CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

1 First Conditional: real possibility

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.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy
and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible
future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The
important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition
will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition
result] and [result IF condition]?):

IF condition result

present simple WILL + base verb

If Tara is free tomorrow he will invite her.

If it rains tomorrow will you stay at home?

result IF condition

WILL + base verb present simple

I will tell Mary if I see her.

He will invite Tara if she is free tomorrow.

Their teacher will be sad if they do not pass their exam.

Will you stay at home if it rains tomorrow?

What will you do if it rains tomorrow?

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2 Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream

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 I won the lottery I would buy a car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about
the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important
thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition
will happen.

Here are some more examples:

Result
IF condition

past simple WOULD + base verb

If I married Mary I would be happy.

If it snowed next July would you be surprised?

result IF condition

WOULD + base verb past simple

I would be happy if I married Mary.

Would you be surprised if it snowed next July?

3 Third Conditional: no possibility

The 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. :-

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 condition result

Past Perfect WOULD HAVE + Past Participle

If I had won the lottery I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery.
So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is
finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use
WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing
about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for
example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF condition result

past perfect WOULD HAVE + past participle

If I had seen Mary I would have told her.

If Tara had been free yesterday I would have invited her.

If they had not passed their exam their teacher would have been sad.

If it had rained yesterday would you have stayed at home?

result IF condition

WOULD HAVE + past participle past perfect

I would have told Mary if I had seen her.

Their teacher would have been sad if they had not passed their exam.

Would you have stayed at home if it had rained yesterday?

4 Zero Conditional: certainty

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

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 present simple present simple

If you heat ice it melts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the
condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the
present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the
condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing
about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.

We can also use when instead of if, for example: When I get up late I miss my bus.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF condition result

present simple present simple

If I miss the 8 o'clock bus I am late for work.

If I am late for work my boss gets angry.

does it melt?
If you heat ice

result IF condition

present simple present simple

I am late for work if I miss the 8 o'clock bus.

My boss gets angry if I am late for work.

People get hungry if they don't eat.

Does ice melt if you heat it?

5 Mixed conditionals

In mixed conditional sentences the time in the ‘if’ clause is not the same as the time in the
main clause. There can be various combinations.

 If he’d gone to university he might have a better job.

He didn’t go to university (past) He doesn’t have a very good job. (present)

This sentence shows the present consequences of a past action.

 If I’d won the competition I’d be going to Florida next week.

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 She didn’t win the competition (past) She isn’t going to Florida (future)
This sentence shows the future consequences of a past action.

 If he didn’t have to work tomorrow he wouldn’t be so miserable today.

He has to work tomorrow (future) He’s miserable. (present)

This sentence shows the present consequence of a future event.

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EXERCISE A (1ST CONDITIONAL)

Circle the correct answer.

1. If we don't protect the elephant, it ________ extinct.

A. will become
B. Becomes

2. You won't pass the course if you ________.

A. won't study
B. don't study

3. If you ________ an apple every day, you'll be very healthy.

A. eat
B. will eat

4. You ________ better if you turn on the lamp.

A. are able to see
B. will be able to see

5. If a deer ________ into your garden, it ________ all your plants.

A. gets / will eat
B. will get / eats

6. If you don't put so much sugar in your coffee, you ________ so much weight!
A. don't put on
B. won't put on

7. You'll pay higher insurance if you ________ a sports car.

A. will buy
B. buy

8. If I ________ some eggs, how many ________?

A. will cook / do you eat
B. cook / will you eat

9. She ________ completely different if she cuts her hair.

A. looks
B. will look

10. You ________ heart disease if you eat too much meat.
A. will get
B. get

EXERCISE B (2ND CONTIONAL)

Circle the correct answers

1. If the weather ________ better, we ________ to the park.

A. were... will go
B. were... would go
C. was... go
D. is... would go
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2. If I ________ a penny for every can of soda I've drunk in my life, I would be rich!
A. have
B. had
C. will have
D. would have

3. He's so stupid! If he ________ an animal, he would be a sheep.

A. was
B. were
C. would be
D. is
E. are

4. If her hair were black, she ________ completely different.

A. will look
B. look
C. would look
D. looks

5. If he were a young man, he ________ able to walk faster.

A. will be
B. would be
C. was
D. is

6. We don't mind camping, but if we ________ enough money, we ________ in a hotel.

A. have... stayed
B. would have...stayed
C. had... stayed
D. had... would stay

7. If smoking were allowed, I ________ a cigarette.

A. have
B. had
C. will have
D. would have

8. We'd be on the beach if we ________ in Mexico!

A. will be
B. would be
C. were
D. are

9. If there ________ no mosquitoes, there would be no malaria.

A. were
B. are
C. was
D. is
E. would be

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 10. We would learn a lot from dolphins if they ________.
A. can talk
B. talk
C. will talk
D. could talk

EXERCISE C (3RD CONDITIONAL)

Fill in the blanks with the correct answers

1. He crashed his car, because he fell asleep while driving.

If he __________________ asleep while driving, he _____________ his car.

2. We couldn't go to the concert, because we didn't have enough money.

If we _____________ enough money, we _________________ to the concert.

3. I lost my job because I was late for work.

I ____________________________ my job if I ___________________ late for work.

4. The wind was so strong that the bridge collapsed.

If the wind __________________ so strong, the bridge _____________________.

5. I couldn't call Sally because I had lost her number.

I _____________________ Sally if I _______________________ her number.

EXERCISE D (ZERO CONDTIONAL)

Complete the zero conditional sentences with the verb in brackets.

1. If you press that button, the light __________ (come) on.

2. It’s easier to sleep if ___________ (you/not/be) stressed.
3. The teacher gets angry if __________ (we/not/work) hard.
4. His mother gets annoyed if _________ (he/be)late.
5. If ____________ (I/not/know) a word, I look in my dictionary.
6. They play football if __________ (they/not/have) any homework.
7. If you freeze water, _____________ (it/turns) to ice.

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ANSWER KEY

EXERCISE C

1. He crashed his car, because he fell asleep while driving.

If he had not fallen asleep while driving, he would not have crashed his car.

2. We couldn't go to the concert, because we didn't have enough money.

If we had had enough money, we could have gone to the concert.

3. I lost my job because I was late for work.

I would not have lost my job if I had not been late for work.

4. The wind was so strong that the bridge collapsed.

If the wind had not been so strong, the bridge would not have collapsed.

5. I couldn't call Sally because I had lost her number.

I could have called Sally if I had not lost her number.