Transcript CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

CONDITIONAL
SENTENCES
STRUCTURE

In grammar,conditional sentences are sentences
discussing factual implications or hypothetical implications
and their consequences. Languages use a variety of
conditional constructions and verb forms (such as the
conditional mood)to form this kind of sentences.

Full conditional sentences contain two clauses, the
condition or protasis and the consequence or apodosis.
“If it rains [condition], (then) the picnic will be cancelled
[consequence]”.

Syntactically, the result is the main clause, and the
condition is a subordinate clause.
TYPES
ZERO CONDITIONAL :
PROBABLE CONDITON

zero conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an "if" clause and a
main clause


STRUCTURE: If + present simple tense, present simple tense
They are used to state general rules. To generalize or give facts. To talk
about something which is temporarily true or always true
“If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils”.

If the "if" clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the "if" clause
comes second, there is no need for a comma:
“Water boils if you heat it to 100 degrees”.
NOTE: Other tenses as present continuous can be used.
“If your muscle hurts, you are probably doing to much exercise”.
FIRST CONDITIONAL:
PROBABLE CONDITION
The 1st conditional is used to speculate about the future consequences of
a specific event. In this case, the verb in the second part of the sentence is
preceded by will.
GENERAL STRUCTURE: If + present simple tense, will + bare infinitive

“If they offer a good price, we will buy the whole consignment”.
You can use any present tense in the if-clause, and any future tense in the
other clause.
“I´ll have finished in an hour if you don´t disturbe me”
“If you are not going, I´m not going to go either”.
COMMON MISTAKE: We do not use the future in the if part of the sentence.

“I am flying to the States tonight. I'll give you a ring if I can find a phone”.
(The speaker is not sure if he will be able to find a phone or not.)
In a sentence with an if-clause we can use the imperative, or other modal
verbs, instead of will + infinitive

“If you hear from Susan today, tell her to ring me.”
“If the traffic is bad, I may get home late”.
The 1st conditional is usually used in the
following cases:
 Contingency plans, considering events
that may/may not occur (If I feel too
excited to sleep, I'll try reading one of our
reports)
 Company forecast; degrees of certainty;
project planning,…
SECOND CONDITIONAL:
IMPROBABLE CONDITION

The 2nd conditional can be used to refer to less probable or impossible
situations. The verb in the second part is preceeded by would / should /
could / might. The if-clause can come in the first part of the sentence, or
the second.
STRUCTURE: If + past tense, would + infinitive
“If I knew her number, I would send her a fax/I would send her a fax if I
knew her number”.
COMMON MISTAKE: We do not use would in the if part of the sentence.

“If these machines were not so expensive, we would buy them. / If we
hired a lawyer, we would recover our debts easily/If I lost my job
tomorrow, I would move to London to find the same kind of job.”
The first two sentences refer to present situation, and imagining a situation
that is different from the reality. In the third we are talking about a
possible event in the future, but using second conditional we make it
clear that we do not really think it will happen.
The 2nd conditional is usually used in the
following cases:
 Stating preferences
 Supposing : “If I were 10 years younger, I'd take
the job”.
 Unusual circumstances: “I would / might join the
army, if there was a war”.
NOTE: If we think that a future event is reasonably
likely, we use first conditional. If we are talking
about an event that is unlikely or impossible, we
use the second conditional
THIRD CONDITIONAL:
IMPOSSIBLE CONDITION

The 3rd conditional is used when talking about things that didn't
happen in the past (and the consequence if they had happened).
The verb in the second part is used with would / should / could /
might (+ have + past participle).
STRUCTURE: If + past perfect tense, would + present perfect
IF
+
HAD DONE,
WOULD
+
HAVE DONE
“If I'd known it was a formal party, I wouldn't have gone wearing
jeans and a jumper. I would have worn a suit.”

Positive and negative: When we use the 3rd conditional we are
imagining the opposite situation. If what actually happened was
negative, we use a positive form. If what actually happened was
positive, we use a negative form:
“If my client had given me her fax number, I wouldn't have had to post a
letter to her”.
“If I'd known it was a formal party, I wouldn't have gone wearing jeans
and a jumper”.
MIXED CONDITIONALS
Unreal conditionals (type II + III) sometimes can be mixed, that is, the
time of the if clause is different from the one of the main clause.

Past --> Present: If I had taken an aspirin, I wouldn't have a
headache now.

Past --> Future: If I had known that you are going to come by
tomorrow, I would be in then.

Present --> Past: If she had enough money, she could have done
this trip to Hawaii.

Present --> Future: If I were you, I would be spending my
vacation in Seattle.

Future --> Past: If I weren't flying to Detroit, I would have
planned a trip to Vancouver.

Future --> Present: If I were taking this exam next week, I would
be high-strung.
VARIATIONS
VARIATIONS

UNLESS means the same as if ... not. It always refers to
the conditional part of the sentence and not the result
part of the sentence:
“If he doesn't get here soon, we will have to start the
meeting without him.” “Unless he gets here soon, we will
have to start the meeting without him”.

We often use not + unless, which means only ... if,
when we want to emphasize a condition:
“They will only sign the contract if we give them an
additional discount / They won't sign the contract
unless we give them an additional discount.”

IF and IN CASE: We use in case to talk about
precautions we will take before a problem happens. We
use if to talk about what we will do after a problem
happens:
“We are going to insure the shipment in case the goods get
damaged in transit”.
(We will take our insurance first; the problem may or may
not happen afterwards.)
“If the goods get damaged in transit, we'll make a claim”.
(The damage may happen, and we will make a claim
afterward.)
Note: Do not confuse it with in case of, that you sometimes
see in notices. E.g. In case of fire, break glass.
 MORE
VARIATIONS

PROVIDED vs AS LONG AS, etc.
We can use provided that/providing, as long as, and so long as
when we want to emphasize condition. Provided that and as long
as mean if and only if (providing and so long as are a little less
formal):
“I will agree to these conditions provided that they increase my
salary”.
(I will only agree if they give me more money.)
“The strike will be successful as long as we all stay together”.
(It will only succeed if we all stay together.)

Other similar variations are: assuming (that); on condition (that);
on the assumption (that); supposing (that);with the condition
(that).

SO THAT: We use so that to say what the result or purpose of an
action will be:
“I'll take a credit card so that we don't run out of money”.
(The credit card will stop us from running out of money)
OTHER CASES

EVEN IF describes how sth. will happen whatever the
condition
“Even if it rains, we´ll still go for a picnic”.

SHOULD/WERE TO make an event seem more unlikely
and hypothetical:
“If you should see Ann, could you ask her to call me?”
(It implies that I do not expect to see Ann)
“If I were to ask you to marry me, what would you
say?”

HAPPEN TO emphasises chance posibilities
“If you happen to see Mark, could you tell him to give
me a call?”

IF IT WERE NOT FOR/IF IT HADN´T BEEN FOR describe
how one event depends on another
“If it weren´t for Mary, this house would be a mess”

WILL/WOULD: politeness and emphasis
“If you will/would wait here, I´ll see if Mr Morgan is
free”.
“If you will stay out late, no wonder you are tired!”
(insist on staying out)

BUT FOR can be replaced by if not. It´s used in formal
language, and must be followed by a noun form.
“But for your help, we wouldn´t have been able to do
it!”
(If you hadn´t helped us, we wouldn´t have been able to do
it!).

IF AND ADJECTIVES: In expressions such as if is
necessary/possible, it is possible to omit the verb be.
“If interested, apply within / If necessary, take a taxi”.
OMITTING IF
Inversion is used when “if” is omitted:
 Had
I known... (instead of: If I had
known...)
 Were
you my daughter,... (instead of: If
you were my daughter,...)
 Should
you need my advice,... (instead
of: If you should need my advice,...)
PRACTICE
 http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/co
nditionalintro.html
 http://www.imparareinglese.co.uk/esercizi_
inglese/second_third_mixed_conditional.ht
ml
 http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410
/grammar/allcnd1.htm
 http://www.rn.ac.th/english/sopa/conditiona
lsentences/conMixex.htm
FUTURE
TIME CLAUSES
TIME EXPRESSIONS
 As
soon as
 When
 Until
 Unless
 Before
 After
 In case

After these time expressions, even though you
are talking about the future, you need to use a
present tense (simple, continuous, perfect)
We´ll be able to leave as soon as I lock the front
door.
I´ll ring you when I get there.
I´ll be back before you know.