Conditionals

Conditionals are concerned with what happens when something else happens.

They usually have two clauses: a main clause and a subordinate ‘if’ clause.

There are four main types of conditionals. They are known as:

• The zero conditional
• The first conditional
• The second conditional
• The third conditional

The zero conditional

The zero conditional is used for things that always happen when something else happens.

If this thing happens, that thing happens.

Examples:

• If it rains, the ground gets wet.
• If I eat too much, I get stomach ache.
• If he is late home from school, she gets cross.
• If you don’t press the switch, the light doesn’t come on.

The grammatical construction is:

• ‘If’ clause: present simple [comma] main clause: present simple.

The clauses can be reversed:

• The ground gets wet if it rains.
• I get stomach ache if I eat too much.
• She gets cross if he is late home from school.
• The light doesn’t come on if you don’t press the switch.

In this case there is no comma between the clauses.

The first conditional

The first conditional is used when a possible condition now will lead to a probable result in the (near) future. The situation is real or very likely.

If this thing happens, that thing will happen.

Examples:

• If you play with fire, you will get burned.
• If you study hard, you will get good marks.
• If I get up early, I will go for a swim.
• If he doesn’t arrive soon, he will miss dinner.

The grammatical construction is:

• ‘If’ clause: present simple [comma] main clause: future simple.

The clauses can be reversed:

• You will get burned if you play with fire.
• You will get good marks if you study hard.
• I will go for a swim if I get up early.
• He will miss dinner if he doesn’t arrive soon.

In this case there is no comma between the clauses.

Second conditional

The second conditional is used when a possible condition would lead to a hypothetical result. The situation is hypothetical, unlikely, impossible or unreal.

If this thing happened, that thing would happen.

Examples:

• If I won the lottery, I would buy a new car.
• If I understood Russian, I would go to the theatre in Moscow.
• If you practised, you would be a good pianist.
• If a bird didn’t have wings, it wouldn’t be able to fly.

The grammatical construction is:

• ‘If’ clause: past simple [comma] main clause: present conditional.

 The clauses can be reversed:

• I would buy a new car if I won the lottery.
• I would go to the theatre in Moscow if I understood Russian.
• You would be a good pianist if you practised.
• The bird wouldn’t be able to fly if it didn’t have wings.

In this case there is no comma between the clauses.

Third conditional

The third conditional is used when a possible condition in the past might have led to a particular result. It refers to something that didn’t happen.

If this thing had happened, that thing would/could have happened.

Examples:

• If she had worked harder, she would have got a better job.
• If the sun had shone, we would have gone to the beach.
• If we had saved our money, we could have bought a bigger car.
• If there hadn’t been a pandemic, he wouldn’t have worked at home.

The grammatical construction is:

• ‘If’ clause: past perfect [comma] main clause: perfect conditional.

The clauses can be reversed:

• She would have got a better job if she had worked harder.
• We would have gone to the beach if the sun had shone.
• We could have had a bigger car if we had saved our money.
• He wouldn’t have worked at home if there hadn’t been a pandemic.

In this case there is no comma between the clauses.