Persecuted and Persecuting 1. How did Christians live before the reign of Constantine? 2. How was Diocletian’s persecution different? What was its aim? 3. What happened with the believers at the imperial court? 4. Where did Diocletian see the threats? 5. What does the legend say about the event at the Milvian bridge? 6. Why was Constantine’s support a “mixed blessing”? 7. What privileges did Constantine grant to Christians? 8. Why did Constantine attend church councils? 9. Which was the most important among them?

Conditional Clauses - if clauses -

Conditional Clauses state the dependence of one circumstance or set of circumstances on another. In other words, when we want to indicate that something will take place in the future only if something else happens first, or that it would have happened in the past only if something else had happened, we use a conditional sentence. The part of the sentence that tells us what is or was necessary for the fulfilment of something else is called the conditional clause. The part that tells us what the result will be or would have been is called the main clause. Conditional sentences belong to the set of subordinate sentences.

Conditional clauses are introduced chiefly by the conjunctions if (positive condition) and unless (negative condition), but also by other compound conditions, such as: if only, provided (that), providing, on condition that, supposing, etc. Conditional clauses can express either: A)an open condition or B) a hypothetical condition

A.Clauses of open condition leave unresolved the question of the fulfilment of non-fulfilment of the condition. In these clauses, any tense of the indicative mood, except the future tense with will/shall, may be used. There are many possible combinations of tenses: If he has plenty of time, he usually does very well at his exams. If it is ready, I will bring it tomorrow. If you get there after five o’clock, he will have left the office. If you have finished your work, you may go out and play. If he arrived only yesterday, he is unlikely to leave today. If that was what he told you, he was probably telling lies. Note: Although the fulfilment of conditions in such clauses is left open, the possibility of fulfilling the condition is nevertheless entertained. If the fulfilment of the condition is considered less likely, should is used in the conditional clause. Should he refuse to do it, arrest him at once. Should the worst happen, I can always sell my house.

B. Hypothetical conditional clauses can refer to the present time and to the past time. In conditional clauses of the first type, the past tense is used, while the main clause contains the Present Conditional: should, would, could, might, ought to + Present Infinitive: If I won the contest, I would be very pleased. If I were you, I would take his advice. He might pass the exam if he studied hard. Note: If the fulfilment of the condition is considered highly improbable or even impossible, the condition is expressed by were + to-Infinitive instead of the Past Tense: If he were to live in Paris, he might change his ideas about Frenchmen.

Hypothetical clauses with reference to the past time indicate a past condition that was not fulfilled. The Past Perfect is used in the if-clause and the Past Conditional (should, would, might, ought + Perfect Infinitive) in the main clause: If they had asked me, I would have been able to help them. (But they didn’t ask me and I didn’t help them.) If the semester had ended a week earlier, we could have gone to the seaside with my uncle. (But the semester ended later and we couldn’t do it.) Sometimes the conjunction if is omitted: Had I told him, he would have been angry.

Exercises: Conditional Clauses 1. If I see him, I (give) a lift. 2. If he (eat) all that, he will be ill. 3. If he (be) late, we will leave without him. 4. If I (know) his address, I’d give it to you. 5. I wouldn’t drink that wine if I (be) you. 6. He might get fat if he (stop) smoking. 7. If I had know that you were in hospital, I (visit) you. 8. If he had asked you, you (accept)? 9. The hens (not get) into the house if you had shut the door. 10. What (happen) if I press this button?

Complete the sentences: 1. If the gates are locked……. 2. If she practised more……. 3. If the river rises any higher……. 4. I’d have brought my coat if……. 5. You would have been angry if……. 6. If Tom comes while I am out……. 7. The grass would look better if……. 8. If the volcano starts erupting……. 9. I could repair the roof myself if……. 10. I’ll probably get lost unless…….

Write an if-sentence for each situation: 1. I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t eat anything. 2. The accident happened because the road was icy. 3. I didn’t know that Joe had to get up early, so I didn’t wake him up. 4. I was able to buy the car only because Jane lent me the money. 5. Karen wasn’t injured in the crash because she was wearing a seat belt. 6. You didn’t have any breakfast – that’s why you feel sick. 7. I didn’t get the taxi because I had lost all my money. 8. I am not tired. I will not go home before the party is over. 9. I forgot to take my address book with me. That’s why I didn’t write any postcards. 10. The weather was quite bad. We could not really enjoy ourselves.