Conditionals

CONDITIONALS AND UNREAL TENSES

Conditional sentences talk about what happens, what might or could happen, what could have happened or what we wish would happen. There are real and unreal conditionals. Real conditionals describes real-life situations, unreal ones describe imaginary situations.

All conditional sentences consist of a main clause and a condition.

MAIN CLAUSE
(result or consequence)
I would help you

IF – CLAUSE
(conditon)
if I knew how.

The order of the main parts can be swapped without any difference in meaning.

I will call you if I get home. = If I get home, I will call you.
Note there is a comma if the conditional starts with the IF-part.

FORMS OF CONDITIONALS

Type of conditional	Usage	IF-clause	Main-clause
Zero (present real)	general truths	Present Simple	Present Simple
Type I	a possible condition and its probable result	Present Simple	Will/can + infinitive (V1)
Type II	a hypothetical condition and its imaginary result	Past Simple (V2)	Would/could + infinitive (V1)
Type III	an unreal past condition and its imaginary result	Past Perfect (had + V3)	Would/could + have + V3

ZERO CONDITIONAL

The zero conditional is used for what we do or what always happens (both IF/WHEN can be used with little difference in meaning)

I ride my bike if there is nothing on TV.
If the weather is nice I walk to work
Jane helps my do my English HW if she has time. (suggests that she rarely has time)
Jane helps me do my English HW when she has time. (suggests that she regularly has time)

for giving instructions (WHEN is not possible)

If she calls, tell her to bring the money by tomorrow.
If you want to book a lesson, call me in advance.
Call me if you’re not sure what to do.

for general truths or facts (IF/WHEN can be used interchangeable with no difference in meaning)

If/when you heat iron, it melts.
If/when the temperature drops below zero, the roads are slippery.
If/when it rains, the air is more humid.
If/when the spring arrives, the bear comes out from its den.

TYPE 1 CONDITIONAL

Type I conditional (future real) is used for what we think will happen in the future. It is called real conditional because the condition is realistic, it might or it is likely to happen.

If it rains, we won’t go to the shopping mall.
She will help you if you let her use your car.
I will be mad if she is late again.
What will you do if you lose your job?
I will give you a call when I get out of the plane.

In certain cases we can use other modals instead of WILL to express probability, recommendation or permission in the future. Study the following examples.

If I get the right equipment, I may finish it in time.
You should go if the boss gets back to the office.
If you leave now, it can cause trouble in the department.

TIME CLAUSES

Time clauses are dependent parts of a sentence that indicates when the action takes place in the main clause. Time clauses are normally preceded by time adverbs such as before, when, if, after, as soon as, whenever, until, unless, by the time etc.
Use the present simple in time clauses to indicate the future.

We will take a rest as soon as we get there.
Before she finishes the ironing, she will wash the dishes.
You’ll get what I’ve promised when you clean up your room.
By the time the guests arrive, everything will be ready.
You’ll be sick unless you stop drinking.

Call me when you will get home. WRONG
I’ll be at home before she’ll finish her job. WRONG

TYPE 2 CONDITIONAL

The type II conditional (present unreal conditional) is used to talk what we would do in imaginary situation and to talk about wishes.

If the team had more time to finish the project, they wouldn’t be under such pressure.
I would be grateful if you didn’t use my laptop.
If you really loved me, you wouldn’t behave like this.
Your granny would be pleased if you visited her.
What would you say if I took you out for dinner?

The idiomatic expression IF I WERE YOU (subjunctive mood) is very common to give advice to someone. IF I WAS is also accepted and often heard in informal speech. However, in exam situation stick to the academic version.

If I were you, I wouldn’t touch the oven.
I wouldn’t except her offer If I were you. There are other offers worth considering.
If I were you, I wouldn’t drive so crazily with the kids sitting in the back.
I would ask for a rise if I were you.

In more sophisticated style, inverted subject verb order without conjunction is also possible.

Were Jeff shrewder, he could easily turn the situation into his favour.
Were Peter’s results just slightly better, he would get the scholarship.

Other modals can also be used instead of WOULD.

We could have fun if we joined them tonight at the party.
She might be surprised if we showed up at her place without notice.

The form IF + SUBJECT + WERE TO is used to emphasize the less likeliness of the situation or for polite suggestions/requests.

If you were to come to visit me, would you bring back the book I lent you?
(the probability of your coming is very unlikely)
I’d be most surprised if she were to know the answer. (I am almost certain she doesn’t know the answer.)
If you were to meet a Hollywood superstar, who would she be?
We can’t hear you at the back. If you were to speak up a little… (a polite request)
If you were to pass me that bottle of wine, please. (a polite request)

TYPE 3 CONDITIONAL

The type III conditional (past unreal) is used to talk about what we should have done in the past but in the end we didn’t. (past regrets)

If I had studied more, I would have passed the exam. (but I didn’t learn and didn’t pass the exam)
If Bob and Sue hadn’t drunk that much at the party, they wouldn’t have had a headache the following day.
What would you have done if the bank hadn’t approved the loan?
I would have been in trouble if my parents hadn’t helped me years ago.

In more sophisticated style, inverted subject verb order without conjunction is also possible.

Had Jenny been more precautious, she wouldn’t have caused that great damage.
Had I known what the truth was, I wouldn’t have turned to him for help.

Could have, might have, should have + V3 are also possible instead of would have

I could have got a better job if had applied at multinational companies.
If she had had more time, she might have come with us.
If you had wanted to be promoted, you should have gone to the annual meeting.

MIXED CONDITIONAL

The mixed conditional is used when an unreal past condition has a result in the present or in the future.
As in all conditional sentences, the clause order can be rearranged without any difference in meaning.

If I had studied harder at school, I would have a better job now.
If you had listen to me when you bought that car, you wouldn’t be in problem now.
We wouldn’t be lost if you had looked up the route on Google maps.
If Bob and Sue hadn’t drunk that much at the party, they would come with us to the beach now.

INVERSION

In formal and more sophisticated English we can invert the subject and the auxiliary and omit the ‘IF’.

Should Batman not come, we’re in big trouble.
Were it not for this issue, we could be at home now. (if it weren’t for this issue)
Should you see Jake, remind him what he has promised to me. (if you should see jack)
Had Sarah been just a bit smarter, she wouldn’t have lent any money to her cousin. (if Sarah had been)
Had we know what would happen, we wouldn’t have set off on the journey. (if we had known)
Hadn’t it not been for the heavy rain, the farmers could have finished the harvest on time. (if it hadn’t been)
Were D. Trump to get elected once again, I’d be most surprised. (if D. Trump got elected)

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD

Subjunctive mood (for advanced learners)

The subjunctive mood in English can express wishes, assumptions and hypothetical states rather than things that the speaker sees as true and factual. The present subjunctive form of the verb looks almost identical to the indicative mood, except for the third person singular, where the ‘-s‘ is omitted. The verb ‘BE’ doesn’t conjugate either; it remains in the infinitive form in all persons.

The secretary types fast. (indicative mood, factual)
It’s necessary that she type fast. (subjunctive mood)

He is always on time. (indicative mood)
It is important that he be on time. (subjunctive mood)

They are engaged. (indicative mood)
It’s essential that they be engaged. (subjunctive mood)

In contemporary English present subjunctive is rarely used, unless we want to sound really formal. ‘It’s important that he should be on time’ is much more common in everyday situations. However, some established phrases retained their original forms
God bless you, God save the Queen, peace be with you, truth be told, so be it, till death do us apart etc.

Past subjunctive mood has the same form as the past simple except for the verb ‘BE; it is WERE even in the first and third persons. However, WAS is getting more popular and accepted. Past subjunctive refers to a hypothetical situation in the present.
IF SHE WAS/WERE HERE, I WOULD BE ON CLOUD NINE.

She left the office. (indicative mood, refers to the past)
I would rather she left the office./If only she left the office. (subjunctive mood, refers to the present)

She was here. (indicative mood, factual, past)
I wish she were/was here. (indicative mood, hypothetical, present)

I WISH/IF ONLY

We can use these patterns to talk about wishes in the present: I wish/If only + past tense (subjunctive)

I wish you were here.
I wish you loved me more.
I wish I were(was) a bit taller.
If only I knew the answer.
If only she understood what it means.

to talk about wishes in the past: I wish/If only + past perfect (subjunctive)

I wish I had never told him my secret.
If only I had understood her.
If only you could have come to the party.
If only you hadn’t behaved that rudely at the party.

to talk about wishes in the future: I wish/If only + would

If only she would never come again.
I wish it would stop snowing.
I wish John would give back the money.

AS IF/AS THOUGH

Sentences (clauses) that start with as if/as though followed by past tense (subjunctive) or past perfect (subjunctive) describe unreal/improbable situations or states.

He looks as if he were(was) rich. (he is not rich)
He seemed as if he had known the secret code. (he gave that impression or we didn’t know whether he knew it or not)
Samantha seemed as if she had been happy with her new boyfriend.

WOULD RATHER

We use the structure would rather+ subject + past tense (subjunctive) when we would like someone else to do something.

I would rather you didn’t interfere in my business.
I would rather she left the office.
What would you rather I said?
I would rather your friends stopped drinking now.

IT’S (HIGH/ABOUT) TIME

We can use It’s high time + past subjunctive to talk about something that should be done but it’s already late.

Jeff, it’s high time you bought a new pair of sneakers.
Children, it’s high time you went to bed. It’s almost midnight.
It’s about time we left.

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