CONDITIONALS
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The English Conditional There are a number of structures in English that are called conditionals. They are used to talk about possible or imaginary situations. A "condition" is a "situation or circumstance". For example: If a certain condition is true, then a particular result happens. There are four basic conditionals that we use in English. Zero Conditional First Conditional Second Conditional Third Conditional There are some more conditionals formed by mixing some of these four.
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Structure of Conditional Sentences The structure of the conditionals is simple. There are two basic possibilities in terms of order in the sentence:
IF
Condition
Result
If
it rains,
we will get wet
or like this:
Result
IF
Condition
We will get wet
if
it rains.
Notice that we only use a comma in the first example.
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Conditionals: Time and Probability Table Probability
Conditional
Example
Time
Certain
zero
If you heat water to 100 degrees celsius, it boils
any time
Likely
first
If it rains, I will stay in.
future
Unlikely
second
If I won the lottery, I would retire.
future
Impossible
second
If I had the money, I would present lend it to you
Impossible
third
If I had seen him, I would past have given him the message.
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Zero Conditional: certainty We use the zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact. Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens?
The ice melts (it becomes water).
You would be surprised if it did not!
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Zero Conditional IF
condition
result
you heat ice,
it melts.
present simple
present simple
If
Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result. We can also use when instead of if, for example: When you heat ice, it melts.
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Let's think about more examples using the zero conditional.
IF
CONDITION (present simple)
RESULT (present simple)
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First Conditional: real possibility We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?
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First Conditional: real possibility IF
condition
result
If
it rains,
I will stay at home.
present simple
will + base verb
You can also say "I will stay home if it rains".
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen.
Sometimes, we use shall, can, or may instead of will. For example: If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.
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Let's think about more examples using the first conditional.
IF
CONDITION (present simple)
RESULT (will + base verb)
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Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream
The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.
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Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream IF If
condition
result
I won the lottery,
I would buy a car.
past simple
would + base verb You can also say "I would buy a car if I won the lottery".
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen.
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Let's think about more examples using the second conditional.
IF
CONDITION (past simple)
RESULT (would+ base verb)
Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would. For example: If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.
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Conditionals: Summary Here is a chart to help you visualize the basic English conditionals. Do not take the 50% and 10% figures too literally. They are just to help you.
probability
conditional
example
time
100%
zero
If you heat ice, it melts.
any time
50%
first
If it rains, I will stay future at home.
10%
second
If I won the lottery, I future would buy a car.
0%
third
If I had won the past lottery, I would have bought a car.
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If I study and practise the conditionals, I will learn how to use them quickly!
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