1. Conditionals I, II, and III (A Review)

2. 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.

3. 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…

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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 !!)

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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 www.adcsoft.com/bjigsawpictures.html

11. 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.

12. 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.)

13. 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.

14. 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.)

15. 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.)

16. 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 !!

17. 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?

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

19. The End