CONDITIONAL
SENTENCES TYPE 1,2 AND 3
Conditional
tenses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened,
and what we wish would happen. In English, most sentences using the conditional
contain the word if. Many conditional forms in English are used in
sentences that include verbs in one of the past tenses. This usage is referred
to as "the unreal past" because we
use a past tense but we are not actually referring to something that happened
in the past. There are five main ways of constructing conditional sentences in
English. In all cases, these sentences are made up of an if clause
and a main clause. In many negative conditional sentences, there is an
equivalent sentence construction using "unless" instead of
"if".
|
Conditional
sentence type
|
Usage
|
If clause
verb tense
|
Main
clause verb tense
|
|
Type 1
|
A possible condition and its
probable result
|
Simple present
|
Simple future
|
|
Type 2
|
A hypothetical condition and its
probable result
|
Simple past
|
Present conditional or Present
continuous conditional
|
|
Type 3
|
An unreal past condition and its
probable result in the past
|
Past perfect
|
Perfect conditional
|
TYPE 1 CONDITIONAL
The type 1
conditional is used to refer to the present or future where
the situation is real. The type 1 conditional refers to a possible
condition and its probable result. In these sentences the if clause is in the
simple present, and the main clause is in the simple future.
|
If clause
|
Main
clause
|
|
If +
simple present
|
simple
future
|
|
If this
thing happens
|
that thing
will happen.
|
|
If you
don't hurry
|
you will
miss the train.
|
|
If it
rains today
|
you will
get wet.
|
TYPE 2 CONDITIONAL
The type 2
conditional is used to refer to a time that is now or any time, and
a situation that is unreal. These sentences are not based on fact.
The type 2 conditional is used to refer to a hypothetical condition and its
probable result. In type 2 conditional sentences, the if clause uses the simple
past, and the main clause uses the present conditional.
|
If clause
|
Main
clause
|
|
If +
simple past
|
present
conditional or present continuous conditional
|
|
If this
thing happened
|
that thing
would happen. (but I'm not sure this thing will happen) OR
that thing would be happening. |
|
If you
went to bed earlier
|
you would
not be so tired.
|
|
If it
rained
|
you would
get wet.
|
|
If I spoke
Italian
|
I would be
working in Italy.
|
TYPE 3 CONDITIONAL
The type 3
conditional is used to refer to a time that is in the past, and a
situation that is contrary to reality. The facts they are based on
are the opposite of what is expressed. The type 3 conditional is used to refer
to an unreal past condition and its probable past result. In type 3 conditional
sentences, the if clause uses the past perfect, and the main clause uses the
perfect conditional.
|
If clause
|
Main
clause
|
|
If + past
perfect
|
perfect
conditional or perfect continuous conditional
|
|
If this
thing had happened
|
that thing would have happened.
(but neither of those things really happened) OR that thing would have been
happening.
|
|
If you had
studied harder
|
you would
have passed the exam.
|
|
If it had
rained
|
you would
have gotten wet.
|
|
If I had
accepted that promotion
|
I would
have been working in Milan.
|
Conditional
Sentence Type 1
Example:
1.
If you have enough flour, you will bake a
cake this afternoon.
2.
If I find her address,
I’ll send her an invitation
3.
I will make a tomato salad for the
picnic tomorrow if the tomatoes in my garden are ripe.
4.
If she comes, I will give her the answer.
5.
If you study hard, you will pass the final exam.
Conditional
Sentence Type 2
Example:
1.
I wouldn’t be a student in this class
if English were my native language
2.
I would fix your bicycle if I had a
screwdriver of the proper
3.
If I found her address,
I would send her an invitation.
4.
If my mother knows
about this, we are in serious trouble.
5.
If i had enough money, I would go with you.
Conditional
Sentence Type 3
Example:
1.
If he had studied hard, he would have passed the
final exam.
2.
If I had had enough money, I would
have gone with you.
3.
If the weather is nice tomorrow, we would have
gone to the zoo
4.
If I became
president, I would change the social security system
5.
If the team had played well, it would have won
the competition.
SUMBER
