Conditional Sentences

Conditional Sentences’ Function

• What actually happens
• What could happen (a possible & likely outcome in the future)
• What we wish would happen (imagining a different outcome for our
present situation)
• What might have happened (think about different outcome that
happened in the past
• If I get sick, I go to the doctor.
• If I get sick, I will go to the doctor.
• If I got sick, I would go to the doctor.
• If I had been sick, I would have gone to the doctor.
CONDITIONAL SENTENCE
If I got sick, I would go to the doctor.

[‘IF CLAUSE] [RESULT CLAUSE]

Event situation The other thing to happen

that must happen in order for
0 • If I get sick, I go to the doctor.
1 • If I get sick, I will go to the doctor.

2 • If I got sick, I would go to the doctor.

3 • If I had been sick, I would have gone to the doctor.

0 • If I get sick, I go to the doctor.
If + present simple + present simple

Habits, facts, truths.

If you put ice in your drink, it melts.

1 • If I get sick, I will go to the doctor.
If + present simple , will+ verb infinitive

Possibility

If it’s hot tomorrow, I’ll go for a swim at the beach

2 • If I got sick, I would go to the doctor.
If + past simple , would+ verb infinitive

Imagining the past result

If I had more money, I would buy a boat.

3 • If I had been sick, I would have gone to the doctor.

If + past perfect , would have + past participle

NOT REAL

If we had looked at the weather report, we would have

stayed home