Conditional Sentences Dragana Filipović Conditions deal with

Conditional Sentences Dragana Filipović

Conditions deal with imagined situations: some are possible, some are unlikely, some are impossible.

Conditional clauses are usually introduced by the subordinating conjunction if: If it rains, we’ll stay in the house.

The first conditional If + present simple + future tense (e. g. will / shall) or modal verb with future reference (e. g. may) A speaker or writer predicts a likely result in the future if the condition is fulfilled. • If Sally comes too, there’ll be five of us.

• If they promote her, she’ll get a big pay rise. • We won’t have enough time if we want to do some shopping too.

Unless = if not • She won’t come unless you invite her personally. (= She won’t come if you don’t invite her personally. ) • Unless you can reduce the weight of that case, I’m afraid you won’t be allowed on the flight. (= If you can’t reduce …)

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. 1. If it ___ this evening, I won’t go out. (rain) 2. If I need your help, I ___ you. (ask) 3. Everyone will be surprised if he ___ the exam. (pass) 4. Hurry up! Ann will be annoyed if we ___ late. (be) 5. You won’t pass the exam unless you ___ more. (study)

1. If it rains this evening, I won’t go out. 2. If I need your help, I will ask (I’ll ask) you. 3. Everyone will be surprised if he passes the exam. 4. Hurry up! Ann will be annoyed if we are late. 5. You won’t pass the exam unless you study more.

The seconditional If + past simple tense + would / could/ might + infinitive A speaker or writer responds to a possible or hypothetical situation by indicating a possible outcome. The condition must be fulfilled for the present or future to be different.

• If I knew what you wanted, maybe I could help you. (I don’t know what you want. You must tell me. ) • I would do a computer course if I had the time. (I don’t have the time. ) • If I were you, I would tell him the truth. or: If I was you… (I am not you. )

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. 1. If I found $100 in the street, I ___ it. (keep) 2. If she sold her car, she ___ much money for it. (not / get) 3. Many people would be out of work if that factory ___ down. (close) 4. What would happen if you ___ to work tomorrow? (not / go) 5. They might be angry if I ___ them. (not / visit) 6. If I was offered the job, I think I ___ it. (take)

1. If I found $100 in the street, I would keep it. 2. If she sold her car, she wouldn’t get much money for it. 3. Many people would be out of work if that factory closed down. 4. What would happen if you didn’t go to work tomorrow? (not / go) 5. They might be angry if I didn’t visit them. 6. If I was offered the job, I think I would take it. (take)

The third conditional If + past perfect tense + modal verb (e. g. would / could / might) + perfect infinitive (have + past participle) An imagined past situation is described. We are talking about a past event which did not happen, and therefore things are different from how they might have been.

• If I had seen you walking, I could have offered you a lift. (I didn’t see you. ) • Tessa would have been furious if she had heard him say that. (She didn’t hear him. ) • If she had gone there, she might have enjoyed it. (She didn’t go there. )

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. 1. I ___ out if I hadn’t been so tired. (go) 2. If I ___ you, I would have said “hello”. (see) 3. We could have gone out yesterday if the weather ___ so bad. (not / be) 4. If I ___ that you were ill last week, I’d have gone to see you. (know) 5. I would have been late for the interview if I ___ the bus. (miss)

1. I would have gone out if I hadn’t been so tired. 2. If I had seen you, I would have said “hello”. 3. We could have gone out yesterday if the weather hadn’t been so bad. 4. If I had known that you were ill last week, I’d have gone to see you. 5. I would have been late for the interview if I had missed the bus.

Real situations • If you want to learn the guitar, you really need to practise for at least a couple of hours a day. (for any person who wants to learn) • If I criticised her unfairly, then I always apologized. (It did sometimes happen that I criticised her and I did apologise. )

• If you have a toothache as bad as that, you must go to a dentist today. • If steel is exposed to air and water, it resists rust for a considerable length of time. • If you are getting backache all the time, then you are not sitting properly. • Come over tomorrow around five unless my secretary contacts you.

Mixed conditionals • If he hadn’t graduated with top marks, now he wouldn’t have such a good job. • If the island were still a tourist attraction, last week’s earthquake would have caused far more deaths.

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets. 1. Fleas can jump up to thirty centimetres. If humans ___ (be) as good at jumping as fleas, they’d be able to jump 300 metres! 2. Some worms will eat themselves if they ___ (not find) enough food. 3. If she knew how pointless it is, perhaps she ___ (stop) doing it. 4. If we leave the dog alone all day, it ___ (destroy) the furniture.

5. If I had a million dollars, I ___ (buy) you a beautiful house. 6. If I had gone to the party last night, I ___ (be) tired now. 7. If I had gone to the party last night, I ___ (see) Ann. 8. If we ___ (play) better, we might have won. 9. We ___ (go) out if the weather hadn’t been so bad. 10. If I were you, I ___ (not buy) that coat.

11. We wouldn’t have any money if we ___ (not work). 12. If you stopped smoking, you ___ (feel) healthier. 13. If the museum charges for entry, a lot of people ___ (not be able) to visit it. 14. If we had paid our cleaner more, she ___ (not leave) us. 15. I wouldn’t be willing to help you unless you ___ (pay) me.

Answers 1. Fleas can jump up to thirty centimetres. If humans were as good at jumping as fleas, they’d be able to jump 300 metres! 2. Some worms will eat themselves if they don’t find enough food. 3. If she knew how pointless it is, perhaps she would stop doing it. 4. If we leave the dog alone all day, it will destroy the furniture. 5. If I had a million dollars, I would buy you a beautiful house. 6. If I had gone to the party last night, I would be tired now. 7. If I had gone to the party last night, I would have seen Ann.

8. If we had played better, we might have won. 9. We would have gone out if the weather hadn’t been so bad. 10. If I were you, I wouldn’t buy that coat 11. We wouldn’t have any money if we didn’t work. 12. If you stopped smoking, you would feel healthier. 13. If the museum charges for entry, a lot of people won’t be able to visit it. 14. If we had paid our cleaner more, she wouldn’t have left us. 15. I wouldn’t be willing to help you unless you paid me.

Read a situation and write a sentence with if. Example: We don’t visit you so often because you live so far away. If you didn’t live so far away, we would visit you more often. 1. People don’t understand him because he doesn’t speak very clearly. If he spoke (more) clearly, people would understand him. 2. I’m not going to buy that book because it’s too expensive. If that book wasn’t/weren’t so expensive, I would buy it.

3. We can’t have lunch in the garden because it is raining. If it wasn’t/weren’t raining we could (would be able to) have lunch in the garden 4. The accident happened because the driver in front stopped suddenly. If the driver in front hadn’t stopped suddenly, the accident wouldn’t have happened. 5. I didn’t wake John because I didn’t know he wanted to get up early. If I had known John wanted to get up early, I would have woken him.

6. You are hungry now because you didn’t have breakfast. If you’d had (had had) breakfast, you wouldn’t be hungry now. 7. She didn’t buy the shoes because she didn’t have enough money on her. If she’d had (had had) enough money on her, she would have bought the shoes. 8. She doesn’t go out very often because she can’t walk without help. If she could walk without help, she would go out more often.

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