CONDITIONAL SENTENCES "IF CLAUSE"

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES “IF CLAUSE”

1.   If Clause Type 1

Form

if + Simple Present, will-Future

-         Example: If I find her address, I will send her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.

-         Example: I will send her an invitation if I find her address.

-         Example: If I don’t see him this afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.

Use

Conditional Sentences Type I refer to the future. An action in the future will only happen if a certain condition is fulfilled by that time. We don't know for sure whether the condition actually will be fulfilled or not, but the conditions seems rather realistic – so we think it is likely to happen.

-         Example: If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.

I want to send an invitation to a friend. I just have to find her address. I am quite sure, however, that I will find it.

-         Example: If John has the money, he will buy a Ferrari.

I know John very well and I know that he earns a lot of money and that he loves Ferraris. So, I think it is very likely that sooner or later he will have the money to buy a Ferrari.

 

EXERCISE:

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences/type-1/exercises

 

2.  If Clause Type 2

Form

if + Simple Past, main clause with Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)

-         Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.

-         Example: I would send her an invitation if I found her address.

-         Example: If I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t stay here.

Were instead of Was

In IF Clauses Type II, we usually use ‚were‘ – even if the pronoun is I, he, she or it –.

-         Example: If I were you, I would not do this.

Use

Conditional Sentences Type II refer to situations in the present. An action could happen if the present situation were different. I don't really expect the situation to change, however. I just imagine „what would happen if …“

-         Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

I would like to send an invitation to a friend. I have looked everywhere for her address, but I cannot find it. So now I think it is rather unlikely that I will eventually find her address.

-         Example: If John had the money, he would buy a Ferrari.

I know John very well and I know that he doesn't have much money, but he loves Ferraris. He would like to own a Ferrari (in his dreams). But I think it is very unlikely that he will have the money to buy one in the near future.

EXERCISE

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences/type-2/exercises

3.   If Clause Type 3

Form

if + Past Perfect, main clause with Conditional II

-         Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.

-         Example: I would have sent her an invitation if I had found her address.

-         Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.

Use

Conditional Sentences Type III refer to situations in the past. An action could have happened in the past if a certain condition had been fulfilled. Things were different then, however. We just imagine, what would have happened if the situation had been fulfilled.

-         Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

Sometime in the past, I wanted to send an invitation to a friend. I didn't find her address, however. So, in the end I didn't send her an invitation.

-         Example: If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.

I knew John very well and I know that he never had much money, but he loved Ferraris. He would have loved to own a Ferrari, but he never had the money to buy one.

EXERCISE

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences/type-3/exercises

4.  If Clause Type “0” / Zero Conditional

Use: for certainty, facts, habits, general truth

If you heat ice, it melts.

We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.

Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.

if	condition	Result
	Present Simple	Present Simple
If	you heat ice,	it melts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the Present Simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the Present Simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.

Look at these example sentences:

if	Condition	result
	Present Simple	Present Simple
If	I miss the 8 o'clock bus,	I am late for work.
If	I am late for work,	my boss gets angry.
If	people don't eat,	they get hungry.
If	you heat ice,	does it melt?

Exercise “The Cat and the Mouse” – Part 1

Complete the conditional sentences (type I, II and III)

1.   Once upon a time the cat bit the mouse's tail off. “Give me back my tail,” said the mouse. And the cat said, “Well, I (give)  you back your tail if you fetched me some milk. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.”

2.   The mouse, however, went to the cow. “The cat (give / only)  me back my tail if I fetch her some milk.”

3.   And the cow said, “Well, I would give you milk if you (get)  me some hay. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.”

4.   The mouse, however, went to the farmer. “The cat will only give me back my tail if the cow (give)  me some milk. And the cow (only / give)  me milk if I get her some hay.”

5.   And the farmer said, “Well, I would give you hay if you (bring)  me some meat. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.”

6.   The mouse, however, went to the butcher. “The cat will only give me back my tail if the cow (give)  me milk. And the cow will only give me milk if she (get)  some hay. And the farmer (only / give)  me hay if I get him some meat.”

7.   And the butcher said, “Well, I would give you meat if you (make)  the baker bake me a bread. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.”

1.   The mouse, however, went to the baker. “The cat (give / only)  me back my tail if I fetch her some milk. And the cow (give / not)  me milk if I don't get her hay. And the farmer will only give me hay if the butcher (have)  some meat for him. And the butcher will not give me meat if you (bake / not)  him a bread.”

2.   And the baker said, “Well, I (give)  you bread if you promise never to steal my corn or meal.”

3.   The mouse promised not to steal, and so the baker gave the mouse bread, the mouse gave the butcher bread. The butcher gave the mouse meat, the mouse gave the farmer meat. The farmer gave the mouse hay, the mouse gave the cow hay. The cow gave the mouse milk, the mouse gave the cat milk. And the cat gave the mouse her tail back.

4.   But imagine what would have happened otherwise:

5.   If the mouse (promised / not)  never to steal corn or meal, the baker (not/give)  the mouse bread.

6.   If the baker (not / give)  the mouse bread, the butcher (refuse)  to give her meat for the farmer.

7.   If the butcher (refuse)  her any meat, the farmer (not / be)  willing to give the mouse hay.

8.   If the farmer (not / be)  willing to give the mouse hay, the mouse (not / receive)  milk from the cow.

9.   If the mouse (not / receive)  milk from the cow, she (not / get)  back her tail.

Sources: EnglishClub.com