Conditional Sentences

Conditional Sentences Dragana Filipović

Conditions deal with imagined situations: some are possible, some are unlikely, some are impossible.

Conditional clauses are usually introduced by the subordinating conjunction if: If it rains, we’ll stay in the house.

The first conditional If + present simple + future tense (e.g. will / shall) or modal verb with future reference (e.g.may) A speaker or writer predicts a likely result in the future if the condition is fulfilled. • If Sally comes too, there’ll be five of us.

If they promote her, she’ll get a big pay rise. • We won’t have enough time if we want to do some shopping too.

Unless = if not • She won’t come unless you invite her personally. (= She won’t come if you don’t invite her personally.) • Unless you can reduce the weight of that case, I’m afraid you won’t be allowed on the flight. (= If you can’t reduce …)

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. • If it ___ this evening, I won’t go out. (rain) • If I need your help, I ___ you. (ask) • Everyone will be surprised if he ___ the exam. (pass) • Hurry up! Ann will be annoyed if we ___ late. (be) • You won’t pass the exam unless you ___ more. (study)

If it rains this evening, I won’t go out. • If I need your help, I will ask (I’ll ask) you. • Everyone will be surprised if he passes the exam. • Hurry up! Ann will be annoyed if we are late. • You won’t pass the exam unless you study more.

The second conditional If + past simple tense + would / could/ might + infinitive A speaker or writer responds to a possible or hypothetical situation by indicating a possible outcome. The condition must be fulfilled for the present or future to be different.

If I knew what you wanted, maybe I couldhelp you. (I don’t know what you want. You must tell me.) • I would do a computer course if I had the time. (I don’t have the time.) • If I were you, I would tell him the truth. or: If I was you… (I am not you.)

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. • If I found $100 in the street, I ___ it. (keep) • If she sold her car, she ___ much money for it. (not / get) • Many people would be out of work if that factory ___ down. (close) • What would happen if you ___ to work tomorrow? (not / go) • They might be angry if I ___ them. (not / visit) • If I was offered the job, I think I ___ it. (take)

If I found $100 in the street, I would keep it. • If she sold her car, she wouldn’t get much money for it. • Many people would be out of work if that factory closed down. • What would happen if you didn’t go to work tomorrow? (not / go) • They might be angry if I didn’t visit them. • If I was offered the job, I think I would take it. (take)

The third conditional If + past perfect tense + modal verb (e.g. would / could / might) + perfect infinitive (have + past participle) An imagined past situation is described. We are talking about a past event which did not happen, and therefore things are different from how they might have been.

If I had seen you walking, I could haveoffered you a lift. (I didn’t see you.) • Tessa would have been furious if she hadheard him say that. (She didn’t hear him.) • If she had gone there, she might haveenjoyed it. (She didn’t go there.)

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. • I ___ out if I hadn’t been so tired. (go) • If I ___ you, I would have said “hello”. (see) • We could have gone out yesterday if the weather ___ so bad. (not / be) • If I ___ that you were ill last week, I’d have gone to see you. (know) • I would have been late for the interview if I ___ the bus. (miss)

I would have gone out if I hadn’t been so tired. • If I had seen you, I would have said “hello”. • We could have gone out yesterday if the weather hadn’t been so bad. • If I had known that you were ill last week, I’d have gone to see you. • I would have been late for the interview if I had missed the bus.

Real situations • If you want to learn the guitar, you really need to practise for at least a couple of hours a day. (for any person who wants to learn) • If I criticised her unfairly, then I always apologized. (It did sometimes happen that I criticised her and I did apologise.)

If you have a toothache as bad as that, you must go to a dentist today. • If steel is exposed to air and water, it resists rust for a considerable length of time. • If you are getting backache all the time, then you are not sitting properly. • Come over tomorrow around five unless my secretary contacts you.

Mixed conditionals • If he hadn’t graduated with top marks, now he wouldn’t have such a good job. • If the island were still a tourist attraction, last week’s earthquake would have caused far more deaths.

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets. • Fleas can jump up to thirty centimetres. If humans ___ (be) as good at jumping as fleas, they’d be able to jump 300 metres! • Some worms will eat themselves if they ___ (not find) enough food. • If she knew how pointless it is, perhaps she ___ (stop) doing it. • If we leave the dog alone all day, it ___ (destroy) the furniture.

If I had a million dollars, I ___ (buy) you a beautiful house. • If I had gone to the party last night, I ___ (be) tired now. • If I had gone to the party last night, I ___ (see) Ann. • If we ___ (play) better, we might have won. • We ___ (go) out if the weather hadn’t been so bad. • If I were you, I ___ (not buy) that coat.

We wouldn’t have any money if we ___ (not work). • If you stopped smoking, you ___ (feel) healthier. • If the museum charges for entry, a lot of people ___ (not be able) to visit it. • If we had paid our cleaner more, she ___ (not leave) us. • I wouldn’t be willing to help you unless you ___ (pay) me.

Answers • Fleas can jump up to thirty centimetres. If humans were as good at jumping as fleas, they’d be able to jump 300 metres! • Some worms will eat themselves if they don’t find enough food. • If she knew how pointless it is, perhaps she would stop doing it. • If we leave the dog alone all day, it will destroy the furniture. • If I had a million dollars, I would buy you a beautiful house. • If I had gone to the party last night, I would be tired now. • If I had gone to the party last night, I would have seen Ann.

If we had played better, we might have won. • We would have gone out if the weather hadn’t been so bad. • If I were you, I wouldn’t buy that coat • We wouldn’t have any money if we didn’t work. • If you stopped smoking, you would feel healthier. • If the museum charges for entry, a lot of people won’tbe able to visit it. • If we had paid our cleaner more, she wouldn’t have left us. • I wouldn’t be willing to help you unless you paid me.

Read a situation and write a sentence with if. Example: We don’t visit you so often because you live so far away. • If you didn’t live so far away, we would visit you more often. • People don’t understand him because he doesn’t speak very clearly.  • If he spoke (more) clearly, people would understand him. 2. I’m not going to buy that book because it’s too expensive.   If that book wasn’t/weren’t so expensive, I would buy it.

We can’t have lunch in the garden because it is raining.  • If it wasn’t/weren’t raining we could (would be able to) have lunch in the garden 4. The accident happened because the driver in front stopped suddenly.  • If the driver in front hadn’t stopped suddenly, the accident wouldn’t have happened. 5. I didn’t wake John because I didn’t know he wanted to get up early.   If I had known John wanted to get up early, I would have woken him.

You are hungry now because you didn’t have breakfast.  • If you’d had (had had) breakfast, you wouldn’t be hungry now. 7. She didn’t buy the shoes because she didn’t have enough money on her.  • If she’d had (had had) enough money on her, she would have bought the shoes. 8. She doesn’t go out very often because she can’t walk without help.   If she could walk without help, she would go out more often.

 The End

Conditional Sentences