What are conditionals in English grammar? Also we call them "if -clause". They describe the result of something that might happen (in the present or future) or might have happened but didn't (in the past) . They are made using different English verb tenses.
Conditional sentences are sentences discussing factual implications or hypothetical situations and their consequences.
"Condition" means "situation or circumstance". If a particular condition is true, then a particular result happens.
Full conditional sentences contain two clauses: the condition or protasis, and the consequence or apodosis.
A conditional sentence typically consists of an "if-clause" (which presents a condition) and a "result clause."
- The structure of most conditionals is very simple. There are two basic possibilities. Of course, we add many words and can use various tenses, but the basic structure is usually like this:
A "clause" is a group of words containing a subject, a verb, and a predicate and forming part of a compound or complex sentence.
An "if-clause" begins with if and has a "subject" and a "verb".
A "main clause" is a "clause" in a complex sentence that contains at least a subject and a verb and can stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence. Also called independent clause.
An "if-clause" can come in front of a "main clause" or follow a "main clause."
Punctuation: Put a comma at the end of an "if-clause" when the "if-clause" comes first in a sentence (come in front of the main clause).
"If-clause"(also called "adverb clauses of condition") present possible conditions. The "main clause" expresses results.
- There are two kinds of conditional situations:
(a) Real or true: Real Conditional describes real-life situations.
(b) Unreal or untrue: Unreal Conditional describes unreal, imaginary situations.
Although the various conditional forms might seem quite abstract at first, they are actually some of the most useful structures in English and are commonly included in daily conversations.
- There are three kinds of basic conditional sentences that we use very often. There are some more conditionals that we do not use so often. In this lesson, we will look at the three basic conditionals as well as the so-called zero conditional. They are:
(1) Zero Conditional: certainty
SITUATION: True in the present
IF-CLAUSE: Simple Present
RESULT CLAUSE: Simple Present
(2) First Conditional: real possibility
SITUATION: True in the future
IF-CLAUSE: Simple Present
RESULT CLAUSE: WILL + Simple form
(3) Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream
SITUATION: Untrue in the present or future
IF-CLAUSE: Simple Past
RESULT CLAUSE: WOULD + Simple form
(4) Third Conditional: no possibility
SITUATION: Untrue in the past
IF-CLAUSE: Past Perfect
RESULT CLAUSE: WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.
Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.
Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.
We can also use when instead of if, for example:
When I get up late, I miss my bus.
Look at some more examples in the tables below:
We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures:
NOTE:
Sometimes, we use shall, can, might, or may instead of will, for example:
If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.
Both if and when are used in the Present Real Conditional. Using if suggests that something happens less frequently. Using when suggests that something happens regularly, for example:
When I have a day off from work, I usually go to the beach.
(I regularly have days off from work.)
If I have a day off from work, I usually go to the beach.
(I rarely have days off from work.)
The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen.
Here are some more examples:
NOTE:
Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would, for example:
If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.
These are some special conditional forms for modal verbs in English:
would + shall = should
would + can = could
would + may = might
The words "can," "shall" and "may" cannot be used with "would." Instead, they must be used in these above special forms.
NOTE: With "unreal conditionals" and "untrue wishes", when you use the verb be in the if-clause, the form is always were.
If I were you, I would tell her the true.
The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.
Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win.
Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.
Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example:
If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.
Look at some more examples in the tables below:
Here is a chart to help you to visualize the basic English conditionals. Do not take the 50% and 10% figures too literally. They are just to help you.
Guided examples:
If-Clause, Result Clause
If I have enough money, I (will) go with you.
(True-Present/Future: you use Present, Present/Future)
If I had enough money, I would go with you.
(Untrue-Present/Future: you use Past, Would)
If I had had enough money, I would have gone with you.
(Untrue-Past: you use Past Participle, Would Have)
Wish+Noun Clause:
I wish She had enough money.
(Present: you use Past)
I wish She had had enough money yesterday.
(Past: you use Past Participle)
I wish She would have enough money tomorrow.
(Future: you use Would)
Hope+Noun Clause:
I Hope he has enough money.
(Present: you use Present)
I Hope he had enough money yesterday.
(Past: you use Past)
I Hope he has enough money tomorrow.
(Future: you use Present)
Conditional sentences are sentences discussing factual implications or hypothetical situations and their consequences.
"Condition" means "situation or circumstance". If a particular condition is true, then a particular result happens.
Full conditional sentences contain two clauses: the condition or protasis, and the consequence or apodosis.
A conditional sentence typically consists of an "if-clause" (which presents a condition) and a "result clause."
Structure of Conditional Sentences
- The structure of most conditionals is very simple. There are two basic possibilities. Of course, we add many words and can use various tenses, but the basic structure is usually like this:
| IF | condition, | result |
or like this:
| result | IF | condition |
A "clause" is a group of words containing a subject, a verb, and a predicate and forming part of a compound or complex sentence.
An "if-clause" begins with if and has a "subject" and a "verb".
A "main clause" is a "clause" in a complex sentence that contains at least a subject and a verb and can stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence. Also called independent clause.
An "if-clause" can come in front of a "main clause" or follow a "main clause."
Punctuation: Put a comma at the end of an "if-clause" when the "if-clause" comes first in a sentence (come in front of the main clause).
"If-clause"(also called "adverb clauses of condition") present possible conditions. The "main clause" expresses results.
- There are two kinds of conditional situations:
(a) Real or true: Real Conditional describes real-life situations.
(b) Unreal or untrue: Unreal Conditional describes unreal, imaginary situations.
Although the various conditional forms might seem quite abstract at first, they are actually some of the most useful structures in English and are commonly included in daily conversations.
- There are three kinds of basic conditional sentences that we use very often. There are some more conditionals that we do not use so often. In this lesson, we will look at the three basic conditionals as well as the so-called zero conditional. They are:
(1) Zero Conditional: certainty
SITUATION: True in the present
IF-CLAUSE: Simple Present
RESULT CLAUSE: Simple Present
(2) First Conditional: real possibility
SITUATION: True in the future
IF-CLAUSE: Simple Present
RESULT CLAUSE: WILL + Simple form
(3) Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream
SITUATION: Untrue in the present or future
IF-CLAUSE: Simple Past
RESULT CLAUSE: WOULD + Simple form
(4) Third Conditional: no possibility
SITUATION: Untrue in the past
IF-CLAUSE: Past Perfect
RESULT CLAUSE: WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
(1) Zero Conditional: certainty
We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.
Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.
| IF | condition, | result |
| Present Simple | Present Simple | |
| If | you heat ice | it melts. |
Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.
We can also use when instead of if, for example:
When I get up late, I miss my bus.
Look at some more examples in the tables below:
| IF | condition, | result |
| Present Simple | Present Simple | |
| If | I miss the 8 o'clock bus, | I am late for work. |
| If | I am late for work, | my boss gets angry. |
| If | people don't eat, | they get hungry. |
| If | you heat ice, | does it melt? |
| result | IF | condition |
| Present Simple | Present Simple | |
| I am late for work | if | I miss the 8 o'clock bus. |
| My boss gets angry | if | I am late for work. |
| People get hungry | if | they don't eat. |
| Does ice melt | if | you heat it? |
(2) First Conditional: real possibility
We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?
| IF | condition, | result |
| Present Simple | WILL + base verb | |
| If | it rains, | I will stay at home. |
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures:
| IF | condition, | result |
| Present Simple | WILL + base verb | |
| If | I see Mary, | I will tell her. |
| If | Tara is free tomorrow, | he will invite her. |
| If | they do not pass their exam, | their teacher will be sad. |
| If | it rains tomorrow, | will you stay at home? |
| If | it rains tomorrow | what will you do? |
| result | IF | condition |
| WILL + base verb | Present Simple | |
| I will tell Mary | if | I see her. |
| He will invite Tara | if | she is free tomorrow. |
| Their teacher will be sad | if | they do not pass their exam. |
| Will you stay at home | if | it rains tomorrow? |
| What will you do | if | it rains tomorrow? |
NOTE:
Sometimes, we use shall, can, might, or may instead of will, for example:
If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.
Both if and when are used in the Present Real Conditional. Using if suggests that something happens less frequently. Using when suggests that something happens regularly, for example:
When I have a day off from work, I usually go to the beach.
(I regularly have days off from work.)
If I have a day off from work, I usually go to the beach.
(I rarely have days off from work.)
(3) Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream
The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.
| IF | condition, | result |
| Past Simple | WOULD + base verb | |
| If | I won the lottery, | I would buy a car. |
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen.
Here are some more examples:
| IF | condition, | result |
| Past Simple | WOULD + base verb | |
| If | I married Mary, | I would be happy. |
| If | Ram became rich, | she would marry him. |
| If | it snowed next July, | would you be surprised? |
| If | it snowed next July, | what would you do? |
| result | IF | condition |
| WOULD + base verb | Past Simple | |
| I would be happy | if | I married Mary. |
| She would marry Ram | if | he became rich. |
| Would you be surprised | if | it snowed next July? |
| What would you do | if | it snowed next July? |
NOTE:
Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would, for example:
If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.
These are some special conditional forms for modal verbs in English:
would + shall = should
would + can = could
would + may = might
The words "can," "shall" and "may" cannot be used with "would." Instead, they must be used in these above special forms.
NOTE: With "unreal conditionals" and "untrue wishes", when you use the verb be in the if-clause, the form is always were.
If I were you, I would tell her the true.
(4) Third Conditional: no possibility
The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.
Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win.
| IF | condition, | result |
| Past Perfect | WOULD HAVE + Past Participle | |
| If | I had won the lottery | I would have bought a car. |
Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.
Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example:
If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.
Look at some more examples in the tables below:
| IF | condition, | result |
| Past Perfect | WOULD HAVE + past participle | |
| If | I had seen Mary, | I would have told her. |
| If | Tara had been free yesterday, | I would have invited her. |
| If | they had not passed their exam, | their teacher would have been sad. |
| If | it had rained yesterday, | would you have stayed at home? |
| If | it had rained yesterday, | what would you have done? |
| result | IF | condition |
| WOULD HAVE + past participle | Past Perfect | |
| I would have told Mary | if | I had seen her. |
| I would have invited Tara | if | she had been free yesterday. |
| Their teacher would have been sad | if | they had not passed their exam. |
| Would you have stayed at home | if | it had rained yesterday? |
| What would you have done | if | it had rained yesterday? |
Conditionals: Summary
Here is a chart to help you to visualize the basic English conditionals. Do not take the 50% and 10% figures too literally. They are just to help you.
| Probability | Conditional | Example | Time |
| 100% | zero conditional | If you heat ice, it melts. | any time |
| 50% | first conditional | If it rains, I will stay at home. | future |
| 10% | second conditional | If I won the lottery, I would buy a car. | future |
| 0% | third conditional | If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a car. | past |
Guided examples:
If-Clause, Result Clause
If I have enough money, I (will) go with you.
(True-Present/Future: you use Present, Present/Future)
If I had enough money, I would go with you.
(Untrue-Present/Future: you use Past, Would)
If I had had enough money, I would have gone with you.
(Untrue-Past: you use Past Participle, Would Have)
Wish+Noun Clause:
I wish She had enough money.
(Present: you use Past)
I wish She had had enough money yesterday.
(Past: you use Past Participle)
I wish She would have enough money tomorrow.
(Future: you use Would)
Hope+Noun Clause:
I Hope he has enough money.
(Present: you use Present)
I Hope he had enough money yesterday.
(Past: you use Past)
I Hope he has enough money tomorrow.
(Future: you use Present)
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