Expressing conditionals
The four main English conditionals
• Each conditional sentence has an 'if clause'
and a 'main clause'. If clause / conditionals
talking about something probably happen or
did not happen for now, future and past
Zero conditional
• When do we use zero conditionals?
• We use the zero conditional for scientific facts and the
most important thing to note is that zero conditionals
are about conditions which are generally true
• Structure:
If + present simple, ...present simple
Example:
If this thing happens, that thing happens
If you melt ice, it becomes a liquid
Zero conditionals have the following
characteristics
• You can replace the “if” with ‘when’ or ‘whenever’ without changing the
meaning
Example“:
When I am happy, I smile
• When we use the word 'you' in zero conditionals, it often refers to people in
general, not somebody in particular
Example:
If you don’t eat enough you lose weight
• It is also used to give instructions, with the imperative in the main clause
Example:
Text me if you get lost
The first conditionals
• When do we us the first conditionals?
• We use the first conditional to talk about things which might happen in the
future. We can’t know for sure what will happen in the future, but we can use
the first conditional to talk about possible things that could easily come true.
• Structure:
If + present simple, ...will + infinitive
Example:
If this thing happens, that thing will happen
If we don't leave now, we will miss the train
• You can also use modals in the ‘main clause’ instead of ‘will’ to express the
degree of certainty or permission, or a recommendation
Example:
If we don’t leave now, we might miss the train
The second conditionals
• We can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to
be true. We often use it to talk about fantasies.
• Structure:
If + past simple, ...would + infinitive OR present continuous
Example:
If this thing happened, that thing would happen.
If this thing happened, that thing would be happening
If I had more money, I would buy twin tower
If I could speak animal language, I would be talking to rabbit
• We We can also use it to talk about something in the present which is
impossible
Example:
If I were you, I would ask him out
The third conditionals
• When do we use?
• We use the third conditional to talk about the past. It's
used to describe a situation that didn't happen / unreal
condition and it also used to express a regret
• Structure:
If + past perfect, ...would + have + past participle
Example:
If this thing had happened, that thing would have
happened
If I had gone to bed earlier, I wouldn’t have been so tired.
