I.
Definition
of Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences
are sentences expressing factual implications, or hypothetical situations and
their consequences.
They are so called because the validity of the main clause of the sentence is
conditional on the existence of certain circumstances, which may be expressed
in a dependent clause or may be understood from the context. A full conditional
sentence (one which expresses the condition as well as its consequences)
therefore contains two clauses: the dependent
clause expressing the condition, called
the protasis; and the main clause
expressing the consequence, called
the apodosis.
II.
Rules
of Conditional Sentences
|
TYPE I
|
IF
+ SIMPLE PRESENT (will) + VERB I
|
|
TYPE II
|
IF + PAST TENSE (would) + VERB II
|
|
TYPE III
|
IF
+ PAST PERFECT (would have) + VERB III
|
III. Uses + Examples of the Conditional Sentence Type 1, 2, and, 3
·
Conditional
Sentences Type “1”
The if-clause is in the present tense, the main
clause uses will and the infinitive, or simple present.
“ We use conditional sentence type 1 to talk about possible situations in the
present or future”.
Example:
a. Nature: Open condition,
what is said in the condition is possible.
b. Time: This condition
refers either to present or to future time.
e.g. If he is late, we will have
to go without him.
If my mother knows about this, we are in serious
trouble.
·
Conditional Sentences Type “II”
The if-clause is in the simple past or the past
continuous tense, the main clause uses would and the infinitive, or would be and
the present participle (Verb-ing). “Conditional sentence type 2 is used
to talk about actions or situations that are not taking place in the present or
future, but we can imagine the probable result”.
Example :
a. Nature: unreal
(impossible) or improbable situations.
b. Time: present; the TENSE
is past, but we are talking about the present, now.
e.g. If I knew her name, I would
tell you.
If I were you, I would tell my father.
·
Conditional Sentences Type “III”
The if-clause is in the past perfect or the past
perfect continuous tense, the main clause uses would have and past participle
(Verb 3), or would have been and present participle (Verb-ing). “Conditional
sentence type 3 is used to talk about actions or situations that did not take
or were not taking place in the past, but we can imagine the probable result”.
Example :
a. Nature: unreal
b. Time: Past (so we are
talking about a situation that was not so in the past.)
e.g. If
you had warned me, I would not have told your father about that party.(But you
didn't, and I have).
IV. Mixed
Conditional
It
is possible for the two parts of a conditional sentence to refer to different
times, and the resulting sentence is a "mixed conditional" sentence.
There are two types of mixed conditional sentence.
·
Present
Result of a Past Condition
|
If clause (condition)
|
Main clause (result)
|
|
If + past perfect
|
present conditional
|
|
If this thing had happened
|
that thing would happen.
|
In this type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the
'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the main clause is the
present conditional. As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses
is not fixed. You may have to rearrange the pronouns and adjust punctuation when
you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning is identical.
·
Past
Result of Present or Continuing Result
In this second type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in
the 'if' clause is the simple past, and the tense in the main clause is the
perfect conditional. As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses
is not fixed. You may have to rearrange the pronouns and adjust punctuation
when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning is identical. The
function is, This type of mixed conditional refers to an unreal past condition
and its probably result in the present.
These sentences express a situation which is contrary to reality both in the
past and in the present. In these mixed conditional sentences, the time is the
past in the "if" clause and in the present in the main clause. you
can also use modals in the main clause instead of would to express the degree
of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.
|
If clause (condition)
|
Main clause (result)
|
|
If + simple past
|
perfect conditional
|
|
If this thing happened
|
that thing would have happened.
|
V. Examples of Conditional Sentences
§ Conditional Sentence Type “I”
o
If
I find her address, I will send her an invitation.
ü Main clause :
I will send her an invitation; Sub
clause : If I find her address
ü 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.
ü The
main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't
use a comma.
Negative
Form
o
If
I don’t see him this afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.
ü Main
clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Simple Present and (will) Future on how to form negative sentences.
§ Conditional Sentence Type “II”
o
If
I found her address, I would send her an invitation
ü Main clause : I
would send her an invitation ; Sub
clause : If I found her address
ü 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.
Negative
Form
o
If I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t stay here.
ü Main
clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Simple Past und Conditional I
on how to form negative sentences.
§ Conditional Sentence Type “III”
o
If
you had told me about the problem, I would have helped you
ü Main clause : I
would have helped you ; Sub clause :
If you told me about the problem
ü Fact :
you did not tell me about the
problem, so i did not help you. I would not have got wet yesterday if i had
remembered to take umbrella with me yesterday.
Negative
Form
o
If
I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.
ü Main
clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Past Perfect and Conditional
II on how to form negative sentences.
VI. Exercise
Fill
in the blanks with suitable conditional verb forms.
1. If you ————— to
learn a musical instrument, you have to practise.
a) want
b) wanted
c) would want
d) have wanted
2. If you ———– maths at school, you would find commerce
difficult to understand.
a) learned
b) didn’t learn
c) doesn’t learn
d) won’t learn
3. If that was John,
why ————— he stop and say hello?
a) do
b) did
c) don’t
d) didn’t
4. If I —————- enough
time tomorrow, I will come and see you.
a) get
b) will get
c) had got
d) have got
5. If I ———— her name,
I would tell you.
a) know
b) knew
c) have known
d) had known
6. If I married you, we
both ———– be happy.
a) will
b) would
c) would have
d) would been
7. oil ————- if you
pour it on water.
a) float
b) floats
c) would float
d) floated
8. She would have come
if you ————– her.
a) would invite
b) had invited
c) invited
d) invite
9. If he —————– well,
he would have passed the examination.
a) studied
b) study
c) had studied
d) has studied
10. If you asked him
neatly, he ————– you.
a) would have helped
b) will have helped
c) would help
d) will help
Answers
1. want
2. didn’t learn
3. didn’t
4. get
5. knew
6. would
7. floats
8. had invited
9. had studied
10. would help
Get
From :
http://www.englishpractice.com/quiz/conditional-sentences-quiz-1/
