Conditional Sentence

What is a Conditional Sentence? Definition, Examples

A conditional sentence is a type of sentence that expresses a
hypothetical situation or event and the consequences that would
follow if that situation or event were to occur. It typically includes an
"if" clause (also known as the conditional clause) and a main clause.
Conditional sentence definition
A conditional sentence is a type of sentence that states a condition
and the outcome of that condition occurring. Conditional sentences
are made up of a dependent clause and an independent clause
joined to express said condition. Conditional tenses are used to
speculate about what could happen, what might have happened,
and what we wish would happen. In English, most sentences using
the conditional contain the word if. Many conditional forms in
English are used in sentences that include verbs in one of the past
tenses.

This usage is referred to as "the unreal past" because we use a

past tense but we are not actually referring to something that
happened in the past. There are five main ways of constructing
conditional sentences in English. In all cases, these sentences are
made up of an if clause and a main clause. In many negative
conditional sentences, there is an equivalent sentence
construction using "unless" instead of "if".

A conditional sentence is a sentence that expresses a condition. A

condition is something that can only happen IF something else
occurs. A conditional sentence contains an independent clause and
a dependent clause that almost always begins with “if.” A
conditional sentence is only a conditional sentence if it has both of
these parts.In each of these examples, the clause expressing the
condition is highlighted:

 If you snooze, you lose.

 If you study tonight, you will pass your exam tomorrow.
 If you were smarter, you would know what you don't know.
 If we had read the map, we would have avoided the river.

The 4 Types of Conditional Sentence›

There are four different types of conditional sentences in English. Each

expresses a different degree of probability that a situation will occur or would
have occurred under certain circumstances.

Type Function Example

zero Expresses something

If you sleep, you dream.
conditional as a fact

States the result of a

first If you get some sleep, you
possible future event
conditional will feel better.
occurring
-If you became an insomniac,
you would understand.
States the result of an
(unlikely event occurring)
second unlikely event
conditional occurring or an untruth
-If you were an insomniac,
being true
you would understand.
(untruth being true)
States how the
If you had slept last night,
third situation would be
you would have beaten your
conditional different with a
record.
different past
1. The Zero Conditional

This type of conditional sentence is used to describe situations that

are always true or that happen repeatedly. It uses the present tense
in both clauses. For example: "If it rains, the ground gets wet. "The
zero conditional expresses something that is considered to be a
universal truth or when one action always follows another.

A zero-conditional sentence expresses a general fact (i.e., a

situation where one thing always causes another).
if (or when) + present tense | present tense
if (or when) + past tense | past tense
 If you rest, you rust. (Actress Helen Hayes)
 If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you
are right. (Business magnate Henry Ford)
 You do ill if you praise, but you do worse if you censure, what
you do not understand. (Polymath Leonardo da Vinci)
Structure: With a zero-conditional sentence, the simple present
tense is used in both clauses. Also, the words if and when are
interchangeable.
 If I make money, I'm happy. When I lose money, I'm happy.
(Gambling magnate Lui Che Woo)
 (With a zero-conditional sentence, the message is expressed
as a fact. That doesn't mean it's true of course.)
*Note: The zero conditional is the only type of conditional in which
“when” can replace “if.”

2. The First Conditional

This type of conditional sentence is used to describe situations that

are likely to happen in the future. It uses the present tense in the if
clause and the future tense (usually with "will") in the result clause.
For example: "If I study hard, I will pass the exam." The first
conditional expresses a future scenario that might occur. Assuming
that the condition is fulfilled, the outcome is likely to happen.
A first-conditional sentence states the result of a hypothetical, but
possible, future event (e.g., If you rest) occurring.
 If one swain [young lover] scorns you, you will soon find
another. (Roman poet Virgil)
 If I like a food, even if it's bad for me, I will eat it. (Reality TV
star Kim Kardashian)
if + present tense | will (may/might/can/could/should) +
infinitive
 If I get paid today, I will go shopping. (“Will” implies near certainty
about the shopping trip in case the condition is fulfilled)
 If she knows the truth, she might not be happy. (“Might” implies a
degree of uncertainty about her happiness in case the condition is
fulfilled.)
This type refers to general truths, while the first conditional refers
to specific situations. Though “will” is most commonly used in the
first conditional, you can also use “may,” “might,” “can,” “could,”
or “should.” However, as outlined above, each of these modal verbs
can change the meaning of the sentence.

3. The Second Conditional

Second conditional: This type of conditional sentence is used to

describe hypothetical or unlikely situations in the present or future.
It uses the past tense in the if clause and the would + base verb
construction in the result clause. For example: "If I had more
money, I would buy a car." The second conditional can either refer
to future hypotheticals that are unlikely to be true or present
situations that are untrue or impossible.

if + past subjunctive | would/might/could + infinitive (simple

or continuous)
*if + simple past | would/might/could + infinitive (simple or
continuous)
A second-conditional sentence states the result of an unlikely event
occurring (e.g., If the boat sank) or an untruth being truth (e.g., If
they were on time).
 If I won the lottery, I would still love you. I'd miss you, but I'd
still love you. (Comedian Frank Carson)
 If I saw a heat wave, I would wave back. (Comedian Steven
Wright)
  If I had any humility, I would be perfect. (Media mogul Ted
Turner)
 If you set out to be liked, you would compromise on
everything and achieve nothing. (Margaret Thatcher)
Structure: With a second-conditional sentence, the simple past
tense is used in the if-clause, and would (rarely should or could)
with the base form of a verb is used in the main clause.

4. The Third Conditional

This type of conditional sentence is used to describe hypothetical or

impossible situations in the past. It uses the past perfect in the if
clause and the would + have + past participle construction in the
result clause. For example: "If I had known you were coming, I
would have cleaned the house."The zero conditional expresses
something that is considered to be a universal truth or when one
action always follows another. The third conditional expresses an
unreal situation in the past, with reference to the hypothetical
outcome that would result also in the past.

if + past perfect subjunctive | would (could/might) + perfect

infinitive
*if + past perfect | would (could/might) + perfect infinitive
 If I had known how you were going to react, I would have kept my
mouth shut.
 If you had seen the movie, we could have talked about the ending.
 We might have crossed paths if I had left the house on time.
Both the second and third conditionals can refer to impossible
events. However, the second refers to impossibilities in the present
(“If I were you…”), while the third refers to impossibilities in the
past. The situations expressed in the third conditional are
impossible because they already transpired and therefore cannot
be changed.

More about Conditional Sentences

If-clauses without an If. An if-clause can be introduced with other
terms such as when, unless, provided that and as long as or by
using inversion (e.g., Were he available, he would be selected.)
 I will swim unless the water is too cold.
 I will swim as long as the water is not too cold.
 I will swim provided that the water is not too cold.
When they introduce an if-clause, when, provided that and as long
as can usually be replaced with if. Also, unless could be replaced
with an if..not construction (e.g., if the water is not too cold). So, the
term if-clause, despite being disliked by some grammarians, is
pretty accurate. It's certainly convenient.

Mixed Conditionals. Occasionally, a conditional sentence will

"steal" the structures from two different types of conditional
sentences. This most commonly occurs with a conditional sentence
that uses the structure of a second-conditional sentence for one
clause and the structure of a third-conditional sentence for the
other. These are called mixed conditionals.
 If we were smarter, we wouldn't have set off in this weather.
(The if-clause is second-conditional structure. The main is
third-conditional structure.)
 If you had checked the weather, we wouldn't be stranded
now.
(The if-clause is third-conditional structure. The main is
second-conditional structure.)
Mixed conditionals like these are typically used to express regret for
past action or past inaction.

Why Conditional Sentences Are Important

Fortunately, the vast majority of native English speakers can create

conditional sentences of all 4 "flavours" and the mixed "flavours"
without tripping themselves up. It's because native English
speakers are naturally great at tenses. That said, there are some
fairly common hiccups related to tense worth covering and also a
point on using commas.

(Point 1) Using a comma with an if-clause.

When the if-clause precedes the main clause, use a comma after
the if-clause.
 If I were white, I could capture the world. (African-American
actress Dorothy Dandridge, 1922-65)
 If you steal from one author, it's plagiarism; if you steal from
many, it's research. (Playwright Wilson Mizner)
If the main clause precedes the if-clause, don't use a comma before
the if-clause (unless you think it helps the reader).
 Dreams grow if you grow. (Author Zig Ziglar)
 There are consequences if you act militarily, and there are
big consequences if you don't act. (US Diplomat Dennis Ross)
Here's an example that sums everything up:
 There are economic risks if we leave. If we remain, there are
economic risks. (Politician Michael Gove)

(Issue 2) Using the wrong tense in one of your clauses.

Tense errors can creep in. Below are the most common ones with
each..structure.

Zero-conditional Structure. To express something as a fact,

writers should use the zero-conditional structure (if + simple
present tense, simple present tense). However, writers sometimes
use the first-conditional structure (if + simple present tense, simple
future tense), which states the result of a possible future event
occurring.
 If you sleep, you will dream.
 When dogs die, they will go to doggy heaven.
(In both examples, the will should be deleted.)
With this mistake, the sentence structure is grammatically sound.
It's the wrong sentence structure though, which affects the
intended meaning.

First-conditional Structure. With the first-conditional structure,

writers sometimes use the simple future tense (instead of the
simple present tense) in the if-clause.
 If you will get some sleep, you will feel better.
 You can have everything in life you want if you will just help
other people get what they want. (Author Zig Ziglar)
(In both examples, the will should probably be deleted.)
These haven't been marked as wrong because this structure is
sometimes used to emphasize that the future action must occur.
(And, that's a good get-out if you're ever picked up for this
mistake.)

Second-conditional Structure. With the second-conditional

structure, writers sometimes use the simple present tense (instead
of the simple past tense) in the if-clause.
 If you become an insomniac, you would understand.
(If you became an insomniac would be correct.)
The next most common mistake is to use will (instead of would) in
the main clause.
 If you became an insomniac, you will understand.
(You would understand would be correct.)
Third-conditional Structure. With the third-conditional structure,
writers sometimes use would have (instead of the past perfect
tense) in the if-clause.
 If you would have slept last night, you would have beaten
your record.
(If you had slept last night would be correct.)

Key Points

 When the if-clause is before the main clause, use a comma.

 Do not use a comma when the if-clause is after the main
clause.

Conclusion

We hope you found this guide useful! Like any part of English
grammar, you will need to practice in order to get the hang of it.
That said, the rules are pretty straightforward. So, once you learn
the right formats and situations in which to use them, you’re all set!

Now that we’ve gone over these grammar rules, it’s all about using
them correctly in real life. I should warn you that real life is
complex, nuanced, and not nearly as clean as your grammar book.
Today, we’ll have our lead instructor talk about mixed conditionals,
a
phenomenon that happens frequently in real life conversations.

Summary: What Are Conditional Sentences?

Define conditional sentence: the definition of conditional sentence is a sentence
type that expresses a condition and the outcome of the condition.
In summary, a conditional sentence:

 usually begins with “if”

 includes a dependent and independent clause
 comes in different forms including zero, first, second, and third
 References
Grammar Monster

(#GM)Free Grammar Lessons and Exercises

https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/
conditional_sentences.htm