IF CLAUSE CONDITIONALS
A conditional
sentence is a sentence containing the word if.
Conditional
sentences are statements discussing known factors or hypothetical situations
and their consequences. Complete conditional sentences contain a conditional
clause (often referred to as the if-clause) and the consequence.
There are four
common types of “IF” conditional sentence:
1 ZERO CONDITION
2 probable
condition
3 improbable condition
4 impossible
condition
1 ZERO CONDITION:
Zero conditional
sentences express general truths—situations in which one thing always causes
another. When you use a zero conditional, you’re talking about a general truth
rather than a specific instance of something.
Examples
If you don’t
brush your teeth, you get cavities.
When people smoke
cigarettes, their health suffers.
Incorrect: When
people smoke cigarettes, their health will suffer .
There are a
couple of things to take note of in the above sentences in which the zero
conditional is used. First, when using the zero conditional, the correct tense
to use in both clauses is the simple present tense. A common mistake is to use
the simple future tense.
notice that the
words if and when can be used interchangeably in these zero conditional
sentences. This is because the outcome will always be the same, so it doesn’t
matter “if” or “when” it happens.
2 PROBABLE
CONDITION:
This condition is
used to express a simple statement of fact or intent
Rule: If clause
in present simple tense and the main clause takes the future tense verbs like
“will/shall/can/may”
If I win the
lottery, I will buy a new car.
if you don't
start working harder, You will fail in your exams
if she continues
to talk about them behind their backs, She will lose all her friends.
3 IMPROBABLE
CONDITION:
This condition is
used to refer to a present unreal situation or to a situation in the future
that the speaker thinks is unlikely to happen
Rule: If clause
in past simple tense : main clause takes the verbs such as
“would/should/could/might”
If I had a lot of
money, I would buy a new car. (but I don't have a lot of money)
If I were you, I
would tell him you're sorry. (but I am not you)
If I won the
lottery, I would buy a new house. (but I don't expect to win the lottery)
If it snowed
tomorrow, we would go skiing. (but I don't have much hope that it will snow)
4 IMPOSSIBLE CONDITION:
This condition is
used to refer to the past and situations that did not happen
Rule: if clause
in past perfect tense : main clause
takes the verb like “would have, could have, should have, might have”
Example:
If it had snowed
yesterday, we would have gone skiing. (but it didn't snow, so we didn't go
skiing)
If you had
studied harder, you would have passed your test. (but you didn't study hard, so
you didn't
If I had won the
lottery, I would have bought a new car.
We can also start
conditional sentences with the main clause:
Example:
I will buy a new
car if I win the lottery.
I would buy a new
car if I won the lottery.
I would have
bought a new car if I had won the lottery.