Conditionals I, II, and III (A Review)

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: 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.

Conditional I (present/future – possible) When something is possible now or in the future Form: If (present) then will V. Example: If she studies, she will pass the geography test. (It is possible !!)

Unless Unless = if not Example: If we don’t finish soon, we will miss the train. Unless we finish soon, we will miss the train.

Temporals Temporals are time expressions. (Examples: before, until, after, by the time, etc.) When they refer to the future, they are like Conditional I: Temporal (present), will V. Examples: Until he arrives, I will read a book. They will make a cake before they go.

Conditional II (present/future – impossible) When something is NOT possible now, or in the future. Form: If (past) then would V. Example: If he spoke Chinese, he would work as a guide in China. (Fact: He doesn’t speak Chinese, so it’s impossible.) The Great Wall of China With permission from

Special Rules for Conditional II “To be” is always “were” Example: If he were here, he would do it. (Fact: He’s not here, so it’s impossible.) You can drop the “if” by moving the “were” to the front. Example: Were he here, he would do it.

wish + (past) Unlike a hope (which is possible), a wish usually will not come true. In general, you wish for a miracle, something that is impossible. Examples: I wish I were in Costa Rica. (I’m not there.) He wishes he spoke Chinese. (He doesn’t.)

would rather “Would rather” is like Conditional II, wishing for something that is probably impossible. Form: Subject 1 would rather subject 2 (past). Example: I would rather he came right now. (Fact: He probably won’t.) would rather = ‘d rather Example: I’d rather he came right now.

Conditional III (past – impossible) “Making believe” about the past, assuming something that wasn’t true Form: If Past perfect, then would + present perfect. 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 Rules for Conditional III 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 !!

Good Luck !! Just remember to ask yourself: 1)Is the situation possible or impossible? 2)Is the situation in the past or in the present/future?

Remember !! The four words that NEVER (well, almost never) appear in the IF clause are: will, won’t, would, wouldn’t

The End