CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

Welcome to this lecture headed “CONDITIONAL SENTENCES”. We will be discussing all about conditional sentences. Enjoy your lecture.

Conditional sentences

Conditional sentences are every now and then confusing for learners of English as a second language.

You ought to look out for the following:

The form of conditional sentences it is

The position of the if-clause (e.g. at the start or at the end of the conditional sentence)

There are three forms of conditional sentences.

Form	Condition
I	condition possible to fulfill
II	condition in theory possible to fulfill
III	condition not possible to fulfill (too late)

Form

type	if-clause	main clause
I	Simple Present	will-future or (Modal + infinitive)
II	Simple Past	would + infinitive *
III	Past Perfect	would + have + past participle *

Examples (if-clause at the start)

type	if-clause	main clause
I	If I study,	I will pass the test.
II	If I studied,	I would pass the test.
III	If I had studied,	I would have passed the test.

Examples (if-clause at the end)

type	main clause	if-clause
I	I will pass the test	if I study.
II	I would pass the test	if I studied.
III	I would have passed the test	if I had studied.

* We can alternate could or might for would (should, may or must are sometimes possible, as well).

I would pass the test.

I could pass the test.

I might pass the test.

I may pass the exam.

I should pass the test.

I must pass the test.

Conditional sentences – form I

Use

It is possible to accomplish a condition which is given in the if-clause.Form

if clause	main clause
Simple Present	will-future
	infinitive
	Modal + infinitive

Examples

if clause	main clause
If I study,	I will pass the test.
If you see Joseph today,	tell him to e-mail me.
If he gets up early,	he can catch the bus

The if-clause can be at the start or at the end of a sentence.

if clause	main clause
If I study,	I will pass the test.

main clause	if clause
I will pass the test	if I study.

Conditional sentences – Form II

Use

It is hypothetically possible to accomplish a condition which is given in the if-clause.Form

if clause	main clause
Simple Past	would + infinitive
	could + infinitive
	might + infinitive

Examples

if clause	main clause
If I studied,	I would pass the test.
If I studied,	I could pass the test.
If I studied,	I might pass the test.

The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of a sentence.

Conditional sentences – Form III

Use

It is impossible to accomplish a condition which is given in the if-clause.Form

if clause	main clause
Past Perfect	would + have + past participle
	could + have + past participle
	might + have + past participle

Examples

if clause	main clause
If I had practiced,	I would have won the game.

main clause	if clause
I would have won the game	if I had practiced.

The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of a sentence.

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Mixed conditionals

How to mix conditional sentences

Unreal conditionals (type II + III) sometimes can be mixed, that is, the time of the if clause is different from the one of the main clause.

Past – Present

If I had taken a panadol, I wouldn’t have a headache now.

Past – Future

If I had known that you are going to come by tomorrow, I would be in then.

Present – Past

If she had enough money, she could have done this trip to India.

Present – Future

If I were you, I would be spending my vacation in London.

Future – Past

If I weren’t flying to Abuja, I would have planned a trip to .

Future – Present

If I were taking this test next week, I would be high-strung.

Real and unreal conditionals, Modals and position of if-clauses

Organization of if-clauses

If-clauses can be clause-initial (1.), clause-medial (2.) as well as clause-final (3.).

If you like, we can catch a bus.

We, if you like, can catch a bus.

We can catch a bus if you like.

Types of conditionals

Apart from the typical type I, II, III structure, conditionals can be divided into two categories:

real and unreal conditionals.Real condition

Conditional sentence	type
If I have money, I spend it.	Present Real Conditional – type I
If I had money, I spent it.	Past Real Conditional – type I
If I have money, I will/am going to spend it.	Future Real Conditional – type I

Unreal condition

Conditional sentence	Explanation	type
If I had had money, I would have bought clothes		Past unreal Conditional – type III
If I had money, I buy clothes.	I think about spending the money TODAY.	Present unreal Conditional – type II
If I had money, I would buy clothes.	I think about spending the money NEXT WEEK.	Future unreal Conditional – type II

Modal verbs

Main clauses with real conditional tenses can have modal verbs.

If I have money, I can buy the clothes.

You can use could and might in place of would in unreal conditional clauses.

If I had money, I could buy clothes. → (I would be able to buy clothes.)

If I had money, I might buy clothes. → (I would possibly buy clothes.)Replacing if, Omitting if , if against when, in case against ifReplacing if

If can be replaced by words or expressions with a comparable meaning.

The most widespread are:

as long as

assuming (that)

on condition (that)

on the assumption (that)

provided (that)

supposing (that)

unless

with the condition (that)Omitting if

Had I known… (In place of If I had known…)

Were you my daughter,… (In place of: If you were my daughter,…)

Should you need my advice,… (In place of: If you should need my advice,…)if – when

If and when are transposable when the statement of the conditional clause is a fact or a general issue (As well referred to as zero conditional)

If you heat ice, it melts.

When you heat ice, it melts

If is used for something that, according to the speaker, might happen.

We can spend the afternoon on the beach if the weather is fine.

When is used for something that, according to the speaker, will happen.

I will clean up the kitchen right away when I’m back from work.in case – if

in case of can be used to cut down an if-clause as revealed below:

If there is a fire, go away from the room.

In case of fire, go away from the room.

While if expresses a condition (1), in case is used to articulate a possibility (2).

I need painkillers if I’m in brutal pain.

I need painkillers in case I’m in severe pain.

The expression just in case is used pretty much the same way.

I got you a meat pie just in case you were hungry. (I don’t know whether you are hungry)

Conditional Verb Forms

The conditional is possible also in the future tense:

“If I have a hammer tomorrow, I might hammer out warning. 

OR 

. . . I will hammer out warning.” 

OR 

“If I were to have a hammer tomorrow, I would hammer out warning.”

And, in conclusion, he could visualize what is called the habitual present conditional:

“If/when I have a hammer, I hammer out warning.” [I do it all the time, whenever I have a hammer.]

The Factual against the Unreal or Hypothetical

In expressing a conditional situation, we ought to be able to differentiate between what is a truthful statement and what is a imaginary, unreal, imagined, wished for, only possible statement and so on.

For example, if we say

“The pet  is always happy when mum stays home,”

that’s a simple statement of present habitual fact. A general truth is expressed in the same way:

“If the sun shines all day, it gets hot.”

Statements of habitual fact can as well be made in the past:

“If we ate out at all, it was always in a good restaurant.”

And conditional or hypothetical statements can be made about the future:

“I will give you a call, if I fly to Abuja tomorrow.

(In the future, we could combine the base form of the verb (“give,” in this instance) with other modal verbs: may, might, could.)

Making use of Would and Could

When conveying the unreal, the result clauses require would, could or will. The condition clauses do not use those verbs; the condition clauses, as a substitute, use verbs moved one step back in time from the result.Future Conditionals against Hypothetical Conditionals

When we want to forecast something conditional about the future (what we think might happen), we can make use of the present tense in the if clause and will or be going + the base form of the verb in the result clause.

If Bessie grows any taller, the basketball coach is going to recruit her for the team.

If she doesn’t grow more, the coach will overlook her.

On the other hand, the hypothetical conditional permits us to express quite improbable situations or situations that are completely impossible.

If my mum had been six feet tall instead of less than five feet tall, he would have been a great athlete.

Thanks for reaching to this point marking the end of this lecture.

Your Lecture Master:

Mst. Ugonwanne Joshua