by Really Learn English

a Step-by-Step Workbook
Rules, Examples, Stories, Exercises, Answers and a Final Test

When I arrive on time, If I arrive on time,

it will be great! it will be great.

If I arrived on time, If I had arrived on time,

it would be great. it would have been great…
For more resources visit the Really Learn English Store.

English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Published by Really Learn English
www.really-learn-english.com
Copyright © 2014 Ola Zur.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form, by any means,
without written permission from the author,
except a reviewer, who may quote
brief passages for a review.

ITEM3847520944
English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...................................................................................... 3

Introduction .............................................................................................. 6

Unit A – Teacher's Guide ........................................................................... 7

Unit B - Real Conditionals.......................................................................... 9

Lesson 1 – Zero Conditional ................................................................... 11

Story 1 – Meredith’s Day .................................................................... 13

Exercise 1 ............................................................................................... 14

Homework 1 – Unit B, Lesson 1 ............................................................. 16

Lesson 2 – First Conditional ................................................................... 19

Story 2 –Weekend Plans .................................................................... 22

Exercise 2 ............................................................................................... 23

Homework 2 – Unit B, Lesson 2 ............................................................. 24

Exercise 3 – Partner Practice .................................................................. 28

Unit C – Unreal Conditionals ................................................................... 32

Lesson 1 – Second Conditional ............................................................... 33

Story 3 – Mother’s Day Surprise ......................................................... 37

Exercise 4 ............................................................................................... 38

Homework 3 – Unit C, Lesson 1.............................................................. 39

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ITEM3847520944
English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Lesson 2 – Third Conditional .................................................................. 42

Story 4 – A Complicated Trip .............................................................. 45

Exercise 5 ............................................................................................... 46

Homework 4 – Unit C, Lesson 2.............................................................. 47

Exercise 6 – Partner Practice .................................................................. 52

Story 5 – The Environment (Final Review Story)................................. 56

Exercise 7 ............................................................................................... 57

Conditionals – Rule Summary ................................................................. 60

Real Conditionals ................................................................................... 60

Zero Conditional................................................................................. 60

First Conditional ................................................................................. 60

Unreal Conditionals ............................................................................... 61

Second Conditional ............................................................................ 61

Third Conditional ............................................................................... 61

Final Test ................................................................................................ 62

Answer Key ............................................................................................. 69

Exercise 1 ............................................................................................... 69

Homework 1 – Unit B, Lesson 1 ............................................................. 70

Exercise 2 ............................................................................................... 71

Homework 2 – Unit B, Lesson 2 ............................................................. 72

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English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Exercise 3 – Partner Practice .................................................................. 73

Exercise 4 ............................................................................................... 74

Homework 3 – Unit C, Lesson 1.............................................................. 75

Exercise 5 ............................................................................................... 76

Homework 4 – Unit C, Lesson 2.............................................................. 77

Exercise 6 – Partner Practice .................................................................. 79

Exercise 7 ............................................................................................... 82

Final Test Answers ................................................................................. 83

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Introduction
How are conditionals used, and how are they formed? Depending on the

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situation we are describing, which type of conditional must be used? This

PL
booklet contains illustrated examples, explanations, practice stories, and
exercises so that you’ll feel completely comfortable using real and unreal

M
conditionals!

SA
ES
G
PA
M
O
D
AN
R

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Unit A – Teacher's Guide

This booklet is for intermediate students who already have experience

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with the twelve tenses in English.

PL
This booklet will help you to teach your students the real and unreal

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conditionals in English. These conditionals are the following:

Real Conditionals

SA
Name Use Example
Zero conditional Situations of cause and If (When) the bus comes
effect that are always late, I arrive to work late.
true.
First conditional ES
Situations of cause and
effect that are possible.
If the bus comes late, I
will arrive to work late.
G
Unreal Conditionals
PA

Name Use Example

Second conditional Imaginary situations of If I were taller, I would
cause and effect in the play basketball.
present.
M

Third conditional Imaginary situations of If I had been taller in high

cause and effect that are school, I would have
O

contrary to facts in the played basketball.

past.
D
AN

In this booklet, we have divided the lessons into units on real and unreal
conditionals. This is a good way to group the different conditionals
together as concepts so that your students can grasp them more easily.
R

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

In each lesson, we will study the uses and structure of each conditional.
There are also lots of examples, plus a story and exercises for each lesson.

E
Finally, we have included homework activities for you to assign. At the end
of each unit, there is also a partner practice activity so that your students

PL
can work together to feel comfortable with the conditionals.

M
Some things to keep in mind as you work with this booklet:

SA
• The examples and stories are very important. Dedicate enough time
to going over them with your students! They must be able to
recognize and indentify the different kinds of conditionals.
ES
• You should also have the students read the stories out loud for extra
pronunciation and listening comprehension practice.
G
• Once they feel comfortable with the structures, they must practice.
Be sure to work with the exercises and homework assignments in
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class to assign them to the students to do on their own.

• Have the students create their own examples. When they apply
these new skills to their own lives, the structures become more real
M

and useful for them.

O

• Be sure each lesson has been clearly understood before moving on to

D

the next topic. It’s best to take some extra time to do more examples
and really master the new skills.
AN

• You can always go back and look at the lesson introductions and
reviews if questions come up later.
R

Now, let’s get going!

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Unit B - Real Conditionals

What is a “real conditional?” First of all, let’s define what a conditional is!

E
PL
A conditional is a sentence in English that describes a situation of cause and
effect. For example: “If A, then B.” The first circumstance causes the second

M
circumstance to be true. Conditionals always describe this kind of cause
and effect relationship between two situations or circumstances.

SA
When we talk about conditionals, we often describe “the ‘if’ clause” and
“the ‘then’ clause.” A clause is a part of a sentence that needs more words
to make a complete idea.

For example: “If Bella calls…”

ES
G
When we read this fragment of a sentence, we want to ask: “If Bella calls…
PA

then what?” This is because “If Bella calls” is only a clause, or a part of a
sentence. We need more information to complete the idea.

A conditional sentence in English is always made up of two easily

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identifiable clauses.
O

The first, the ‘if’ clause, describes the cause, and the ‘then’ clause describes
D

the effect. The word “then” is usually optional, but we can still use this
AN

name for the part of the sentence that talks about the effect.

For example: “If Bella calls, then tell her I will be home soon.”
R

We can rewrite this sentence as: “If Bella calls, tell her I will be home soon.”
In fact, that is the way most native speakers would say it!

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

You will always be able to identify these two parts of a conditional

sentence, the ‘if’ clause and the ‘then’ clause, in English.

E
PL
M
SA
ES
G
PA

Okay, that makes sense! An English conditional always talks about a cause
and an effect.
M

So now, what is a real conditional?

O

Well, a real conditional describes a situation of cause and effect that is

always true or very possible.
D

There are two different types of real conditionals in English: the zero
AN

conditional and the first conditional. We’ll learn each one separately, with
lots of examples and practice.
R

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Lesson 1 – Zero Conditional

The term zero conditional talks about a conditional that is always true.

E
For example:

PL
• If it rains, (then) I take my umbrella with me.

This means that every time it rains, you take your umbrella with you. This

M
conditional is always true.

SA
ES
G
PA
M
O

In fact, because this situation is always true, you don’t have to use the word
D

‘if.’
AN

You can say:

• When it rains, I take my umbrella with me.

R

• Whenever it rains, I take my umbrella with me.

• Every time it rains, I take my umbrella with me.

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Now, let’s have a look at the structure of zero conditionals.

Cause Effect
If / When / Whenever / Every time + (then) + simple present.

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simple present,

PL
We use the simple present in both the ‘if’ clause and the ‘then’ clause,
because this situation is always true.

M
Let’s look at some more examples:

SA
• When the baby cries at night, I wake up.
• If you don’t water house plants, (then) they die.
ES
• If you eat too much candy, (then) you feel sick.
• Whenever the doorbell rings, I have to answer it.
G
• Every time my daughter calls, she tells me she loves me.
PA

Sometimes, we can change the order of the sentence, like this:

Effect Cause
Simple present if / when / whenever / every time +
M

simple present.
O

For example:
D

• I get hungry whenever I smell pizza!

AN

• She cleans the floor if she sees dirt on it.

• The students ask questions every time they don’t understand.
• My cat purrs when I pet him.
R

Let’s look at some examples in context in the story on the next page.

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Story 1 – Meredith’s Day

E
PL
M
SA
ES
Meredith likes routines! Her office is very organized, and so is her life!
G
She always gets up at 6:00am. If her alarm doesn’t ring, she still gets up!
She is very used to getting up at this time of day.
PA

Her roommate, Kelly, gets up early, too. If Kelly makes coffee, Meredith
makes the oatmeal. But, whenever Kelly has a day off, she sleeps until
M

7:30am. So, every time Kelly has a day off, Meredith makes the coffee.
O

When Meredith gets to the office, she says hello to her receptionist. Her
receptionist’s name is Bill, and he is also very organized. Bill gives Meredith
D

a list of tasks for the day when she arrives. He also gives her a list of calls.
AN

If there are any calls to return, Meredith does this first. She doesn’t like to
keep people waiting! The only problem is, she goes to work so early that
R

usually no one is in their office yet! Well, maybe she’ll have another coffee
first. Then she’ll make all those phone calls!

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Exercise 1

A. Find three examples of zero conditionals in the story above and write

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them on the lines below.

PL
1. ___________________________________________________________

M
_____________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________

SA
_____________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________
ES
_____________________________________________________________
G
B. Most of the zero conditionals in the story follow the pattern: If +
PA

present tense, (then) + present tense. There is only one conditional that
has the ‘then’ clause before the ‘if’ clause. Write it below.

_____________________________________________________________
M

_____________________________________________________________
O

C. Complete the sentences below using information from the story.

D
AN

1. Every time Kelly has a day off, she _______________________________

__________________________________________________________.
R

2. When Meredith arrives, Bill ____________________________________

__________________________________________________________.

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

3. Whenever Kelly makes the coffee, Meredith _______________________

___________________________________________________________.

E
4. When Meredith arrives at her office, she _________________________

PL
___________________________________________________________.

5. If there are any calls for Meredith to return, she ____________________

M
__________________________________________________________.

SA
6. If Meredith’s alarm doesn’t ring, she _____________________________

__________________________________________________________.
ES
G
PA
M
O
D
AN
R

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Homework 1 – Unit B, Lesson 1

A. Match the ‘if’ clauses from the first column of the table with the ‘then’

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clauses from the second column to form logical sentences.

PL
‘If’ Clauses ‘Then’ Clauses
1. Whenever it snows, a. I answer it.

M
2. Every time the phone rings, b. I feel so tired.
3. If I do too much exercise, c. it is very cold outside.

SA
4. When I don’t sleep enough, d. the boss gets upset.
5. If the team doesn’t finish on time, e. my muscles hurt.

1. _____
2. _____
ES
3. _____
G
4. _____
PA

5. _____

B. Complete the sentences below by adding your own ‘then’ clause. Be

M

sure to use the simple present because these situations are always true!

1. When I go to the grocery store, I _________________________________

O

_____________________________________________________________.
D
AN

2. Every time I go to English class, my teacher ________________________

_____________________________________________________________.
R

3. Whenever I feel sick, I _________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________.

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

4. If I have a question at work, I ___________________________________

_____________________________________________________________.

E
5. Whenever the power goes out at home, I _________________________

PL
_____________________________________________________________.

C. Sometimes we put the effect before the cause when we write our

M
sentences. Complete the sentences with the ‘if’ clauses from the table.

SA
whenever I want some physical activity.
if he wants to talk to me about something.
whenever they are sleepy.
ES
when they are dirty.
when I bring cookies to the office.
G
1. I wash the windows ___________________________________________
PA

__________________________________________________________.

2. I go for a walk in the park ____________________________________

M

___________________________________________________________.

3. My best friend calls me ______________________________________

O

_________________________________________________________.
D

4. My children get very irritable and cry ___________________________

AN

__________________________________________________________.
R

5. My co-workers are very happy _________________________________

_________________________________________________________.

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

D. Look at the pictures below. Complete the zero conditional sentences

for each picture using the examples in the lesson and story to help you.

E
1. Whenever I see Ellen, she _______________

PL
_____________________________________.

Every time Ellen says hello to me, I __________

M
_____________________________________.

SA
2. Whenever Chad feels stressed, he _________
ES
_____________________________________.

Every time Chad makes a goal, he ___________

G
_____________________________________.
PA

3. When Kerry does her homework, she

M

_____________________________________
O

_____________________________________.
D

If Kerry has questions, she ________________

AN

_____________________________________.
R

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Here is the structure for creating third conditional sentences:

Cause Effect (in the past)

If + past perfect, (then) + would + have + verb.

E
PL
Cause Effect (in the present)
If + past perfect, (then) + would + verb.

Or:

M
Effect (in the past) Cause

SA
Would + have + verb if + past perfect.

Effect (in the present) Cause

Would + verb if + past perfect.
ES
Again, be careful with the ‘if’ clause! It is very common for students (and
G
even some native speakers) to use “would have” in the ‘if’ clause. This is
incorrect!
PA

For example:

Incorrect: If you would have called me earlier, I would have told you.
M

Correct: If you had called me earlier, I would have told you.

O

Incorrect: If you would have studied, you would have done well on the test.
D

Correct: If you had studied, you would have done well on the test.
AN

So, remember: the ‘if’ clause contains the past perfect, and the ‘then’
clause contains “would have” or just “would,” depending on the sentence.
R

It’s simple!

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Final Test
A. Choose the correct answer to complete the conditionals. (3 points each)

E
1. If she has some extra money in December, ________________________.

PL
a.) she would go on vacation.
b.) she goes on vacation.

M
c.) she would be going on vacation.

SA
d.) she will go on vacation.

2. _______________________________, you wouldn’t have failed the test.

a.) If you had studied more
b.) If you have studied more
ES
c.) If you study more
G
d.) If you were studying more
PA

3. You would feel healthier _______________________________________.

a.) if you would do some exercise.
b.) if you will do some exercise.
M

c.) if you did some exercise.

O

d.) if you will have done some exercise.

D

4. ______________________________________ whenever they have time.

AN

a.) They would read books

b.) They read books
c.) They had read books
R

d.) They would have read books

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

E. Match the causes from Table 1 with the effects from Table 2.
Remember that sometimes the cause will come first, and sometimes the
effect will come first. (3 points each)

E
Table 1: Causes

PL
If my cousins come to the party,
if the managers started paying more attention to our work.

M
If my printer hadn’t broken this morning,
whenever it comes to town.

SA
If you are the last person to leave the room,
If this rain doesn’t stop soon,

Table 2: Effects
ES
I would have been able to print out my pictures to show you.
We go to the circus
G
Things would get a lot better
there will be a flood!
PA

they will be very surprised at all the food!

please turn off the lights.

1. ___________________________________________________________
M

__________________________________________________________
O

___________________________________________________________.
D
AN

2. ___________________________________________________________
R

__________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________.

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 English Conditionals: a Step-by-Step Workbook

Answer Key

E
Exercise 1

PL
A. Find three examples of zero conditionals in the story above and write
them on the lines below.

M
Any three of the following sentences:

SA
If her alarm doesn’t ring, she still gets up!

If Kelly makes coffee, Meredith makes the oatmeal.

ES
Whenever Kelly has a day off, she sleeps until 7:30am.
G
Every time Kelly has a day off, Meredith makes the coffee.
PA

When Meredith gets to the office, she says hello to her receptionist.

Bill gives Meredith a list of tasks for the day when she arrives.
M

If there are any calls to return, Meredith does this first.

O

B. Most of the zero conditionals in the story follow the pattern: If +

present tense, (then) + present tense. There is only one conditional that
D

has the ‘then’ clause before the ‘if’ clause. Write it below.
AN

Bill gives Meredith a list of tasks for the day when she arrives.
R

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