Conditionals

1 Corinthians 13, 1-3

If I speak in the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can
fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if
I have a faith that can move mountains, but
have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and
surrender my body to the flames, but have
not love, I gain nothing.
 0 TYPE CONDITIONAL:
CERTAINTY

 It is used to show what always happens in a given situation,

to express the laws of nature or a general truth:
If-clause Main Clause
Present Present
If you heat ice, it melts.
 The condition always has the same result.
 We can use when instead of if:
If/When I am late, my father takes me to school.
If/When you mix black and white paint, you get grey.
Senator BARACK OBAMA’s
SPEECH, June 09,2008
I know how expensive college affordability is from
firsthand experience. At the beginning of our marriage,
Michelle and I were spending so much of our income
just to pay off our college loans. And that was decades
ago. The cost of a college education has exploded
since then, pricing hundreds of thousands of young
Americans out of their dream every year, or forcing
them to begin their careers in unconscionable debt. So
I'll offer this promise to every student as President –
your country will offer you $4,000 a year of tuition if you
offer your country community or national service when
you graduate. If you invest in America, America will
invest in you.
 1st TYPE CONDITIONAL:
REAL POSSIBILITY
 It is used to express a real or very probable
situation in the present or future.
If-clause Main Clause
Present simple Future simple,imperative,
can/must/may etc +bare infinitive
If we hurry, we will get there in time.
If he asks you, you will help/must/may help him.
 We often use unless+affirmative verb which
means 'if ... not‘:
He will arrive late unless he hurries up.=
He will arrive late if he doesn’t hurry up.
Lyrics of ENRIQUE IGLESIAS’s
Hero
Would you dance
if I asked you to dance?
Would you run
and never look back?
Would you cry
if you saw me crying?
And would you save my soul, tonight?
 2nd TYPE CONDITIONAL:
UNREAL POSSIBILITY OR DREAM
 It is used to talk about imaginary present
situations, hypotheses, where we are imagining
something different from what is really the case;
also about things in the future that are unlikely to
happen.
If-clause Main Clause
Past simple/continuous would/could/might+bare infinitive
(Present conditional)
If I had more time, I would learn Spanish.
If Bill was working today, we could see him.
 We can use either was or were for I, he, she, it, in
the if-clause.
If I were you, I would tell them the truth. ---- giving advice
 Claire’s Diary
4pm, Sun 25th March

What a disaster! Dad had arranged this big lungh

for me, and my step-mum got annoyed when she
saw w picking at my food. I didn’t think she’d
notice – she was paying so much attention to Dad
– but she got offended.Then Dad said I had to
make an effort t be nice to her, and I lost my
temper. ‘If you hadn’t left, none of this would
have happened,’ I said. He didn’t like that, so he
brought me home early.
 3rd TYPE CONDITIONAL:
NO POSSIBILITY
 It is used to refer to an imaginary situation in the
past, a condition in the past that did not happen;
also to express regrets and criticism.
If-clause Main Clause
Past perfect simple/continuous would/could/might+perfect
infinitive (Past Conditional)
If I had studied more, I would have passed the exam.
If he had known, he would have helped.

 When the If-clause comes before the main one, we separate

them with a comma. (,)
Lyrics of HELEN BAYLOR’s
If It Had Not Been
If It Had Not Been
for The Lord On My Side
tell Me Where Would I Be
where Would I Be

he Kept Mine Enemies Away

he Made Sun Shine Through A Cloudy Day

he Rocks Me In The Cradle Of His Arms

when He Knew I'd Been Battered And
scarred
 MIXED CONDITIONALS
 We can form mixed conditionals, if the context permits it, by
combining an if-clause from one type with a main clause from
another.
If-clause Main Clause
Type 2 Type 1
If the plane landed late last night, he won’t be on time for work
today.
Type 2 Type 3
If you were less impulsive, you wouldn’t have spoken to your
supervisor like that.
Type 3 Type 2
If I hadn’t drunk the bad milk, I would be fine now.