.

If Past Simple Result Modal verb (past) +

verb in the infinitive
or

Readers would be better informed if journalists did their job properly.

Result Modal verb (past) + If Past Simple

verb in the infinitive
Write sentences using the second conditional.

If/
They/
If/ not/
it/
you/not/
not/
there
go/sell/
be/
tobe/
the
successful/
thousands
so
press
many/
conference/
of
they/
national
magazines/
not/dailies/
you/
record/
if/
enjoy
they/
thea itlocal
new
not/ show/
have/
papers/every
sell/
week
more
quality

If it wasn’t successful, they wouldn’t record a new show every week

1. _________________________________________________.

2. If_________________________________________________.
there weren’t so many national dailies, the local papers would sell more

3. They wouldn’t sell thousands of magazines if they didn’t have quality

_________________________________________________.

If you went to the press conference, you would enjoy it

4. _________________________________________________.
 Third conditional
The third conditional is used to talk about unreal situations in the past.

If he had hidden his research as journalist, he would have been a bad professional.

If Past Perfect Result would have/ wouldn’t

have + verb in the
past participle
or

He would have been a bad professional if he had hidden his research as journalist.

Result would have/ wouldn’t If Past Perfect

have + verb in the
past participle
Complete the sentences with the right form of the
verbs in brackets. Use the third conditional.

1. If the film hadn’t been good, it ________________

wouldn’t have won (not/ win) the
“best motion picture” award.

hadn’t won
2. If she ________________ (not/ win) two Academy Awards, she
wouldn’t have been so famous.

3. I would have acted differently if I ________________

had been (be) in your
position.

4. If he hadn’t written that article, he ________________

would have been (be) a
reliable journalist.

5. Would you have employed him if you ________________

had known (know)
he was a media manipulator?
 Conditional links

If only
For complaining:

USED
If only you wouldn’t arrive so late all the time.

If only + would/could + verb in the infinitive

For expressing wish :

USED If only I knew how to write poems better.

If only + past simple
 Conditional links

If only
For expressing regret :
USED
If only I had known Ms Gruwell is a wonderful teacher.

If only + past perfect

! When if only is used, affirmative sentences become

negative, and negative sentences become affirmative.
 Conditional links

Unless

Unless you study more, you will get lower grades this year.
USED Unless has a similar meaning to if…not/ if + negative, in the
sense of ‘expect if’. The above sentence, for example,
means the same as:

If you don’t study more, you will get lower grades this year.

It is often used in conditional sentences. It can be used with

the first, second, or third conditionals.
Rewrite the sentences beginning them as indicated
below and make the necessary transformations.

1. Helen took a long time to tell me she loved him.

Helen had told me she loved him earlier
If only _______________________________________________.

2. I would like you to run faster.

If only _______________________________________________.
you ran faster

3. He studied hard, and so he managed to do the test.

he had studied hard, he wouldn’t have managed to do the test
Unless ___________________________________________________.

4. If you don’t pay the telephone bill, they will cut off your phone.
Unless _______________________________________________.
you pay the telephone bill, they will cut off your phone