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©English Dpt.

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CONDITIONALS

When referring to conditional sentences , we will refer to the if clause and the result or main

clause.

I would have met you at the airport

If I had known you were coming.

RESULT CLAUSE

IF CLAUSE

Note: you can also use:

• whether = if

• providing that / As long as = only … if

• on condition that

• Even if

• If not = unless

Conditional Sentences are also known as Conditional Clauses or If Clauses.

They are used to express that the action in the main clause (without if) can only take place if a certain condition

(with if) is fulfilled.

There are three types of Conditional Sentences.

What is a conditional clause?

It is possible and also very likely that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form: if + Simple Present / will-Future

Example: If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.

Type I

if + Simple Present / will-Future

Example: If I find her address, I will send her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.

Example: I will send her an invitation if I find her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.

See Simple Present and will-Future on how to form negative sentences.

Example: If I don’t see him this afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.

Form

Conditional Sentences Type I refer to the future. An action in the future will only happen if a

certain condition is fulfilled by that time. We don't know for sure whether the condition actually

will be fulfilled or not, but the conditions seems rather realistic – so we think it is likely to happen.

Example: If John has the money, he will buy a Ferrari.

Use

Other tenses for Type I

If clause Main clause

Present Present

Present Imperative

Present Modal

It is possible but very unlikely, that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form:

if + Simple Past/ Conditional I = would + Infinitive

Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

Type II

if + Simple Past, would + Infinitive

Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case,

don't use a comma.

Example: I would send her an invitation if I found her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.

See Simple Past and Conditional I on how to form negative sentences.

Example: If I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t stay here.

Were instead of Was

In IF Clauses Type II, we usually use ‚were‘ – even if the pronoun is I, he, she or it .

Example: If I were you, I would not do this.

Form

Conditional Sentences Type II refer to situations in the present. An action could happen if the present situation

were different: what would happen if …“

Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

Use

It is impossible that the condition will be fulfilled because it refers to the past.

Form: if + Past Perfect, Conditional II = would + have + Past Participle

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

Type III

if + Past Perfect, /Conditional II = would have + past participle

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.

Example: I would have sent her an invitation if I had found her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Past Perfect and Conditional II on how to form negative sentences.

Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.

Form

Conditional Sentences Type III refer to situations in the past. An action could have happened in the past if a certain condition had been

fulfilled. Things were different then, however. We just imagine, what would have happened if the situation had been fulfilled.

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

Sometime in the past, I wanted to send an invitation to a friend. I didn't find her address, however. So in the end I didn't send her an

invitation.

Example: If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.

I knew John very well and I know that he never had much money, but he loved Ferraris. He would have loved to own a Ferrari, but he

never had the money to buy one.

Use

There are some special conditional forms for modal verbs in English:

would + can = could

would + shall = should

would + may = might

The verbs "can," "shall" and "may" cannot be used with "would."

Instead, they must be used in these special forms.

Examples:

If I went to Egypt, I would can learn Arabic. Not Correct

If I went to Egypt, I could learn Arabic. Correct

The verbs "could," should," "might" and "ought to" include conditional,

so you cannot combine them with "would.“

Examples:

If I had more time, I would could exercise after work. Not Correct

If I had more time, I could exercise after work. Correct

Conditional with Modal Verbs

1 - REGRETS with the PAST PERFECT

I wish I hadn't got so angry.

2 - WANTING CHANGE FOR THE PRESENT OR FUTURE with the PAST SIMPLE

I wish I had enough money to go to Australia this summer.

3 - COMPLAINTS with WOULD + INFINITIVE

I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the time.

There are three distinct types of I wish / if only sentences:

I wish / if only

Let’s do some exercises!

Open your notebook and go for it!

Hope you’ll have both enjoyed and learnt

If you like it, say thank you; if you don’t, you should keep quiet.

Do you want to listen to a song?

If you leave me now,

you’ll take away the biggest part of me

No, baby, please, don’t go!

And if you leave me now,

you’ll take away the very heart of me

No, baby, please, don’t go!

Girl!, I just want you to stay

A love like ours is love that’s hard to find

How could we let it slip away?

We’ve come too far to leave it all behind

How could we end it all this way?

When tomorrow comes and we’ll both regret

The things we’ve said today

(bis)

If you leave me now,

you’ll take away the biggest part of me

No, baby, please, don’t go!

Oh, girl!, just got to have you by my side

No, baby, please, don’t go

Oh, mama, just got to have your loving, yeah!

If you leave me now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ykMNtzMT8

Other introductory conjunctions.

As long as people are aware of the problem, the situation will

improve

( The situation will improve only if people are aware of the problem)

Unless the government acts quickly, the economy will get worse

(The economy will get worse, if the government doesn’t act quickly

I wouldn’t give them any money even if I was/were a millionaire

Other Conjunctions

Providing that no one saw me, I’d keep the money

(I would only keep the money, if no one saw me)

That’s all folks!