Conditional
Sentences
by JFBS
Conditional Types
First Type: Possible & Probable conditions
Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions
Third Type: Impossible conditions
Other Conditional sentences
Wish / If only
First Type: Possible & Probable conditions
IF CLAUSE
Simple Present
MAIN CLAUSE
Simple Future
Imperative
Can
If you come
I will be happy
If you want to pass
Study!
If we buy a ticket
We ___________ (go) to the
concert
she will come with us
If she ______________ (arrive)
soon
If they dance too much
They ____________ (get) tired
If you need my car
________________ (take) it
First Type: Possible & Probable conditions
IF CLAUSE
MAIN CLAUSE
If you ________ (drink) a lot
I ________ (leave) you
If the road________ (be) wet
________(watch out) !
If he________ (lose) his key
You ________ (lend) him yours
If she ________ (not buy) any
food
If they ________ (not stop)
talking
If you ________ (take) the dog
for a walk
We ________ (have dinner)
We ________ (not finish) our
lesson
I ________ (give) you some
money
Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions
To express an imaginary present or improbable future
situations
IF CLAUSE
MAIN CLAUSE
Simple Past
Would + root verb
Could + root verb
Might + root verb
If she studied
she would pass her controls
If he ran
he would catch the bus
If I went to China
I could be with him
If I were _____________
_________________
Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions
IF CLAUSE
MAIN CLAUSE
If you ________ (drink) a lot
I ________ (leave) you
If the road ________ (be) wet
You________have) an accident
If he________ (lose) his key
You________ (lend) him yours
If she ________ (not buy) any
food
If they ________ (not stop)
talking
If you________ (take) the dog
for a walk
We ________.(have dinner)
We ________ (not finish) our
lesson
I ________ (give) you some
money
Third Type: Impossible conditions
To express a regret for an impossible situation happened
in the Past with NO solution
IF CLAUSE
MAIN CLAUSE
Past Perfect
Present Perfect Conditional
(Would have + past participle)
If it hadn't rained
We would have gone to the
country
She __________ (pass) her
controls
They 'd have come to the party
If she had studied
If you __________ (invite)
them
If I had known it
If he____________(phone)
I ___________(arrive) earlier
I 'd have seen him
Third Type: Impossible conditions
IF CLAUSE
MAIN CLAUSE
If you ________ (drink) a lot
I ________ (leave) you
If the road ________ (be) wet
You ________(have) an accident
If he ________ (lose) his key
You ________ (lend) him yours
If she ________ (not buy) any
food
If they ________ (not stop)
talking
If you________ (take) the dog
for a walk
We________(have dinner)
We ________ (not finish) our
lesson
I ________ (give) you some
money
Other expressions used in conditional
clauses:
UNLESS
" Si no…"
"A menos que..."
WHETHER…OR NOT
"Tanto….como si no "
ON CONDITION THAT
PROVIDED THAT
PROVIDING THAT
SO LONG AS
AS LONG AS
"Siempre que, en tanto
que, con la condición de
que,...etc
ASSUMING THAT
SUPPOSING THAT
SUPPOSE THAT
"Suponiendo que.."
You won't finish the race unless you control your
effort.
Whether you pay or not, you won't get in without an
invitation.
"I will only tell my age on condition that you tell
yours."
“I will only tell my age provided that you tell yours”
“I will only tell my age providing that you tell yours”
“I will only tell my age so long as you tell yours”
“I will only tell my age as long as you tell yours”
"Assuming that it's fine tomorrow, we'll go for a
swim"
"What would you do supposing that you were given
the chance to see the future ?"
Other time clauses
Time clauses with before, unless, when, while, as soon as, as long as,
provided that
After when, as soon as, before, while, unless, as long as and provided that we
use the present tense (not will).
I’ll stay with Jake when I go to London next week.
• As soon as I get my exam results, I’m going on holiday.
• Before I go out tonight, I have to finish this essay.
• While I’m away, Penny’s going to look after my dog.
• I won’t be able to buy a car unless I find a job soon.
• I’ll come with you as long as I don't have to drive.
• You’ll pass your exam provided that you doenough revision.
•
WISH / IF ONLY CLAUSES
Wish and if only can be used with would and past tenses. These structures express
regrets, and wishes for unlikely or impossible things.
If only is more emphatic. (Traducción: Ójala, Desearía)
1. Past tenses are used to talk about the present.
I wish I was better looking
Don’t you wish you could fly?
I wish I spoke French
If only I knew more people!
Were can be used instead of was, especially in a formal style.
He wishes he were better looking.
2. We use a past perfect tense to express regrets about the past
I wish you hadn’t said that.
Now she wishes she had gone to university.
If only she hadn’t told the police, everything would be all right.
3. We use would or could...
1. to talk about future things which aren’t so much probable.
I wish / If only I could go to the party.
2. to talk about future things that we would like people (not) to do.
The subject of wish and the main verb is different. So here we
only use would. This often expresses dissatisfaction or annoyance:
It can sound critical.
I wish you would go home.
If only the postman would come!
I wish this damned car would start.
If only it would stop raining!
We can use this structure to talk about things as well as people.
Sample rephrasing
First Conditional:
- Be careful – someone’s going to see you!
- If you are careful, nobody will see you!
- If + Subject + present simple, subject + future will (aff or neg)
Second Conditional:
-Kathy wants to go to the movies but doesn't have any money
-If Kathy had some money, she would go to the movies.
-If + Subject + past simple (neg or aff), subject + would /could/might + infinitive + complements
Third Conditional:
-Tom was not going to come to dinner the next day because you insulted him.
-If Tom hadn’t insulted him, he would have come to dinner.
- If + Subject + past perfect (neg or aff), subject + would/ could/might + have + pp + C
Wish / If only
I’m sorry, but I can’t help you now.
I wish I could help you.
I would have gone to the concert, but I didn’t have a ticket.
I wish I had had a ticket. / I had bought a ticket
Other samples
- His book will be published provided he takes his manuscript to the editor.
Unless he takes his manuscript to the editor, his book won’t be published.
Unles + present simple, future simple (aff or neg)
-I didn't have an umbrella with me and so I got wet.
I wouldn't have got wet, if I had had an umbrella with me.
-We don't go to school when it rains
If it rains, we don’t go to school.
-I didn't move the table because Jack didn't help me.
If Jack had helped me, I would have moved the table.
- You drink too much coffee, that's why you don't sleep.
If you didn’t drank too much coffee, you would sleep.
-You never talk to me, so you don't know anything about me.
If you talked to me, you would know something about me.
THE END
By JFBS