conditional sentences, explanation and practice

2. FORM
They all have two parts
IF CLAUSE OR CONDITION
If it rains,
If I don’t study hard,
If I passed my exam,
If I had studied harder,
RESULT CLAUSE
I won’t go to the beach.
I will fail the test.
I would be very happy.
I would have passed the test.

3. FORM
They all have two parts
IF CLAUSE OR CONDITION
if it rains.
if I don’t study hard.
if I passed my exam.
if I had studied harder.
RESULT CLAUSE
I won’t go to the beach
I will fail the test
I would be very happy
I would have passed the test

4. TYPES
There are 4 types of conditional sentences
Their meaning or
implication in the
future or past is
different
They use different
tenses in both parts of
the sentence.

5. TYPE 0
MEANING:
universal truths
IF CLAUSE OR CONDITION
present simple
Examples:
• If you heat water to 100ºC, it boils.
• If you pour oil into water, it floats.
• If you heat ice, it melts.
• If you freeze water, it becomes solid.
• If you mix blue and yellow, you get
green.
RESULT CLAUSE
present simple

6. LET’S PRACTICE!
1. Mary _____________ (get) a toothache if she _____________ (eat)
too many sweets.
2. If you _____________ (not water) the plants, they _____________
(die).
3. Some people _____________ (have) skin problems if they
_____________ (eat) a lot of chocolate.
4. If I _____________ (be) late for work, my boss _____________ (get)
angry.
5. People _____________ (become) hungry if they _____________
(not eat).
gets eats
don’t water die
have
eat
am gets
become don’t eat

7. TYPE 1
MEANING:
present or future
probable case
IF CLAUSE OR CONDITION
present simple
Examples:
• If I feel sick, I won’t go to school.
• The match will be cancelled if it rains.
• If you see Tom, tell him not to be late.
• I’ll watch TV if I finish my homework early
tonight.
• If she studies hard, she’ll pass the test.
RESULT CLAUSE
future simple (will)
imperative

8. LET’S PRACTICE!
1. If you _____________ (not come), you _____________ (miss) the
show.
2. John _____________ (buy) a car if he _____________ (get) a job.
3. If you _____________ (come) to my birthday party _____________
(bring) a friend.
4. Mary _____________ (look) for a new job if she _____________
(not get) a pay raise soon.
5. I _____________ (not be) upset if I _____________ (not see) my
friends tonight. I’ll see them tomorrow.
don’t come will miss
will buy gets
come bring
will look doesn’t get
won’t be don’t see

9. TYPE 2
IF CLAUSE OR CONDITION
past simple
Examples:
• If I were rich, I would buy a Ferrari.*
• What would you do if you had a million
dollars?
• If she studied, she’d pass the test.
RESULT CLAUSE
conditional simple (would)
MEANING:
present or future
improbable case
* In this type of sentences “were” is
always used in the condition. We don’t
use “was”.

10. LET’S PRACTICE!
1. If I _________________ (be) a bird, I _________________ (fly)
across the Atlantic.
2. I _________________ (travel) around the world for two years if I
_________________ (have) the time and the money.
3. If I _________________ (live) in Italy, I _________________ (eat)
pasta every day.
4. Alice _________________ (practise) English more often if she
_________________ (travel) abroad.
5. She _________________ (not live) in a bigger house even if she
_________________ (win) the lottery.
were would fly
would travel
had
lived would eat
would practise
travelled
wouldn’t live
won

11. TYPE 3
IF CLAUSE OR CONDITION
past perfect
Examples:
• If you had studied for the exam, you
would have passed it.
• She would have phoned you if she had
had your number.
• If they had watered the plants, they
wouldn’t have died.
RESULT CLAUSE
past conditional (would have
+ past participle)
MEANING:
past impossible
case; hypothesis
about the past

12. LET’S PRACTICE!
1. If I _________________ (find) a wallet on the street, I
_________________ (take) it to a police station.
2. There _________________ (be) thousands of deaths if there
_________________ (be) an earthquake during the celebration.
3. If I _________________ (feel) sick, I ____________________ (not
come).
4. I ___________________ (not go) to the party if I
_________________ (not be) invited.
5. If I _________________ (not hurt) my leg, I ___________________
(drive) to Canterbury.
had found
would have taken
would have been
had been
had felt wouldn’t have come
wouldn’t have gone hadn’t been
hadn’t hurt would have driven

13. POSSIBLE VARIATIONS
UNLESS
=
if not
You won’t win the match unless
you try harder.
(= if you don’t try harder)
CAN, COULD, MAY,
MIGHT, SHOULD
can be used instead
of WILL and WOULD
If I had known your number I
might have called you.
(instead of I would have called
you)

14. SUMMARY
CONDITIONAL MEANING IF-CLAUSE RESULT CLAUSE
TYPE 0 truths present simple present simple
TYPE 1 probable present simple
future simple (will)
imperative
TYPE 2 improbable past simple conditional simple (would)
TYPE 3
impossible (hypothesis
about the past)
past perfect
conditional perfect (would
have)

15. LET’S PRACTICE!
(all types of conditional sentences)
1. If we meet at 9:30, we _________________ (have) plenty of time to
deal with everything.
2. Lisa would find the milk if she _________________ (look) in the
fridge.
3. The zookeeper _________________ (give) her a fine if she had fed
the animals.
4. If you spoke louder, your classmates ___________________
(understand) you.
5. Dan would arrive safe if he ___________________ (drive) slowly.
will have
looked
would have given
would understand
drove

16. LET’S PRACTICE!
(all types of conditional sentences)
6. You ___________________ (not have) any trouble at school if you
had done your homework.
7. If you _________________ (swim) in this lake, you’ll shiver from
cold.
8. This door _________________ (unlock) if you press the green
button.
9. If Mel ___________________ (ask) the teacher, he would have
answered her questions.
10. I would call the office if I ___________________ (be) you.
wouldn’t have had
swim
unlocks
had asked
were

17. LET’S PRACTICE!
(all types of conditional sentences)
11. If they ___________________ (listen) carefully, they might hear the
woodpecker.
12. If I had been on the sofa, I _________________ (fall) asleep.
13. Susan could have worked as a model if she _________________
(be) taller.
14. We ___________________ (not take) the wrong bus if you had
asked the police officer.
15. If the cat ___________________ (not hide) in the tree, the dog will
find it.
listened
would have fallen
had been
wouldn’t have taken
doesn’t hide

18. LET’S PRACTICE!
(all types of conditional sentences)
16. The soil ___________________ (dry) out if you don’t water the
plants regularly.
17. If you _________________ (give) the young boy this stick, he’d hurt
himself.
18. The students would have solved the problem if they
_________________ (use) a calculator.
19. If he washed his feet more often, they ___________________ (not
smell) so bad.
20. Max would read the newspaper if he ___________________ (go) to
work by train.
dries
gave
had used
wouldn’t smell
went