What is Conditional Sentence/If Clause?
Conditional Sentences are also known as Conditional Clauses
or If Clauses. They are used to express that the action in the main clause
(without if) can only
take place if a certain condition (in the clause with if) is fulfilled.
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".
The term of Two Clause (with/without comma)
Conditional sentences have two clauses: a conditional clause
(if...) and main clause (a result). If
the “if” clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the “if” clause comes
second, there is no need for a comma.
|
If I
have enough money,
conditional clause (if) |
I
will go to Japan.
main clause (a result) |
|
I
will go to Japan
main clause (a result) |
if I
have enough money
conditional clause (if) |
There are 4 types of Conditional Sentences
|
Conditional sentence
type
|
If clause verb tense
|
Main clause verb
tense
|
|
Zero
|
Simple
present
|
Simple
present
|
|
Type
1
|
Simple
present
|
Simple
future
|
|
Type
2
|
Simple
past
|
Present
conditional or Present continuous conditional
|
|
Type
3
|
Past
perfect
|
Perfect
conditional
|
The patterns of Conditional Sentence/If Clause
Every patterns in
Conditional Sentence has verb tenses. The
verb tenses used in each clause depends on whether the speaker thinks the
result is probable (real) or only exists in the imagination (unreal).
The zero conditional
|
If clause:
If + simple present,
|
Main clause:
simple present
|
|
If this thing
happens,
|
that thing happens.
|
|
If you heat ice,
|
it melts.
|
|
If it rains,
|
the grass gets wet.
|
The zero conditional is used for when the time being
referred to is now or always and the situation is real and possible.
The zero conditional is often used to refer to general truths. The tense in
both parts of the sentence is the simple present. In zero conditional
sentences, the word "if" can usually be replaced by the word
"when" without changing the meaning.
Type 1 conditional
|
If clause:
If + simple present,
|
Main clause:
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.
|
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.
Type 2 conditional
|
If clause:
If + simple past,
|
Main clause:
present conditional
or present continuous conditional
|
|
If this thing happened,
|
that thing would happen. (but I'm not sure this thing will
happen) / that thing would be happening.
|
|
If you went to bed earlier,
|
you would not be so tired.
|
|
If it rained,
|
you would get wet.
|
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.
Type 3 conditional
|
If clause:
If + past perfect,
|
Main clause:
perfect conditional
or
perfect continuous
conditional
|
|
If this thing had happened,
|
that thing would
have happened. (but neither of those things really happened) / 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.
|
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.
Uses of the Conditional Sentence/If Clause (Facts &
When)
1.
Type
1
Fact/Nature:
Open condition, what is said in the condition is possible. We
don't know for sure whether the condition actually will be fulfilled or not,
but the conditions seems rather realistic – so we think it is likely to
happen.
Time/When:
This condition refers either to present
or to future time. Conditional Sentences Type I refer to
the future. An action in the future will only happen if a certain condition is
fulfilled by that time.
Example: If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.
Fact : I want to send an invitation to a friend. I just have
to find her address. I am quite sure, however, that I will find it.
Example: If John has the money, he will buy a Ferrari.
Fact: I know John very well and I know that he earns a lot
of money and that he loves Ferraris. So I think it is very likely that sooner
or later he will have the money to buy a Ferrari.
Note:
Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.
Example: If I don’t see him this
afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.
2.
Type
2
Fact/Nature:
unreal (impossible) or improbable situations. I don't really
expect the situation to change, however. I just imagine “what would happen
if …“
Time/When:
present; the tense is past, but we are talking about the present, now. Conditional
Sentences Type II refers to situations in the present. An action could happen if the present situation were
different.
Example:
If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.
Fact:
I would like to send an invitation to a friend. I have looked everywhere for
her address, but I cannot find it. So now I think it is rather unlikely that I
will eventually find her address.
Example:
If John had the money, he would buy a Ferrari.
Fact:
I know John very well and I know that he doesn't have much money, but he loves
Ferraris. He would like to own a Ferrari (in his dreams). But I think it is
very unlikely that he will have the money to buy one in the near future.
Note:
Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.
Example: If I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t
stay here.
3.
Type
3
Fact/Nature:
unreal. An action could have
happened in the past if a certain condition had been fulfilled. Things were
different then, however. We just imagine, what would have happened if the
situation had been fulfilled.
Time/When:
Conditional Sentences Type III refer to situations in the past (so we are talking about a situation that was not so
in the past.)
Example:
If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.
Fact:
Sometime in the past, I wanted to send an invitation to a friend. I didn't find
her address, however. So in the end I didn't send her an invitation.
Example:
If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.
Fact:
I knew John very well and I know that he never had much money, but he loved
Ferraris. He would have loved to own a Ferrari, but he never had the money to
buy one.
Note:
Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.
Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t
have passed my exams.
Remember!
1. The
conditional construction does not normally
use will or would in if-clauses.
EXCEPTION: If will or would express
willingness, as in requests, they can be used in if-clauses.
Example: If you will come this way, the manager
will see you now.
I would be grateful if you would give me a little help.
(= ± please, come this way; please, give me...)
2. For the
second conditional, were replaces was:
Example: If I were a rich man...
3. After if,
we can either use "some(-one, -where...)" or "any(-one,
-where...).
Example: If I have some spare time next
weekend.... or
If I have any spare
time...
4. Instead
of if not, we can use unless.
Example: I'll be back tomorrow unless there is a
plane strike.
He'll accept the job unless the salary is too low.
5.There is a
"mixed type" as well, for the present results of an unreal condition
in the past:
If + Past
Perfect - would + inf.
If you had
warned me [then], I would not be in prison [now].
Exercises:
A. Decide
which of the sentences below is conditional type 1, 2 & 3:
1. If
I were rich, I would travel around the world. ( )
2. She
wouldn't have missed the train if she had woken up earlier. ( )
3. I’ll
call you if I come back early. (
)
B. Put
the verbs in brackets in the correct tense (conditional 1):
- If I (finish) early, I will call you.
- I (catch) the 9:00 train if I hurry up .
- She will know the answer, if
she (try) to understand.
C. Put
the verbs in brackets in the correct tense (conditional 2):
- If I (be) a star, I would help the needy.
- He (buy) a house if he had a job.
- She (be) happy, if she marries him.
D. Put
the verbs in brackets in the correct tense (conditional 3):
- If he (be) careful, he would not be have had that
terrible accident.
- I (pass) the exam if I had worked hard.
- Her father would not have died, if he (go) to the doctor.
Answers:
A.
1. (Type
2)
2. (Type
3)
3. (Type
1)
B.
1. Finish
2. would
catch
3. tries
C.
1.
were/was
2.
would buy
3.
would be
D.
1.
had been
2.
would have passed
3.
had gone
References:
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