Conditional

Sentences

Conditional Types
First Type: Possible & Probable conditions
Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions
Third Type: Impossible conditions
Other Conditional sentences
Wish / If only

First Type: Possible & Probable conditions

IF CLAUSE

MAIN CLAUSE

If you come

Simple Future
Imperative
Can
I will be happy

If you want to pass

Study!

If we buy a ticket

We ___________ (go) to the

concert
she will come with us

Simple Present

If she ______________ (arrive)

soon
If they dance too much
They ____________ (get) tired
If you need my car

________________ (take) it

First Type: Possible & Probable conditions

IF CLAUSE

MAIN CLAUSE

If you ________ (drink) a lot

I ________ (leave) you

If the road________ (be) wet

________(watch out) !

If he________ (lose) his key

You ________ (lend) him yours

If she ________ (not buy) any

food
If they ________ (not stop)
talking
If you ________ (take) the dog
for a walk

We ________ (have dinner)

We ________ (not finish) our
lesson
I ________ (give) you some
money

Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions

To express an imaginary present or improbable future
situations
IF CLAUSE

MAIN CLAUSE

Simple Past

Would + root verb

Could + root verb

If she studied

she would pass her tests

If he ran

he would catch the bus

If I went to China

I could be with him

If I were _____________

_________________

Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions

IF CLAUSE

MAIN CLAUSE

If you ________ (drink) a lot

I ________ (leave) you

If the road ________ (be) wet

You________have) an accident

If he________ (lose) his key

You________ (lend) him yours

If she ________ (not buy) any

food
If they ________ (not stop)
talking
If you________ (take) the dog
for a walk

We ________.(have dinner)
We ________ (not finish) our
lesson
I ________ (give) you some
money

Third Type: Impossible conditions

To express a regret for an impossible situation happened
in the Past with NO solution
IF CLAUSE

MAIN CLAUSE

Past Perfect

Present Perfect Conditional

(Would have + past participle)

If it hadn't rained

We would have gone to the

country
She __________ (pass) her
tests
They 'd have come to the party

If she had studied

If you __________ (invite)
them
If I had known it
If he____________(phone)

I ___________(arrive) earlier
I 'd have seen him

Third Type: Impossible conditions

IF CLAUSE

MAIN CLAUSE

If you ________ (drink) a lot

I ________ (leave) you

If the road ________ (be) wet

You ________(have) an accident

If he ________ (lose) his key

You ________ (lend) him yours

If she ________ (not buy) any

food
If they ________ (not stop)
talking
If you________ (take) the dog
for a walk

We________(have dinner)
We ________ (not finish) our
lesson
I ________ (give) you some
money

Other expressions used in conditional

clauses:
UNLESS
" Si no"
"A menos que..."
WHETHEROR NOT
"Tanto.como si no "
ON CONDITION THAT
PROVIDED THAT
PROVIDING THAT
SO LONG AS
AS LONG AS
"Siempre que, en tanto
que, con la condicin de
que,...etc
ASSUMING THAT
SUPPOSING THAT
SUPPOSE THAT
"Suponiendo que.."

You won't finish the race unless you pace yourself.

Whether you pay or not, you won't get in without an
invitation.
"I will only tell my age on the condition that you tell
yours."
I will only tell my age provided that you tell yours
I will only tell my age providing that you tell yours
I will only tell my age so long as you tell yours
I will only tell my age as long as you tell yours

"Assuming that it's fine tomorrow, we'll go for a

swim"
"What would you do supposing that you were given
the chance to see the future ?"

Other time clauses

Time clauses with before, unless, when, while, as soon as, as long as,
provided that
After when, as soon as, before, while, unless, as long as and provided that we
use the present tense (not will).

Ill stay with Jake when I go to London next week.

As soon as I get my exam results, Im going on holiday.
Before I go out tonight, I have to finish this essay.
While Im away, Pennys going to look after my dog.
I wont be able to buy a car unless I find a job soon.
Ill come with you as long as I don't have to drive.
Youll pass your exam provided that you do enough revision.

WISH / IF ONLY CLAUSES

Wish and if only can be used with would and past tenses. These structures express
regrets, and wishes for unlikely or impossible things.
If only is more emphatic. (Traduccin: jala, Deseara)

1. Past tenses are used to talk about the present.

I wish I was better looking
Dont you wish you could fly?

I wish I spoke French

If only I knew more people!

Were can be used instead of was, especially in a formal style.

He wishes he were better looking.

2. We use a past perfect tense to express regrets about the past

I wish you hadnt said that.
Now she wishes she had gone to university.
If only she hadnt told the police, everything would be all right .

3. We use would or could...

1. to talk about future things which arent very probable.
I wish / If only I could go to the party.
2. to talk about future things that we would like people (not) to do.
The subject of wish and the main verb is different. So here we
only use would. This often expresses dissatisfaction or annoyance:
It can sound critical.
I wish you would go home.

If only the postman would come!

I wish this damned car would start.

If only it would stop raining!

We can use this structure to talk about things as well as people.

Sample rephrasing
First Conditional:
- Be careful someones going to see you!
- If you are careful, nobody will see you!
- If + Subject + present simple, subject + future will (aff or neg)
Second Conditional:
-Kathy wants to go to the movies but doesn't have any money
-If Kathy had some money, she would go to the movies.

-If + Subject + past simple (neg or aff), subject + would /could/might + infinitive + complements

Third Conditional:
-Tom was not going to come to dinner the next day because you insulted him.
-If you hadnt insulted him, Tom would have come to dinner.
- If + Subject + past perfect (neg or aff), subject + would/ could/might + have + pp + C
Wish / If only
Im sorry, but I cant help you now.
I wish I could help you.
I would have gone to the concert, but I didnt have a ticket.
I wish I had had a ticket. / I had bought a ticket

Other examples
- His book will be published provided he takes his manuscript to the editor.
Unless he takes his manuscript to the editor, his book wont be published.
Unles + present simple, future simple (aff or neg)
-I didn't have an umbrella with me and so I got wet.
I wouldn't have got wet, if I had had an umbrella with me.
-We don't go to school when it rains
If it rains, we dont go to school.
-I didn't move the table because Jack didn't help me.
If Jack had helped me, I would have moved the table.
- You drink too much coffee, that's why you don't sleep well.
If you didnt drink too much coffee, you would sleep well.
-You never talk to me, so you don't know anything about me.
If you talked to me, you would know something about me.