Conditional Sentences / If Clause

• What are they?

• They describe the result of something that might happen (in the present or future) or might
have happened but didn't (in the past) . They are made using different English verb tenses.
• There are four types of conditional sentences.

The Zero Conditional:

(if + present simple, ... present simple)
The First Conditional:
(if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)
The Second Conditional:
(if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)
The Third Conditional
(if + past perfect, ... would + have + past participle)
The Zero Conditional:
(if + present simple, ... present simple)
If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.

The First Conditional:

(if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)
If it rains tomorrow, we'll go to the cinema.

The Second Conditional:

(if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)
If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.

The Third Conditional

(if + past perfect, ... would + have + past participle)
How to Use Zero Conditional Sentences
(if + present simple, ... present simple)

Zero conditional sentences express general truths—situations in which one

thing always causes another. When you use a zero conditional, you’re talking
about a general truth rather than a specific instance of something.

If you don’t brush your teeth, you get cavities.

When people smoke cigarettes, their health suffers.
If babies are hungry, they cry
How to Use First Conditional Sentences
(if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)

First conditional sentences are used to express situations in which the

outcome is likely (but not guaranteed) to happen in the future.

If you rest, you will feel better.

If you set your mind to a goal, you’ll eventually achieve it.
If I have enough money, I will buy some new shoes.
How to Use Second Conditional Sentences
Second conditional sentences are useful for expressing outcomes that are
completely unrealistic or will not likely happen in the future.

(if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)

If I inherited a billion dollars, I would travel to the moon.

If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.(I probably won't win the lottery)

If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.

How to Use Third Conditional Sentences

Third conditional sentences are used to explain that present circumstances would be
different if something different had happened in the past.

(if + past perfect, ... would/could + have + past participle)

If you had told me you needed a ride, I would have left earlier.
If I had cleaned the house, I could have gone to the movies.
If she had studied , she would have passed the exam (but, really we know she didn't study
and so she didn't pass)

If I hadn't eaten so much, I wouldn't have felt sick (but I did eat a lot, and so I did feel sick).

If we had taken a taxi, we wouldn't have missed the plane

She would have become a teacher if she had gone to university

He would have been on time for the interview if he had left the house at nine