Imagined conditions

There are different types of conditions. Some are possible or likely, others are unlikely, and others are impossible:

(It is possible or likely that the weather will improve.)

(It is not likely that the weather will improve.)

(The weather did not improve – fine weather is therefore an impossible condition.)

These types of conditions are used in three types of sentences, called first, second and third conditional sentences.

Imagined conditions: the first conditional

We use the first conditional to talk about the result of an imagined future situation, when we believe the imagined situation is quite likely:

First conditional: form

conditional clause

main clause

+ present simple

modal verb with future meaning (/)

Warning:

We use the modal verb in the main clause, not in the conditional clause.

Not: If a lawyer will read the document…

Imagined conditions: the second conditional

We use the second conditional to talk about the possible result of an imagined situation in the present or future. We say what the conditions must be for the present or future situation to be different.

(People don’t complain at themoment.)

Second conditional: form

conditional clause

main clause

+ past simple

modal verb with future-in-the-past meaning (/)

We use a past form in the conditional clause to indicate a distance from reality, rather than indicating past time. We often use past forms in this way in English.

Warning:

We use in the main clause, not in the conditional clause:

Not: If you would decide to take the exam …

See also:

• Politeness

First and second conditional compared

When we use the first conditional, we think the imagined situation is more likely to happen than when we use the second conditional.

Compare

first conditional

second conditional

(it’s possible or likely that the flight will be late)

(it is unlikely that there will be more buses)

(it is possible or likely that you will need help)

(it is unlikely that he will have the money)

Imagined conditions: the third conditional

We use the third conditional when we imagine a different past, where something did or did not happen, and we imagine a different result:

(I didn’t play well and I didn’t win.)

(George didn’t bring his own car, so the situation was difficult.)

(The dog barked, so we knew there was someone in the garden.)

Third conditional: form

conditional clause

main clause

+ past perfect

modal verb with future-in-the-past meaning () + + – form

Warning:

We use in the main clause, not in the conditional clause:

Not: If he would have stayed … it would have been a disaster.

People do sometimes use the form with in informal speaking, but many speakers consider it incorrect.

Real conditionals

Some conditions seem more real to us than others. Real conditionals refer to things that are true, that have happened, or are very likely to happen:

(It is always true that they clamp your wheels if, or every time, you park here.)

(it is often true that I can’t sleep, so I listen to the radio)

In real conditional sentences, we can use the present simple or present continuous in both clauses for present situations, and the past simple or past continuous in both clauses for past situations. We can use these in various different combinations.

Present simple + present simple

(Every time this happens, this is what we do.)

Present continuous + present simple

(Every time this happens, this is what we do.)

Present continuous + present continuous

(If it is true that the economy is growing by 6%, then it is true that it is growing too fast.)

Past simple + past simple

(Every time that happened in the past, that is what we did.)

Past simple + past continuous

(Every time he was going past our house, that is what he did.)

We can also use modal verbs in the main clause:

(Every time we go out, it is usually possible to get a babysitter.)

(Every time we wanted someone, we would ask our neighbour.)

See also:

• Substitution

Types of conditional: summary

The table shows how the main types of conditionals relate to one another.

true

likely/possible

less likely/less possible

impossible

real

first

second

third

(We do this every time it snows.)

(It is possible or likely she will get the job.)

(It is less likely or unlikely that we will get more students.)

(The rent was not low enough.)

+

We can use with to refer to events which might happen by chance or by accident:

(If by chance you bump into Carol.)

Conditional clauses with or

and can be used in conditional clauses, either with the meaning of ‘being willing to do something’, or to refer to later results:

(if Clare is willing to meet us)

(If it is true that you will be happy as a result, I’ll stay at home tonight.)

We sometimes stress the or , especially if we doubt that the result will be the one mentioned:

(If it really is true that the planet would be saved as a result, I would stop using my car, but I doubt it is true.)

See also:

• Conditionals in speaking

Mixed conditionals

Often, things that did or did not happen in the past have results which continue or are still important in the present. We can emphasise this by using with a past perfect verb, and in the main clause.

(I met Charles so I’m here now.)

(We gave her a pay-rise so she is still working for us now.)

Conditionals in speaking

Spoken English:

In speaking, we often use -clauses without main clauses, especially when asking people politely to do things. is usually followed by or when it is used to be polite:

[Shop assistant to customer]

(a more polite way of saying .)

[A is writing something for B and having difficulty]

A:

…

B:

.

A:

.

See also:

• Politeness

Conditionals: Verb Tense in “If” Clauses

What this handout is about

There are many different ways to express “conditional” or “hypothetical” meaning in English. One of them is to use the word “if” in the clause that expresses the condition. For example, “If it rains, we’ll cancel the picnic. If it doesn’t rain, we won’t.” This handout explains how different verb tenses indicate different meanings when you are speaking hypothetically and should help you choose the right verb tense for the meaning you want to convey.

Using this handout

Most explanations of the conditional don’t use one consistent example, so it’s difficult to see how different verb tenses convey different meanings. This handout uses the same basic activity in each example (sticking your fingers into the fire) to show how the situation influences the choice of verb tense. The critical factor is the *likelihood* of the situation being real. Pay attention to the situation described before each example and notice how the verb changes as the situation becomes more and more likely.

Zero conditional: “Real condition”

This conditional deals with “real” conditions. We don’t call it “real” because it has already happened: we call it real because it *always* happens this way. We use this to describe a condition with an absolutely predictable result—in other words, to state a fact.

If you stick your fingers in the fire, they get burned. (fact—happens every time)

When the situation is completely likely, use present tense in both clauses.

First conditional: “Unreal, but likely”

This conditional deals with “unreal, but likely” situations in the present or future. We call it “unreal” because situation we are describing hasn’t happened yet, and “likely” because we can easily imagine it happening. We use the first conditional to describe these situations.

For example, a 3 year old child is reaching toward the fire. She hasn’t put her fingers into the fire yet, but we know that small children don’t understand fire, so we can easily imagine her touching it. We would say:

If you stick your fingers into the fire, you will burn yourself. (Same idea as above, but rather than stating a general fact, you are talking about a specific incident.)

If you stick your fingers into the fire, you will be crying all day.

Notice that the verb “stick” is in the present tense. Using the present tense verb shows two things:

1. it hasn’t happened yet (it’s unreal)
2. you believe it could happen (it’s likely)

Also notice that the main clause verbs (will burn, will be crying) can be in simple form or -ing form. It depends on whether you want to emphasize a single moment in time (simple form) or the an extended period of time (-ing form). In either case, use will + verb in the main clause.

When the situation is unreal, but likely, use present tense in the conditional clause and will + verb in the main clause.

Second conditional: “Unreal and unlikely”

This conditional deals with situations in the present and future that are both unreal and unlikely. The situation we are describing hasn’t happened yet, and we really can’t imagine it happening very easily, except in a freak accident or a moment of great stupidity.

For example, a 25 year old is joking about reaching into the fire. He hasn’t put his fingers into the fire yet, and we don’t think he’s serious about doing it, but we want to warn him about the consequences just in case. We would say:

If you stuck your fingers into the fire, you would need medical attention.

If you stuck your fingers into the fire, you would be screaming in pain all day.

Notice that the verb “stuck” is in the past tense. Using the past tense verb shows two things:

1. it hasn’t happened yet (it’s unreal)
2. you don’t really believe it will happen (it’s unlikely)

Also notice that the main clause verbs (would need, would be screaming) can be in simple form or -ing form. It depends on whether you want to emphasize a single moment in time (simple form) or the an extended period of time (-ing form). In either case, use would + verb in the main clause.

When the situation is unreal and unlikely, use past tense in the conditional clause and would + verb in the main clause.

Third conditional: “Unreal condition”

This conditional deals with situations in the *past* that are unreal—they didn’t happen. We can still imagine what the consequences would have been.

For example, the 25 year old was joking about reaching into the fire, but he didn’t actually do it. We would say:

If you had stuck your hand into the fire, you would have needed medical attention.

If you had stuck your hand into the fire, you would have been screaming in pain.

In the next two examples, the 25 year old actually did stick his hand into the fire. The “unreal” situation is the opposite:

If you hadn’t stuck your hand into the fire, you wouldn’t have spent the evening in the emergency room.

If you hadn’t stuck your hand into the fire, you wouldn’t have blistered it so badly.

When the situation is unreal and in the past, use past perfect (had + -ed) in the conditional clause and would have + verb in the main clause.

Mixing time references

In the examples of the third conditional (unreal and in the past), both the conditional clause and the main clause refer to past time: If you had done this in the past, you would have experienced this in the past.

It is also possible to mix time references—to talk about a condition in the past and the consequences in the present. For example:

If you had stuck your fingers into the fire last night, you would be in a lot of pain right now.

If you hadn’t stuck your fingers into the fire last night, you wouldn’t be wearing bandages today.

Find more examples at the English Club website: http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-conditional.htm

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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