by JFBS

Conditional Types

First Type: Possible & Probable conditions

Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions

Third Type: Impossible conditions

Other Conditional sentences

Wish / If only
First Type: Possible & Probable conditions

IF CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

Simple Future
Simple Present
Imperative
Can
If you come I will be happy
If you want to pass Study!
If we buy a ticket she will come with us

If she ..................... We ................ (go) to the

(arrive) soon concert
If they dance too much They .............................
(get) tired
If you need my car .............................. (take)
it
First Type: Possible & Probable conditions

IF CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

If you ........ (drink) a lot I .......... (leave) you

If the road ............ (be) wet ............(watch out) !

If he .......... (lose) his key You ................ (lend) him

yours
If she .............. (not buy) any We ................(have dinner)
food
If they ......... (not stop) We .......... (not finish) our
talking lesson
If you ....... (take) the dog for I ................ (give) you some
a walk money
Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions
To express an imaginary present or improbable future
situations

IF CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

Simple Past Would + root verb

Could + root verb

If she studied she would pass her controls

If he ran he would catch the bus

If I went to China I could be with him

If I were ..................... ....................................

Second Type: Possible & Improbable conditions

IF CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

If you ........ (drink) a lot I .......... (leave) you

If the road ............ (be) wet You ............(have) an accident

If he .......... (lose) his key You ................ (lend) him

yours
If she .............. (not buy) any We ................(have dinner)
food
If they ......... (not stop) We .......... (not finish) our
talking lesson
If you ....... (take) the dog for I ................ (give) you some
a walk money
Third Type: Impossible conditions
To express a regret for an impossible situation happened
in the Past with NO solution
IF CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

Past Perfect Present Perfect Conditional

(Would have + past participle)

If it hadn't rained We would have gone to the

country
If she had studied She ............ (pass) her
controls
If you ................... (invite) They 'd have come to the party
them
If I had known it I .......................(arrive)
earlier
If he............................. I 'd have seen him
(phone)
Third Type: Impossible conditions

IF CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

If you ........ (drink) a lot I .......... (leave) you

If the road ............ (be) wet You ............(have) an accident

If he .......... (lose) his key You ................ (lend) him

yours
If she .............. (not buy) any We ................(have dinner)
food
If they ......... (not stop) We .......... (not finish) our
talking lesson
If you ....... (take) the dog for I ................ (give) you some
a walk money
Other expressions used in conditional
clauses:
UNLESS You won't finish the race unless you control your
effort.

"WHETHER…OR NOT" Whether you pay or not, you won't get in without an
invitation.
"ON CONDITION THAT" "I will only tell my age on condition that you tell
"PROVIDED THAT" yours."
"PROVIDING THAT" “I will only tell my age provided that you tell yours”
"SO LONG AS" “I will only tell my age providing that you tell yours”
"AS LONG AS “I will only tell my age so long as you tell yours”
"ASSUMING THAT" “I will only tell my age as long as you tell yours”
"SUPPOSING THAT"
"SUPPOSE THAT"
"Assuming that it's fine tomorrow, we'll go for a
swim"
"What would you do supposing that you were given
the chance to see the future ?"
 Other time clauses
Time clauses with before, unless, when, while, as soon as, as long as,
provided that
After when, as soon as, before, while, unless, as long as and provided that we
use the present tense (not will).

•I’ll stay with Jake when I go to London next week.

• As soon as I get my exam results, I’m going on holiday.
• Before I go out tonight, I have to finish this essay.
• While I’m away, Penny’s going to look after my dog.
• I won’t be able to buy a car unless I find a job soon.
• I’ll come with you as long as I don't have to drive.
• You’ll pass your exam provided that you doenough revision.
 WISH / IF ONLY CLAUSES

Wish and if only can be used with would and past tenses. These structures express
regrets, and wishes for unlikely or impossible things.
If only is more emphatic. (Traducción: Ójala, Desearía)

1. Past tenses are used to talk about the present.

I wish I was better looking I wish I spoke French
Don’t you wish you could fly? If only I knew more people!
Were can be used instead of was, especially in a formal style.
He wishes he were better looking.

2. We use a past perfect tense to express regrets about the past

I wish you hadn’t said that.
Now she wishes she had gone to university.
If only she hadn’t told the police, everything would be all right .

3. We use would... to talk about things that we would like people (not) to do.
This often expresses dissatisfaction or annoyance: it can sound critical.
I wish you would go home. If only the postman would come!
We can use this structure to talk about things as well as people.
I wish this damned car would start. If only it would stop raining!
 Sample rephrasing

First Conditional:
- Be careful – someone’s going to see you!
- If you are careful, nobody will see you!
- If + Subject + present simple, subject + future will (aff or neg)

Second Conditional:

-Kathy wants to go to the movies but doesn't have any money

-If Kathy had some money, she would go to the movies.
-If + Subject + past simple (neg or aff), subject + would /could/might + infinitive + complements

Third Conditional:
-Tom was not going to come to dinner the next day because you insulted him.
-If Tom hadn’t insulted him, he would have come to dinner.
- If + Subject + past perfect (neg or aff), subject + would/ could/might + have + pp + C

Wish / If only
I’m sorry, but I can’t help you now.
I wish I could help you.
I would have gone to the concert, but I didn’t have a ticket.
I wish I had had a ticket. / I had bought a ticket
 Other samples

- His book will be published provided he takes his manuscript to the editor.
Unless he takes his manuscript to the editor, his book won’t be published.
Unles + present simple, future simple (aff or neg)

-I didn't have an umbrella with me and so I got wet.

I wouldn't have got wet, if I had had an umbrella with me.

-We don't go to school when it rains

If it rains, we don’t go to school.

-I didn't move the table because Jack didn't help me.

If Jack had helped me, I would have moved the table.

- You drink too much coffee, that's why you don't sleep.
If you didn’t drank too much coffee, you would sleep.

-You never talk to me, so you don't know anything about me.
If you talked to me, you would know something about me.