Conditional Clauses
Conditional Clauses
• You use a conditional clause to talk
about a possible situation and its
results.
• Conditional clauses often begin with ‘if’.
• To make a complete sentence, a
conditional clause needs a main clause.
• A conditional clause can come before or
after a main clause.
Conditional Clauses
• A conditional clause is used to talk
about a situation that might happen and
its possible results.
• ‘If’ is used to talk about events that:
– happen often
– may happen in the future
– could have happened in the past but didn’t
happen
– will probably not happen
Conditional Clauses
• Examples
– If the light is red, the battery is probably
empty. (This happens often.)
– I’ll phone you if I need you. (This may
happen in the future.)
– If I had known, I’d have told you. (This
could have happened, but it didn’t)
– If she phoned me, I’d come immediately.
(This will probably not happen.)
Conditional Clauses
• When something is generally true or happens
often the present tense or the present perfect
tense is used in the main clause and also in
the conditional clause.
– If you lose weight too quickly, you soon regain it.
– If a driver does not own a license, he is breaking
the law.
– If we have won the lottery, they tell us.
– If the red light is blinking, the gas tank is probably
empty.
Conditional Clauses
• Note: You do not use the present
continuous in both clauses. You don’t
say ‘If they are losing money, they are
getting angry.’
Conditional Clauses
• When a conditional clause is used with
a present or a present perfect tense, an
imperative is used in the main clause.
– Call me if you’re worried.
– If he has finished, ask him to leave quietly
– If you are very early, don’t expect them to
be ready.
Conditional Clauses
• When talking about something that may
happen in the future, a present or a
present perfect tense is used in the
conditional clause and a simple future in
the main clause.
– If you marry her, you will need money.
– If you are going to America, you will need a
Visa.
– If he has washed the windows, he will want
his money.
Conditional Clauses
• Note: You do not use ‘will’ in conditional
clauses. You do not say ‘If I will see you
tomorrow, I will give you the book.’
Conditional Clauses
• When talking about something that is
unlikely to happen, the past simple or
the past continuous is used in the
conditional clause an ‘would’ in the main
clause.
– If I had enough money, I would buy a car.
– If he was coming, I would call.
Conditional Clauses
• Note: You do not use ‘would’ in a
conditional clause. You do not say ‘If I
would do it, I would do it like this.’
Conditional Clauses
• ‘Were’ is sometimes used instead of
‘was’ in the conditional clause,
especially after ‘I’.
– If I were as big as you, I would kill you.
– If I weren’t to busy, I would do it for you.
• You often say ‘If I were you’ when you
are giving advice to someone.
– If I were you, I would take the money.
– I should keep out of her way, if I were you.
Conditional Clauses
• When talking about something which
could have happened in the past but
which did not actually happen, you use
the past perfect in the conditional
clause. You use ‘would have’ and a past
participle in the main clause.
– If he had realized that, I he would have run
away.
– I wouldn’t have been so depressed, if I had
known how common this feeling is.
Conditional Clauses
• Note: You do not use ‘would have’ in the
conditional clause. You do not say ‘If I
would have seen him, I would have told
him’.
Questions?
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