3rd Conditional Developed by Ivan Seneviratne

If and Then Clauses Conditional sentences have at least two clauses: If clauses and Then clauses. Examples: If I go into town tomorrow, then I will see a movie. If he spoke Chinese, then he would work as a guide in China. If they had been faster, then they would have won the race.

If Clauses (the condition) If clauses present the condition. Examples: If I go into town tomorrow… If he spoke Chinese… If they had been faster…

Then Clauses (the results) Then clauses present the results. Examples: … then I will see a movie. … then he would work as a guide in China. … then they would have won the race.

If and Then Clauses The word “then” is optional, but the clause is still the result of the condition. So it is a “then” clause, without the word “then.” There are special rules for leaving out the word “if ”. We will learn them later.

Remember Never use a future tense twice in a conditional sentence. The four words that NEVER (well, almost never) appear in the If clause are: will, won’t, would, wouldn’t Example: If we will see it, we will be angry. Never use a future tense twice in a conditional sentence. This is not correct: If it will rains, I will stay home

Conditional III (past event– impossible) “Making believe” about the past, assuming something that wasn’t true. Form: If had V(past participle), then would have V(past participle). Example: If we had studied, we would have passed the exam. (Fact: We didn’t study and we didn’t pass the exam.)

Where does the “not” go? If the girl had not looked both ways when she crossed the street, a car would have hit her. (Fact: She did look both ways, so a car did not hit her.) If the boys had practiced more, they would not have lost the game. (Fact: They did not practice enough, so they lost the game.)

Special Rule You can drop the “if ” by moving the “had” to the front. Example: If he had been there, we would have done it. Had he been there, we would have done it. Be careful !! Although you are starting with a “little verb”, this is not a question !!

Just Remember Is the situation possible or impossible? Is the situation in the past or in the present/future? The four words that NEVER appear in the If clause: will, won’t, would, wouldn’t

Conditional Form Usage Example 1st conditional if + present simple, will + infinitive used to talk about possible situations If it's sunny tomorrow, I'll go to the seaside. 2nd conditional if + past simple, would + infinitive used to talk about hypothetical situations If I became rich, I would buy an expensive villa in France. 3rd conditional if + past perfect, would + have + past participle used to talk about hypothetical situations in the past If I hadn't gone to Egypt, I wouldn't have seen the pyramids Conditionals are usually expressed with the if clause first and the future clause second but the order isn't important. Both of these sentences are equally correct.

This presentation is developed by Ivan Seneviratne © 2007 purely for personal use. ivanthexplorer@yahoo.co.uk