Conditional Forms: First, Second, Third, and Mixed Conditionals Conditionals are sentences with two parts. One part of the sentence describes a condition, and the other part of the sentence describes the result of that condition.
What is a third conditional sentence?
Third conditional sentences are composed of two clauses: the if-clause and the result/main clause. To make third conditional sentences use past perfect tense in the conditional clause and past participle of the verb in the result clause. If she had woken up on time, she would have washed her clothes.
How to use 1st and 2nd conditional grammar?
1st Conditional and 2nd Conditional. The 1st Conditional is used to talk about imaginary situations but the possibility is stronger. The structure is: If + Present verb + Will; The 2nd Conditional is used to talk about imaginary situations but the possibility is weaker. The structure is: If + Past verb + Would / Could; Show Examples
What is first second conditional?
What is first and second conditional? The first conditional refers to present or future time and talks about real situations or events. We use the first conditional to talk about the present or future. The second conditional also talks about the present or future but refers to imaginary or impossible situations and events. Click to see full answer.
What is third condition?
What Is The Third Conditional? The third conditional is a grammar structure that we use to express a hypothetical (imaginary) event that was a consequence of something that did not happen. Third conditional statements and questions refer to only past events, while the socond conditional references the future.
What is 1st 2nd and 3rd conditional sentences?
The conditionals: first, second and third Conditionals are structures used in English grammar to describe events or states that may happen/be true in the present and future, or that might have happened/been true in the past.
What is 2nd and 3rd conditional?
The point is this - the Second Conditional denotes an action that could still happen in the future, while the Third Conditional describes an event that didn't happen in the past, although it could have, and that will remain unchanged.
What is 1st and 2nd conditional?
1. The first conditional describes something that is possible, and could really happen. 2. The second conditional describes something that is possible, but will almost certainly not happen.
What is the first conditional?
The first conditional is used to express the future consequence of a realistic possibility now or in the future. For example, If I miss the train, I'll take the next one. There is a 50% chance that the first part of this sentence (the action following 'if') will happen.
What is the 3rd conditional?
The third conditional is used to express the past consequence of an unrealistic action or situation in the past. For example, If he had studied harder, he would have passed the exam.
What are the 3 types of conditional sentences?
ConditionalConditional sentence typeUsageIf clause verb tenseZeroGeneral truthsSimple presentType 1A possible condition and its probable resultSimple presentType 2A hypothetical condition and its probable resultSimple pastType 3An unreal past condition and its probable result in the pastPast perfect1 more row
What is 2nd conditional sentence?
The second conditional is used to imagine present or future situations that are impossible or unlikely in reality. If we had a garden, we could have a cat. If I won a lot of money, I'd buy a big house in the country. I wouldn't worry if I were you. The structure is usually: if + past simple >> + would + infinitive.
What is second conditional sentences examples?
The Second ConditionalIf I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.(I probably won't win the lottery)If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.She would travel all over the world if she were rich.She would pass the exam if she ever studied.(She never studies, so this won't happen)
What are the 4 types of conditional sentences examples?
Here are a few examples:General truth – If I eat breakfast, I feel good all day.Future event – If I have a test tomorrow, I will study tonight.Hypothetical situation – If I had a million dollars, I would buy a boat!Hypothetical outcome – If I had prepared for the interview, I would have gotten the job.
How do you write first conditional?
The first conditional has the present simple after 'if', then the future simple in the other clause: if + present simple, ... will + infinitive.
What is a Type 1 conditional sentence?
Type 1 conditional sentences are used to talk about real and possible situations. Here we use a simple present tense in the if-clause and will /can / may + infinitive in the result clause. Study the sentences given below. If I am hungry, I will get something to eat. If you are hungry, you can eat an apple.
What is 2nd conditional?
The second conditional is used to imagine present or future situations that are impossible or unlikely in reality. If we had a garden, we could have a cat. If I won a lot of money, I'd buy a big house in the country. I wouldn't worry if I were you. The structure is usually: if + past simple >> + would + infinitive.
What is the conditional type 2?
The type 2 conditional refers to an unlikely or hypothetical condition and its probable result. These sentences are not based on the actual situation. In type 2 conditional sentences, the time is now or any time and the situation is hypothetical.
What are the 4 types of conditionals?
Four Types of Conditionalsif (or when) + present tense | present tense.if (or when) + past tense | past tense.if + present tense | will (may/might/can/could/should) + infinitive.if + past subjunctive | would/might/could + infinitive (simple or continuous)More items...•
What is the formula of third conditional?
We make the third conditional by using 'if,' the past perfect form of the verb in the first part of the sentence, and then 'would have' and the past participle in the second part of the sentence: if + past perfect, …would + have + past participle.
What does the word "should" mean in a condition statement?
The use of the word ‘ should ’ in the condition statement emphasizes that the probability is slightly less.
What is clause type 2?
If Clause Type 2 is used to think of the opposite of an event that is happening in the present or in the future, to put forward a condition and to express the result of this imaginary condition. Therefore, the tense that we can use must be a bit more past than the tense that we will use to express the truth. So, that is like to use; would instead of will, did instead of do, could instead of can. It is often used to express wishes and desires for the past.
What type of clause expresses the event?
We express events with type 1 (if clause) at the moment or in the future when a certain condition is met. Tenses that can be used as a basis are simple present (do / does) in the conditional sentence and simple future (will) in the basic sentence.
What does "should" mean in type 2?
In Type 2, using ‘should’ emphasizes that the probability is less.
When to use simple present tense?
Simple present tense is most commonly used in the condition statement.
When to use "was" or "were doing"?
We can use was / were doing if we are constructing a conditional statement considering the reverse of an ongoing action.
When is past tense used?
When meaning is present or future, past tense is used.
When to use a second conditional?
We use a second conditional to talk about a hypothetical or imaginary present or future situation and its possible result.
What is the structure of a third conditional?
The structure of third conditionals is a little more complex than the first and second conditionals. The if clause uses the past perfect tense, and the result clause uses would/could/might+have+ the past participle.
What Is a Conditional?
In grammar, a conditional is a sentence structure where a particular situation, and its result/consequence are expressed in a complex sentence. A conditional has an if clause (the condition) and a main clause (the result).
Why are conditionals important?
Conditionals are an exciting topic for every English language learner. Thanks to their variety and potential to play with diverse tenses , conditional structures have a great deal of learning and practice in store for students. At the heart of conditionals is the clarity and flexibility English affords its learners while talking about certain ...
How to form a mixed conditional?
To form a mixed conditional, we use either the if clause of the second conditional and the result clause of the third conditional or the if clause of the third conditional and the result clause of the second conditional. As you have already guessed, this mixing is the reason why it's called a mixed conditional.
What tense is used in a conditional?
The first conditional has the present simple tense in the if/when clause, and the result clause uses the simple future tense.
How to make a conditional zero?
To form a zero conditional, we use the simple present in both parts (clauses) of the sentence. The dependent clause may start with if or when.
What are Conditional Sentences?
A conditional sentence is based on the word ‘if’ and its possible outcome. Conditional sentences are important in the English language since they assist us with communicating things that might occur in the present and future. Conditionals fill many needs and take a few unique structures.
Structure of Conditional Sentences
The structure of conditionals is very simple. As a rule, conditionals consist of two parts –the if part (or the conditional part) and the main part (that describes possible/ultimate result). The order of these two parts of the conditional is not important but in first case, we place a punctuation mark (generally comma) to separate two parts.
Types of Conditional Sentences
There are five types of conditional sentences in English grammar and you need to be able to use and identify all of them.
Conclusion
Hope, you have understood all the conditional sentences. Now start practicing by using them on your own. Make some of your own sentences and change them to different conditional. Practice makes a man perfect.
The Zero Conditional - Always true
The Zero Conditional is used to talk about results that are always true under certain conditions. Confused? Let’s look at some examples which will make it easy to understand.
The First Conditional - Future possibilities
The First Conditional is about future possibilities, things that may or may not happen in the Future depending on a certain circumstance or condition.
The Second Conditional - Imaginary situations
We use the Second Conditional for imaginary or hypothetical situations that could be now or in the future.
The Third Conditional
We use the Third Conditional to talk about imaginary situations in the past. In other words, things that didn’t happen in the past but could have happened if the situation was different.
Test Yourself
Use the 1st, 2nd or 3rd conditional to make a sentence for each of these situations.
When do we use the second conditional?
But when do we use it? We use the second conditional for things that can’t happen now or probably won’t happen in the future.
Is the third conditional the same as the first conditional?
This is the third conditional. It’s still the same as the first, but we’ve pushed the tense and the modal to the past twice instead of once.
When to use the second conditional?
We use the second conditional to talk about improbable or impossible situations in the present or future. Here is the structure:
When to combine the second and third conditional in one sentence?
It’s possible to combine the second and third conditional in one sentence when we want to make a hypothesis about the past that has a consequence in the present. In this case, the structure is:
What is a conditional sentence?
There are always two parts to a conditional sentence – one part beginning with ‘if’ to describe a possible situation, and the second part which describes the consequence. For example:
What would have happened if we had left earlier?
If we had left earlier, we would have arrived on time.
Can you mix conditional?
It is also possible to mix the second and third conditional. Let’s look at each conditional to see how we use them.
What is clause type 2?
If Clause Type 2 is used to think of the opposite of an event that is happening in the present or in the future, to put forward a condition and to express the result of this imaginary condition. Therefore, the tense that we can use must be a bit more past than the tense that we will use to express the truth. So, that is like to use; would instead of will, did instead of do, could instead of can. It is often used to express wishes and desires for the past.
What is type 3 in a sentence?
TYPE 3 – UNTRUE IN THE PAST. In If Clauses Type 3, it is used to reverse the events that occurred in the past, to put forward a condition and to express the result of that condition. It is usually used for sentences that express complaints. Example Sentences;
When to use "was" or "were doing"?
We can use was / were doing if we are constructing a conditional statement considering the reverse of an ongoing action.
When is past tense used?
When meaning is present or future, past tense is used.
What does the 3rd conditional mean?
Finally, we use the 3rd conditional to talk about things that were possible in the past, but that didn’t happen or can no longer happen now, which means they are actually impossible/ unreal events. It is formed by using the past perfect tense in the condition part of the sentence, followed by “would” and then the present perfect tense in the result part. As before, these parts can be swapped around:
When to use 2nd conditional?
We use the 2nd conditional, as mentioned, for unlikely situations that can but probably won’t happen, as well as hypothetical or imaginary situations both in the present and future. It is formed by using “If” and the simple past tense in the condition part of the sentence, followed by “would” and the bare infinitive (the basic form of a verb without “to,” e.g. to walk). Remember that we can rearrange the two parts of the sentence, with either the condition first and the result after, or the result first and the condition after:
What is conditional structure?
Conditionals. We use conditional structures to speculate about things that could happen in the future and things that might have happened in the past. Most conditional sentences in English use the word “If” and describe a condition and the result if that condition is true. Conditionals are formed by using different verb tenses in ...
What are the different types of conditionals?
T here are different types of conditionals, mainly: zero conditionals, 1st conditionals, 2nd conditionals and 3rd conditionals; which we use depending on how probable the condition and its result are. They can go from 100% certain: if the condition is true the result always happens, to completely impossible: the result was maybe possible in the past but can’t happen now at all.
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When to use continuous form?
Note: The continuous form can also be used in the 3rd conditional to talk about unfinished or continuous actions /states that would have resulted in the past, from possible past conditions that didn’t actually happen. The structure is the same in the condition part with “If” followed by the past perfect, while the result part takes “would” followed by the present perfect continuous form:
When to use "I" or "I was"?
Note: When “I” is the subject we often use “I were” in conditional sentences as opposed to “I was,” especially when writing, as it sounds more formal. For example:
