Conditionals 29 Mixed conditionals 88 In addition to all the tense variations that we can use in first, second and third conditionals, it is also possible to mix conditionals so that, for example, the if clause uses a verb form used in the first conditional and the main clause uses a verb form used in the third conditional. The context defines the meaning. The most common mixed conditional is: 3rd and if + past perfect would/could/might + infinitive Examples of mixed conditionals 3rd and If | had worked harder at university, | would have a degree now. Ist 2nd If you come to the party tomorrow, | wouldn’t bring Mike with you 2nd 3rd If she loved him, she would have stayed with him. Practice 29° Match the clauses and write the mixed conditional sentences in your notebook. 1 If you had told me about A he probably won't be at the this problem earlier, meeting. 2 Ifyou were a more B you could always ring them up. sensitive person, 3 If they don’t contact C his wife would never have left you soon, him. 4 Ifhe hadn't died D you wouldn’t have said that to her. so young, 5 If he didn’t work so E I would have had them by now. hard all the time, 6 If the train hadn’t F everything would be all right now. been delayed, 7 If he was feeling ill G would you hurry up and get ready? this morning, 8 If you're coming with us, H you wouldn't be so busy this month. 9 If really wanted to have 1 we would be there by now. children, 101f you had worked J I’m sure he'd be a famous harder last month, musician by now. Example: IF - If you had told me about this problem earlier, everything would be all right now.Conitionals As you have seen, it is possible to use almost any combination of tenses in conditional sentences. The context determines the choice of tense. Check 30 Put the verbs in brackets into the appropriate form, 1 Harry and Sarah, a husband and wife, are talking, H: Shall I make the children something to eat? S: T wouldn’t bother. You know how much they eat when they visit their grandparents. H: That's true. If they '.have, been cating, (eat) all afternoon, they aoe soceseueteeseeseseeseee (HOL Want) anything when they get home. S: Are we going to pick them up soo} H: No, my parents are bringing them over. We agreed that if T (take) them there, they --. (bring) them back. S: Oh good. Well, if we °..... (not collect) them, 1°, (go back) upstairs and do a bit more work. I've nearly finished that report now. If | -sssee+: (do) another half hour's work, I eee (finish) it by the time the children get home. H: Why do you always have to bring work home with you? If you .. (not agree) to take on that new job, you ®. (have) much more free time now. S: Yes, and if 1”... .-.- (Not take on) that job, we (not have) much money now. H: That's true, but I don’t like you working so much S: Well never mind. We've got a week's holiday soon. Just think! In two week's time, we * beach ~ that’s if 1"... (lie) on a warm sunny (can get) the time off work of course. 89Conditionals H: What do you mean, ‘i? S: Well, everything’s very busy at the moment. And if we ... (get) any more orders, I just (not see) how I can leave the office, H: What? But that’s ridiculous, 2 Dear Angela, Thanks for your letter, it was nice to hear from you. And yes, I would like to come and see you in Spain. If 1". 7 eeeen (SAVE up) enough money when the summer holidays start, 1 (try) and come then - if that ®....... ; vee: (De) OK. Otherwise, rll come over in the autumn because I'm sure I (save up) enough by October - if I (not lose) my job by then! Unfortunately, lots of people in our company are being made redundant and it could be me next. If 1. .... (have) any sense, I (leave) this job ages ago. Still it could be worse I suppose. I was delighted to hear about your promotion ~ it’s great news. If you (keep on) getting promoted, you .. (tun) the whole school soon. And it sounds like the weather's been really good over there. It’s been terrible here. I don’t think it’s been dry once this month. If it - (be) dry, 1° (not notice). Oh well, we're hoping it'll get better soon. If it . (still rain) at the weekend, we 90Concitonals .. (decide) we'll try and emigrate! Have you heard from Charlotte by the way? She said she was going to phone you to tell you that she’s pregnant. If she *.. (not phone you up yet), *... (not tell) her that I've already told you her news, will you? All the best, Jade 31 Words other than if Conditionals can also be introduced by the following conjunctions: unless evenif —ifonly _as/so long as_assuming(that) on (the) condition (that) provided/providing (that) In questions: suppose/supposing (that) what if imagine Practice 31 In your notebook, rewrite the sentences replacing if with the most appropriate conjunction, 1 Mr Davidson says he'll come and give a talk at the conference if we pay him a reasonable fee. (supposing that / unless / on condition that) Mr Davideon says he'll come and give a talk at the conference on condition that we pay him a reasonable fee. T won't help him if he doesn’t ask me properly. (provided / unless / as long as) If 1 could get a job, life here would be perfect. (what if / even if / if only) If you had a lot of money, do you think you would give up work? (Supposing that / Providing that / As long as) 5 If the train arrives on time, they'll be here in a few minutes. (What if / Assuming that / On condition that) 6 Ifhe doesn’t agree to my request, what will I do then? (Imagine / What if / Provided that) s 7 You can go out tonight if you get back by midnight (as long as / assuming that / supposing that) a1Conditionals 8 If the helicopter hadn't been there to save her, what would have happened then? (if only / Imagine / Unless) 9 If you'd offered to pay me a thousand pounds, | wouldn’t have done it. (if only / Provided that / Even if) 10 If Rosie gets this new promotion, we'll have enough money for a holiday abroad this year (Even if / Provided that / Supposing that) 32 Implied conditionals Conditions are not always expressed in the form of conditional clauses, particularly in spoken English. They can be expressed in another way or they may be evident from the context: { Please come out with us tonight. I’m sure you'll enjoy it. (implied condition: if you come out with us) With a bit more help, I would have ished it on time. | (with a bie more help = if Thad had more help) I'm sure we'd really enjoy going on holiday with you but we just can’t afford it. | (implied condition: if we went) I'm glad you didn’t tell Matthew about it. He would have been furious. | (implied condition: if you had told him) Practice 32 The condition is not stated in a conditional clause in the following underlined sentences. It is implied or is stated in a different way. Write a sentence containing the underlined words as a main clause, and an appropriate conditional clause. 1 I think Alison should apply for the job. She would make a very good managing director. She would make a very good managing director if she got the job. 2. The problem is that she doesn’t work very hard. L know that she could do really well. 3. We're lucky it’s sunny today. It would be horrible sitting out here otherwise. 92