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Conditionals - Short Version

There are four types of conditionals that express a condition and a resulting clause. Type 0 refers to general truths using the present tense in both clauses. Type 1 refers to possible future situations using the present tense in the if-clause and future or modal verbs in the main clause. Type 2 refers to unlikely or hypothetical situations using the past tense in the if-clause and conditional verbs in the main clause. Type 3 refers to impossible past situations using the past perfect in the if-clause and conditional perfect in the main clause. The conjunction "unless" can also be used instead of "if...not" in all four conditional types.

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62 views

Conditionals - Short Version

There are four types of conditionals that express a condition and a resulting clause. Type 0 refers to general truths using the present tense in both clauses. Type 1 refers to possible future situations using the present tense in the if-clause and future or modal verbs in the main clause. Type 2 refers to unlikely or hypothetical situations using the past tense in the if-clause and conditional verbs in the main clause. Type 3 refers to impossible past situations using the past perfect in the if-clause and conditional perfect in the main clause. The conjunction "unless" can also be used instead of "if...not" in all four conditional types.

Uploaded by

Carla Cavaco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Conditionals express a condition (If-clause) and a result (main clause).

There are four types:

Type 0 – facts or general truths

If + Simple Present Simple Present

E.g.: When/ If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.

Type 1 – possible situations in the future/ likely things to happen if the condition is met

If + Simple Present Future (will + infinitive) or modal (can/ may…) + infinitive

E.g.: If you study hard, you’ll pass the exam.

Type 2 – unlikely/ hypothetical situations


If + Simple Past Conditional (would + infinitive)
or modal (could/ might…) + infinitive
E.g.: If I won the lottery, I would travel a lot.

Type 3 – impossible situations (refer to past situations that cannot be changed)


If + Past Perfect (had + past participle) Conditional Perfect (would + have + infinitive)
or modal (could/ might…) + have + infinitive

E.g.: If I hadn’t been sick, I would have gone to your party.

Using Unless in Conditional sentences


Unless means if not, in the sense of ‘except if’. Like if, unless is followed by a present tense, a past tense, or a
past perfect tense. Unless is used instead of if...not in conditional sentences of all types. Check the examples:

With If With Unless


Type 0 If it doesn’t rain, plants don’t grow. Unless it rains, plants don’t grow.
Type 1 You will be sick if you don't stop eating. You will be sick unless you stop eating.
Type 2 I wouldn't eat that food if I wasn't really hungry. I wouldn't eat that food unless I was really hungry.
Type 3 I wouldn't have phoned him if you hadn't suggested it. I wouldn't have phoned him unless you had suggested it.
* Notes:

 The if-clause and the main clause are separated by a comma. The main clause may come first, but if so,
we don’t use a comma.
 In Type 0, we may replace If by When (used for things that you are sure will happen).
 In Type 2, when the verb in the if-clause is a form of be, we use were instead of was. Note that this use
of were is possible and recommended with all subjects. Was is also becoming acceptable, but many
grammarians still insist that you should use were.
 In some contexts more than one form of Conditional may apply or even mixed forms.

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