Conditional tenses are used to speculate about what
could happen, what might have happened, and what we wish would happen. In
English, most sentences using the conditional contain the word if. Many
conditional forms in English are used in sentences that include verbs in one of
the past tenses. This usage is referred to as "the unreal past"
because we use a past tense but we are not actually referring to something that
happened in the past. There are five main ways of constructing conditional
sentences in English. In all cases, these sentences are made up of an if
clause and a main clause. In many negative conditional sentences, there is an
equivalent sentence construction using "unless" instead of
"if".
Conditional sentence type
|
Usage
|
If clause verb tense
|
Main clause verb tense
|
Zero
|
General
truths
|
Simple
present
|
Simple
present
|
Type 1
|
A
possible condition and its probable result
|
Simple
present
|
Simple
future
|
Type 2
|
A
hypothetical condition and its probable result
|
Simple
past
|
Present
conditional or Present continuous conditional
|
Type 3
|
An
unreal past condition and its probable result in the past
|
Past
perfect
|
Perfect
conditional
|
Mixed
type
|
An
unreal past condition and its probable result in the present
|
Past
perfect
|
Present
contditional
|
The zero conditional
The
zero conditional is used for when the time being referred to is now or
always and the situation is real and possible. The zero conditional
is often used to refer to general truths. The tense in both parts of the
sentence is the simple present. In zero conditional sentences, the word
"if" can usually be replaced by the word "when" without
changing the meaning.
If clause
|
Main clause
|
If
+ simple present
|
simple present
|
If this
thing happens
|
that thing happens.
|
If you
heat ice
|
it melts.
|
If it
rains
|
the grass gets wet.
|
Type 1 conditional
The
type 1 conditional is used to refer to the present or future where the situation
is real. The type 1 conditional refers to a possible condition and its
probable result. In these sentences the if clause is in the simple present, and
the main clause is in the simple future.
If clause
|
Main clause
|
If
+ simple present
|
simple
future
|
If this
thing happens
|
that
thing will happen.
|
If you don't
hurry
|
you will
miss the train.
|
If it
rains today
|
you will
get wet.
|
Type 2 conditional
The type 2
conditional is used to refer to a time that is now or any time, and a
situation that is unreal. These sentences are not based on fact. The
type 2 conditional is used to refer to a hypothetical condition and its
probable result. In type 2 conditional sentences, the if clause uses the simple
past, and the main clause uses the present conditional.
If clause
|
Main clause
|
If
+ simple past
|
present
conditional or present continuous conditional
|
If this
thing happened
|
that
thing would happen. (but I'm not sure this thing will happen) OR that thing
would be happening.
|
If you
went to bed earlier
|
you
would not be so tired.
|
If it
rained
|
you
would get wet.
|
If I
spoke Italian
|
I would
be working in Italy.
|
Type 3 conditional
The type 3
conditional is used to refer to a time that is in the past, and a
situation that is contrary to reality. The facts they are based on are
the opposite of what is expressed. The type 3 conditional is used to refer to
an unreal past condition and its probable past result. In type 3 conditional
sentences, the if clause uses the past perfect, and the main clause uses the
perfect conditional.
If clause
|
Main clause
|
If
+ past perfect
|
perfect
conditional or perfect continuous conditional
|
If this
thing had happened
|
that
thing would have happened. (but neither of those things really happened) OR
that thing would have been happening. |
If you
had studied harder
|
you
would have passed the exam.
|
If it
had rained
|
you
would have gotten wet.
|
If I had
accepted that promotion
|
I would
have been working in Milan.
|
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