Conditionals in English

What are conditionals in English?

Conditionals or if clauses are used to express that if something happens or happened, something else might happen or might have happened as a result. They are formed by two clauses: an if clause and a main clause, where the if clause states the condition and the main clause expresses the possible result or outcome. There are four types of conditionals in English:

1. The zero conditional
2. The first conditional
3. The second conditional
4. The fourth conditional

The zero conditional

The zero conditional is usually used to express general truths or scientific facts. It uses the present simple tense in both the if clause and the main clause. In most cases, the meaning of the sentence does not change when we replace if with when. For example, the sentence "If dogs are happy, they wag their tails.", is equivalent to "When dogs are happy, they wag their tails."

1. If you heat water to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils.
2. If you freeze water, it turns into ice.
3. If you boil water, it evaporates.
4. If I don't go to the gym, I feel awful.

Have you noticed that we have always used a comma after the if clause? It is possible to reverse the order of the clauses and the comma is no longer needed. It follows the structure

1. Water boils if you heat it to 100 degrees Celsius.
2. Water turns into ice if you freeze it.
3. Water evaporates if you boil it
4. I feel awful if I don't go to the gym.

The first conditional

The first conditional is used to talk about a situation that is likely to happen if a certain condition is met. It uses the present simple tense to form the if clause and the future simple tense to form the main clause. It follows the same comma structure as the zero conditional.

1. If she continues to lie to me, I will break up with her.
2. What will happen if I don't submit my tax declaration?
3. If they don’t agree to our terms, we will find another supplier.
4. If you study hard, you will pass the exam.
5. If I manage to save enough money, I will buy a new car next year.

The second conditional

The second conditional is used to talk about unreal or hypothetical situations, referring to things that are unlikely to happen or are imaginary. It follows the structure If + past simple, would + base form of the verb.

1. What would you do if you won the lottery?
2. If I won the lottery, I would buy a nice house.
3. My life would be different if we never met.
4. If I were you, I would propose to her.
5. Would you be scared if you saw a ghost?
6. We wouldn't be alive if the sun did not exist.
7. Would you be happier if you were rich?
8. If I were the president, I would make education free.

You might have noticed that we used "If I were" instead of "If I was". It is a holdover from Old English, where verb forms were differentiated based on the mood or the intent of the speaker/writer. The form "were" has its root in the subjunctive mood to express conditions that are doubtful, hypothetical, or contrary to fact. It's also used for wishes, demands, or suggestions. Traditionally, "were" was used with all subjects (I, he, she, it, we, they) to indicate that the scenario being described is not true or is considered unlikely.

The third conditional

The third conditional is used to talk about a situation that did not happen in the past and its probable result. It uses the past perfect to form the if clause and the perfect conditional to form the main clause.

1. If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.
2. If we had left earlier, we wouldn’t have missed the flight.
3. If you had told me about the problem, I could have helped you.
4. If they had checked the weather, they wouldn’t have gone sailing.
5. If I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake.
6. If you had asked me, I could have lent you the money.
7. If I hadn’t lost my passport, I would have travelled last summer.