CONDITIONALS

Grammar rules with examples

There are four basic types of conditional sentences in the English language. 

Examples: 

The zero conditional: I take my umbrella if it rains.

The first conditional: I'll call you if I work late.                                 

The second conditional: If the bus didn't arrive on time, I would drive you to the airport.          

The third conditional: She wouldn't have come if I hadn't invited her. 

 

► The zero conditional

 

The zero conditional describes situations that are always true. If has the same meaning as when orwhenever.

If I go to school, I get up at seven. (Whenever I go to school I get up at the same time.)

If you park your car on double yellow lines, you pay a fine. (Whenever you park illegally, you pay a fine.)

We use the present simple tense in both the main clauses and the if clauses.

 

► The first conditional

 

The first conditional sentences are used to speculate about possible situations that can really happen at present or in future.

We do not use will in an if clause to describe future activities (compare it to time clauses).

If he studies hard, he'll pass the exams. If we catch the 10.15 train, we will arrive on time. If you don't get the ticket, what will you do?

We make if clauses with if + present tense and main clauses with will + bare infinitive.

 

► The second conditional

 

In the second conditional sentences we speculate about situations that will probably never happen at present or in future.

If I had more time, I would help you. (But I am not free at the moment. I can't help you).

If I won a million dollars, I would start a business of my own. (But I know that it is not realistic.)

We make if clauses with if + past tense and main clauses with would + bare infinitive.

 

Note: the verb to be can be specific in the if clause.

If I were rich, I wouldn't work. If he were younger, he would marry her.

(But was is also possible: If I was rich, I wouldn't work. If he was younger, he would marry her.)

But: If I were you, I wouldn't do it. (In this expression, were is much more usual than was.)

 

Compare the first conditional with the second

The main difference between the first conditional and the second conditional is about probability: the first conditional is realistic, the second conditional is unrealistic.

Sometimes we can use both with the following difference in meaning.

If I see him, I will tell him. (I suppose I will see him, because we go to the same school.)

If I saw him, I would tell him. (I don't think I will see him, because he is ill.)

If I need your help, I'll call you. (It is probable that I will need your help.)

If I needed your help, I'd call you. (It is not very probable that I will need your help.)

 

Sometimes we must use either the first conditional or the second conditional to make it clear that the situation is real or unreal.

If you get up late, you will miss your bus. (a real situation)

If I came from your country, I would understand your problems. (an unreal situation - I am not from your country.)

Other forms

Apart from the basic structures (if + the present simple + will and if + the past simple + would), we can also make different combinations.

Examples - type 1: 

If you have finished your dinner, you can ask for the bill.

If you are feeling tired, take a rest.        

If he is a good skier, he might make it. 

If you want to be slim, you should eat less.        

If you meet her, could you let me know?

 

Examples - type 2:

If I knew his address, I might go and see him.   

If we were on holiday, we would be lying on a beach now.            

Why are we watching this film? If we were watching the news, it would be more interesting.

 

► The third conditional

 

The third conditional sentences always refer to the past. We speculate about situations that happened or did not happen in the past.

If I had won a million, I would have started a business of my own. (But I didn't win anything.)

If he had met her, he would have told her. (Unfortunately, he didn't meet her.)

If we hadn't practised, we wouldn't have won the match. (But we practised and won.) 

We make if clauses with if + past perfect and main clauses with would + perfect infinitive (have + past participle).

 

But we can also combine other verb structures in third conditional sentences.

We didn't save any money. If we had saved some money, we might have bought the house.         

She wasn't there and I wasn't sitting next to her. But if she had been there, I would have been sitting next to her.                                                                                  

I was looking at the trees when I fell off the bike. If I hadn't been looking at the trees, I wouldn' t have fallen off the bike.

The mixed conditionals

In the mixed conditional sentences we can combine the second and third conditional.

If he had left immediately, he would be here now. (He didn't leave immediately and isn't here.)

If I had studied hard when I was young, I wouldn't be a porter now. (I didn't study and I am a porter.)

If we hadn't told him the way while he was preparing for his journey, he would get lost now. (We told him and he isn't lost.)

The inverted conditionals

We can also make conditional sentences by changing the word order in the if clause.

Had he booked the hotel room, he wouln't have slept at the camp. (If he had booked ... )

Were I in your position, I would accept it. (If I were ... )

This is less common, quite formal and is mostly used in writing.

 

Note

 

If is the most frequent expression in the if clauses, but other expressions are also possible.

even if, provided (that), unless, on condition (that), in case                                                        

Examples: 

You will leave tonight even if you don't want to.   

You can have your birthday party provided that you aren't noisy.  

We'll sell you the ranch on condition you pay in cash.

You should take a dictionary with you in case you forgot some words.

Unless you do something, she won't come back. (If you don't do anything, ... )

 

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TERCER CONDICIONAL

http://www.euroresidentes.com/Blogs/curso_ingles/2005/06/el-conditional-3.html

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THIRD CONDITIONAL

Third Conditional: no possibility

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.

Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(

	condition	result
	Past Perfect	WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If	I had won the lottery	I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF	condition	result
	past perfect	WOULD HAVE + past participle
If	I had seen Mary	I would have told her.
If	Tara had been free yesterday	I would have invited her.
If	they had not passed their exam	their teacher would have been sad.
If	it had rained yesterday	would you have stayed at home?
If	it had rained yesterday	what would you have done?

 

result	IF	condition
WOULD HAVE + past participle		past perfect
I would have told Mary	if	I had seen her.
I would have invited Tara	if	she had been free yesterday.
Their teacher would have been sad	if	they had not passed their exam.
Would you have stayed at home	if	it had rained yesterday?
What would you have done	if	it had rained yesterday?

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Third conditional

We can use the Third Conditional to talk about 'impossible' conditions, impossible because they are in the past and we cannot change what has happened.

• If I had worked harder at school, I would have got better grades.
• If I had had time, I would have gone to see him. But I didn't have time.
• If we had bought that house, we would have had to rebuild the kitchen.
• If we had caught the earlier train, we would have got there on time but we were late.

Notice that the main clause can contain 'would', 'could' or 'might.

• If I had seen him at the meeting, I would have asked him. (But he wasn't there so I didn't.)
• If I had seen him at the meeting, I could have asked him. ( But he wasn't there so it wasn't possible.)
• If I had seen him at the meeting, I might have asked him. (But I'm not sure. Perhaps if the opportunity had arisen.)
• If I had paid more attention in class, I would have understood the lesson.

Also notice that sometimes the 'if clause' is implied rather than spoken.

• I'd have done it. ("if you had asked me but you didn't.")
• I wouldn't have said that. ("if I'd been there.")
• He wouldn't have let him get away with that. ("if he had tried that with me.")

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

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THIRD CONDITIONAL

Third Conditional, también -Type III- Refiere a una situación hipotética del pasado y se forma según la estructura : if + past perfect + conditional perfect. Aquí tienes algunos ejemplos traducidos.

If clause	Main clause
If + Past Perfect tense	would/could/might + have + past participle
If I had won the lottery,	I would have traveled around the world.

• If I had won the lottery, I would have traveled around the world.
  Si yo hubiera ganado la lotería, habría viajado por todo el mundo.
• If I had seen him, I would have told him about you.
  Si lo hubiese visto, le habría contado acerca de ti.
• If I had known the answer, I would have raised my hand.
  Si hubiese sabido la respuesta, habría levantado mi mano.
• If she had come on Saturday, I would have seen her.
  Si ella hubiese venido el sábado, la habría visto.
• If they had left earlier, they would have arrived on time.
  Si ellos hubiesen salido más temprano, habrían llegado a tiempo.
• If we had studied harder, we might have passed the test.
  Si hubiésemos estudiado más duro, podríamos haber aprobado la prueba.
• If you had gone to Brazil, you would have had lots of fun.
  Si tu hubieses ido a Brasil, habrías tenido mucha diversión.
• If I hadn't been so busy, I could have helped you.
  Si no hubiese estado tan ocupado, te podría haber ayudado.
• If you had phoned me, I would have known you were here.
  Si tu me hubieses telefoneado, habría sabido que estabas aquí.
• If they had invited us, we would have accepted at once.
  Si ellos nos hubiesen invitado, habríamos aceptado de inmediato.
• If she had explained me the problem, I would have understood it.
  Si ella me hubiese explicado el problema, lo habría entendido.
• If I hadn't forgotten his number, I would have phoned him.
  Si no hubiese olvidado su número, lo habría llamado.
• If it hadn't rained, we would have gone fishing.
  Si no hubiese llovido, habríamos ido a pescar.
• If my sister had been here, she would have enjoyed this.
  Si mi hermana hubiese estado aquí, habría disfrutado esto.
• If they hadn't drunk so much last night, they wouldn't have felt sick today.
  Si no hubiesen tomado tanto anoche, no se habrían sentido enfermos hoy.
• If he had worked more, he could have saved more money.
  Si él hubiese trabajado más, podría haver ahorrado más dinero.

REFERENCES:

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THIRD CONDITIONAL

Third Conditional

Introduction

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The third conditional (also called conditional type 3) is a structure used for talking about unreal situations in the past. This page will explain how the third conditional is formed, and when to use it. The structure of a third conditional sentence Like the other conditionals, a third conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an "if" clause and a main clause: if clause main clause explanation If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam. I failed the exam, because I didn't study hard enough. If the "if" clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the "if" clause comes second, there is no need for a comma: main clause if clause I probably would have passed the exam if I had studied harder. We use different verb forms in each part of a third conditional: if clause if + subject + past perfect verb* main clause subject + would (OR could, OR might) have + past participle *The past perfect is formed with the auxiliary verb "had", and the past participle (or third form) of the verb. Note also that third conditional forms can be contracted: Full form If I had studied harder, I probably would have passed the exam. Contracted form If I'd studied harder, I probably would've passed the exam. Using the third conditional The third conditional is used to talk about things which DID NOT HAPPEN in the past. If your native language does not have a similar construction, you may find this a little strange, but it can be very useful. It is often used to express criticism or regret: Example Explanation If you had driven more carefully, you would not have had an accident. Criticism: You had an accident because you didn't drive carefully enough. If we had played a little better, we could have won the game. Regret: We didn't play well, so we lost the game. If you had saved your money, you could have bought a computer. Criticism: You didn't save your money, so now you can't afford a computer. If it had snowed, we could have gone skiing. Regret: It didn't snow, so we couldn't go skiing. REFERENCE: GO TO THIS LINK http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/3cond.htm