Conditional Moods/Verbs RACHEL BATHURST, MICHAEL YATES, JOESEPH TULK, AND MATT HIRES

Conditional Mood Conditional verbs speculate on conditional states such as what might happen, what could have happened, and what would happen. They are used in past, present, and future tenses, and contain an “if” clause  (“If you hadn’t thrown that ball, Mrs. Garrison wouldn’t want your head !”)  ( “If you throw that ball, the window will break.” )  ( “If you buy tickets now, you can be on the westbound train by morning.” )

Conditional 0 Type 0 conditional verbs deal strictly in the present tense, and with real “factual” things.  “If the chicken does not reach 180 degrees, it will be unsafe to eat.”  “If it snows, we will be unable to get to school.”  “If you grill paper, it will burn.”

Conditional 1 Type 1 uses the conditional mood in the future tense, and deals with real things that may happen.  “If William earns enough money, he will buy a new car.”  “If I study for exams, I could finally graduate.”  “If I know the answer, I might win a prize.”

Conditional 2/3 Types 2 and 3 deal in the past tense, and with things that are “unreal”. The main distinction between the types is that type 2 uses simple past, while type 3 uses “perfect” past tense.  (2.) “If I were you, I would not do that.”  (3.) “If I had won the lottery, I would have gone on vacation.”  (3.) “If she had known what was going on, she would have told us.”