IF CONDITIONALS PART 1

22 April 2020

Dear students

I am happy to meet you again today, through my blog.

Today I have the pleasure to introduce you a new topic, If conditionals.

This lesson may stretch to more than one part.

The first part is being published today.

The remaining parts will be uploaded in the remaining days to come.

Please read the lesson attentively and you are free to post your doubts  in the comments box

CONDITIONALS

IF CLAUSE,	+	MAIN CLAUSE
CONDITION	+	RESULT
If I see her,	+	I will tell her.

MAIN CLAUSE	+	IF CLAUSE
RESULT	+	CONDITION
I will tell he	+	If I see her.

There are several structures in English that we call conditionals or if conditionals. The word "condition" means "situation or circumstance". If a particular condition is true, then a particular result happens:

• if y = 3 then 2y = 6

There are three Basic English conditionals plus the so-called zero conditional.

conditional type	usage	Tense in)if-clause	(Tense in) main-clause
1	possible condition + probable result	present simple	will + base verb
2	hypothetical condition + possible result	past simple	would + base verb
3	expired past condition + possible past result	past perfect	would have + past participle
0	real condition + inevitable result	present simple	present simple

Structure of Conditional Sentences

The structure of most conditionals is very simple. There are two basic possibilities.

Of course, we add many words and can use various tenses, but the basic structure is usually like this:

If	condition	result
If	Y=10	2y=20

Or like this:

result	if	condition
2y=20	if	Y=10

This structure can produce, for example, the following sentences:

• If I see her, I will tell her.
• I will tell her if I see her.

Notice the comma in the first sentence

When a sentence is begun with ‘if clause’, we insert comma, immediately after the ‘if clause.

We don’t do so. if the sentence begins with the main clause.

First Conditional

for real possibility ( open or real condition)
If I win the lottery, I will buy a car.

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

If	condition	result
	Present simple	Will + base verb
If	It rains,	I will stay at home

 

 

Second Conditional

for unreal possibility   ( unreal or hypothetical condition)
If I won the lottery, I would buy a car.

The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.

If	condition	result
	past simple	would + base verb
If If	It rained, I won the lottery,	I would stay at home I would buy a car.

Third Conditional

for no possibility (  Impossible condition)
If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a car.
he first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.
Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(

If	condition	result
	past perfect	would have+ past participle
If	I had won the lottery,	I would have won the car.

Zero Conditional

for certainty

If you heat ice, it melts

We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.

Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.

If	condition	result
	Present simple	Present simple
If	You heat ice,	It melts

Summary of Conditionals

Here is a table to help you to visualize the basic conditionals.
Do not take the 50% and 10% too literally. They are just to help you.

probability conditional		example	time
100%	zero	If you heat ice, it melts	any
50%	first	If I win the lottery, I will  buy a car.	future
10%	second	If I won the lottery, I would buy a car	future
0%	third	If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a car	past