ESL Grammar Conditional

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English Grammar Conditional –

Conditional statements are used to express hypothetical situations, and they are made up of two parts: the condition (if clause) and the result (main clause). Here are the rules to keep in mind:

There are five types of conditional statements: zero conditional, first conditional, second conditional, third conditional, and mixed conditional.

• Zero conditional is used to express a general truth or a scientific fact. It is formed with the present simple tense in both clauses.
• First conditional is used to express a real possibility in the future. It is formed with the present simple tense in the if clause and the future simple tense in the main clause.
• Second conditional is used to express an unreal or improbable situation in the present or future. It is formed with the past simple tense in the if clause and the present conditional (would + base form of the verb) in the main clause.
• Third conditional is used to express an unreal situation in the past. It is formed with the past perfect tense in the if clause and the present perfect conditional (would have + past participle) in the main clause.
• Mixed conditional is used to express a hypothetical situation that started in the past and continues in the present. It is formed with the past perfect tense in the if clause and the present conditional (would + base form of the verb) in the main clause.

Examples:

• Zero conditional: If you heat water to 100°C, it boils. (general truth)
• First conditional: If it rains tomorrow, I will stay home. (real possibility)
• Second conditional: If I won the lottery, I would buy a house. (unreal or improbable situation)
• Zero conditional: If you mix blue and yellow, you get green. (general truth)
• First conditional: If I pass the exam, I will celebrate. (real possibility)
• Second conditional: If I had more time, I would travel the world. (unreal or improbable situation)
• Zero conditional: If you touch fire, you get burned. (general truth)
• First conditional: If he arrives early, we can start the meeting. (real possibility)
• Second conditional: If I were rich, I would buy a private island. (unreal or improbable situation)

• Third conditional: If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam. (unreal situation in the past)
• Mixed conditional: If I had bought a car, I wouldn’t have to take the bus every day. (hypothetical situation that started in the past and continues in the present)
• Third conditional: If they had taken the train, they wouldn’t have missed the flight. (unreal situation in the past)
• Mixed conditional: If I had learned Spanish, I would be able to speak it now. (hypothetical situation that started in the past and continues in the present)
• Third conditional: If we had left earlier, we wouldn’t have been stuck in traffic. (unreal situation in the past)
• Mixed conditional: If I had gone to bed earlier, I wouldn’t be so tired now. (hypothetical situation that started in the past and continues in the present)

Use our free materials below to practice the conditional statements.

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