Preview: conditional sentences.

Answer the questions with “yes” or “no”

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 Preview: conditional sentences.
Answer the questions with “yes” or “no”
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 CONDITIONALS 0-1-2-3

to talk about hypothetical, real, possible, improbable, impossible,

regretful, etc …. situations

If …(a condition)…,+… (a consequence)

 Remember …
• You can invert the two clauses in all conditionals:

If I were you, I’d stop smoking.

I’d stop smoking if I were you.
Different types of conditionals
 Zero conditional
Direction: Match the beginnings with endings

• If you heat ice, • you get wet.

• If you heat water to 100 °C, • it melts.
• If it rains, • burglars can get in.
• If you don’t lock your door, • it boils.
• If you drop a glass, • it often breaks.
 A) The zero conditional (factual)
If I stay out late, I always take a taxi home.

PRESENT SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE

USE:
To describe situations that are generally true, or were generally true in the
past.
The use of if here is very similar to when.
For presenting habits, general truths, rules, typical patterns, correlations.

 If/When I eat fish, I get ill.

 Zero conditional: Form
 The zero conditional is made using two clauses, each with a present
tense, typically the present simple. The if clause may come first or
second.

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + present tense , + present tense

o Plants die if/when they don’t get enough water.

o If/When you touch a fire, you get burned.
o If/When I get up late, I miss my bus.
o If/When I am late for work, my boss gets angry.
o The phone doesn't work if/when it isn't charged up.
 Concept Check Questions

• If you spend all your money, you can’t pay

your rent.

 Is it possible that you could spend all your

money? (Yes)
If you do this, can you also pay your rent?
(No)
 Concept questions

• If you fall in the river, you get wet.

 Is it possible that you could fall in? Yes

 Will you definitely get wet if you fall in? Yes
Is there a chance that you won’t get wet if
you fall in? No
B) First Conditional (real or probable future)
 First Conditional
If I lose my job, I ’ll
move to the
countryside.

If I move to the
countryside, I ’ll adopt
a dog.

If I have a dog,
we'll go for a If I go for a walk
walk every day. every day, ….
 First Conditional (real or probable
future)
If I see Andrew at the meeting, I'll give him your message.

PRESENT SIMPLE FUTURE SIMPLE

It is very possible that I will see Andrew at the meeting, in which case I'll give him your
message.

USE:
We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in
the future, and the result of this condition.

The first conditional is used to talk about things that are

normal, possible and quite likely to happen in the future.
 First Conditional (real or
probable future)

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + noun/pronoun+ present simple , noun/pronoun+ ‘ll /will
can
may
may
should
must
have to/has to
imperative
Conditional Sentences: Variations in tenses
Concept Check Questions
Concept Check Questions

(Yes
)
(Maybe)
(No)
(Leave now)
C) Second Conditional (Hypothetical, imaginary
or unlikely situations)
 Second Conditional (unreal possibility)
If the guard fell asleep, I
could get the key! If I crept
across the hall, I could
climb out of the window. If
This prisoner has very little chance of getting I escaped, …
out.
C) Second Conditional (Hypothetical, imaginary
or unlikely situations)
If my grandparents were alive, they would be very proud of me now.

PAST SIMPLE WOULD + INFINITIVE

USE: To talk about a present situation which is impossible, a

hypothetical situation. The situation cannot be fulfilled because my
grandparents are not alive.
If she changed her job, she'd be much happier.

USE: To talk about a future event which is unlikely to

happen. The speaker doesn`t expect her to change her
job. That is, it is unlikely that the condition will be
fulfilled.
Tense variations in conditional 2
If we had more money, we could go out more.

If you asked Tony, he might do it for you.

If I had time, I could/ might take up a hobby ( but I don’t have time)
C) Second Conditional
 Compare 1 and 2 Conditional
st nd

• If I have time, I’ll help you.

= a possible situation >> I may have time.

• If I had time, I’d help you.

= an imaginary/hypothetical situation >>
I don’t/won’t have time.

Remember here: I’d = I would

 Concept questions

No
June
No
He is not her boyfriend!

She is imagining what she would do if Robert was her boyfriend.

Yes
o If I were stranded on an island, I would locate
a freshwater supply because you could be
dead in 3 days without water.
• Now your turn!
D)Third Conditional (untrue in the past)
 Third CONDITIONAL

If my alarm clock had

rung, I ’d have woken up
early.
I f I ’d woken up early. I ’d
have caught my train.

I f I hadn’t missed my
train, ……
D)Third Conditional (untrue in the past)

If she had worked harder, she would have passed her exams.

WOULD + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

PAST PERFECT

USE:
USE
(She didn`t work hard enough and, consequently, she didn`t pass
her exams. )
The speaker using a third conditional is speculating about how
things might be altered if something had or hadn’t happened in a
different way.

It also expresses excuses, regrets and blame for past events.
Tense variations in conditional 3
Tense variations in conditional 3
Concept questions

No
Yes
No
George didn’t go to the meeting.
 Compare 2 and 3 conditionals
nd rd

• e.g.: If you studied more, you would do better in

your exams.
= You don’t study enough. But if you did, things
would be different.

• e.g.: If you had studied more, you would have

done better in your exams.
= You didn’t study enough, so you failed. You imagine
how things could have been different in the past.
1) Wishing to change the past 3° cond

2) A real possibility 1° cond

3) an imaginary improbable situation in the  2°cond

present

4) A specific situation in the present or future 1° cond

5) General cause and effect relationship between  zero cond

events

6) A remote/unlikely possibility in the present 2° cond

7) Scientific facts or general truths  zero cond

8) To give advice in present 2° cond

9) Cause and effect in the past 3° cond

 Complete the sentences with the verbs in parentheses.

have will/may/ might write

had would write

4.

had had would have written

 Exercise: Review conditional sentences

Complete the sentences with the verbs in parentheses.

were
would tell
had had
would have taken

have will give

had
wouldn’t have to
 Complete the sentences with the verbs in parentheses.

had been

wouldn’t have bitten

would we use

didn’t have
 Complete the sentences with the verbs in parentheses.

doesn’t rain will die

die will go

had not collided

wouldn’t have become
would be
still existed would be
 Mixed conditionals
1. Discuss the questions.

• What project(s) are you working

on right now OR What project(s)
did you work on in the previous
years?

• What might go wrong when

working on a project?

• When a project ends, do you have

a meeting to discuss what went
well and what went wrong?
2. Read a short dialogue from a final project meeting and underline all the
conditional sentences.
Peggy: Who would like to start?
Manuela: I can! So, all in all, I think we’ve done pretty well. But, of course, there
are some things worth pointing out. During our next project, we definitely need to read the
project brief more carefully. As you all know, this time we didn’t and because of this, we
faced some serious problems. For example, if we hadn’t missed the functionality requirement
described in the last point of the brief, we wouldn’t be working on it now.
John: Yeah, I agree with you. What I would also like to add is that we have to work on setting
achievable milestones. I feel that we are sometimes a little over-optimistic. If we were more
realistic when planning projects, we would have achieved all of the project’s goals on time.
Peggy: Sure, that’s something we need to work on, but, let’s face it, it’s not easy to change
personality. Nevertheless, there is one more thing I want to discuss. We need to remember
that every project is a joint effort by the whole team and not just one person. For sure, we
need to give thanks to you, Manuela. I feel that if you weren’t such a good team player and
hard worker, we wouldn’t have done so well.
Manuela: Oh, come on, we all did our best! Next time, we just need to spend more time on a
contingency plan (aka Plan B) because it could really save our lives! This time, however, we
didn’t have any, and that’s why we had so many delays. If we had had a complete and well-
thought-out Plan B, we could just be celebrating our success now and not be thinking about
how we are going to finish the project in just a week.
John: You’re right Manuela! It should give us some food for thought.
Answer Key

Peggy: Who would like to start?

Manuela: I can! So, all in all, I think we’ve done pretty well. But, of course, there
are some things worth pointing out. During our next project, we definitely need to read the
project brief more carefully. As you all know, this time we didn’t and because of this, we
faced some serious problems. For example, if we hadn’t missed the functionality
requirement described in the last point of the brief, we wouldn’t be working on it now.
John: Yeah, I agree with you. What I would also like to add is that we have to work on setting
achievable milestones. I feel that we are sometimes a little over-optimistic. If we were more
realistic when planning projects, we would have achieved all of the project’s goals on time.
Peggy: Sure, that’s something we need to work on, but, let’s face it, it’s not easy to change
personality. Nevertheless, there is one more thing I want to discuss. We need to remember
that every project is a joint effort by the whole team and not just one person. For sure, we
need to give thanks to you, Manuela. I feel that if you weren’t such a good team player and
hard worker, we wouldn’t have done so well.
Manuela: Oh, come on, we all did our best! Next time, we just need to spend more time on a
contingency plan (aka Plan B) because it could really save our lives! This time, however, we
didn’t have any, and that’s why we had so many delays. If we had had a complete and well-
thought-out Plan B, we could just be celebrating our success now and not be thinking about
how we are going to finish the project in just a week.
John: You’re right Manuela! It should give us some food for thought.
 3. Study the table below and choose the correct words (present or past) in
the rule sections.
SAMPLE SENTENCES
•If we hadn’t missed the functionality requirement described in the last point of the brief, we
wouldn’t be working on it now.
•If we had had a complete and well-thought-out Plan B, we could just be celebrating our success
now and not be thinking about how we are going to finish the project in just a week.

THE RULE
We use if + past perfect, would/could/might + infinitive to talk about PRESENT / PAST results of a
hypothetical situation or condition in the PRESENT/PAST .

We use a third + second mixed conditional when we imagine present actions or

situations that are the result of an imaginary or hypothetical situation in the past.

Type 3 Type 2
3. Study the table below and choose the correct words (present or past) in the rule sections.

SAMPLE SENTENCES
•If we were more realistic when planning projects, we would have achieved all of the project’s
goals on time.
•If you weren’t such a good team player and hard worker, we wouldn’t have done so well.

The Rule
We use if + past simple, would/could/might + have + past participle to talk about PRESENT/PAST
results of a PRESENT/PAST situation or condition.

We use a second + third mixed conditional when we imagine a situation in the past that
is the result of an imaginary or hypothetical situation that is still true.

Type 2 Type 3
 Change the statements into conditional sentences.

I don’t know anything about plumbing, so I didn’t fix the leak in the sink myself. But..
 IMPLIED CONDITIONALS
 Conditions are not always expressed in the form of conditional
clauses, particularly in spoken English.
 They can be expressed in another way or they may be evident
from the context.
 The rules for the verb usage are still followed in the result
clause (main clause).
o He committed the crime, otherwise he wouldn’t have been arrested.
(If he hadn’t committed the crime, he wouldn’t have been arrested.

o I would have stayed longer, but he didn’t ask me to.

(I would have stayed longer if he had asked me to.)

o I would come with you, but my father doesn’t let me out alone at night
(If my father let me out alone at night, I would come with you)
IMPLIED CONDITIONALS
Rewrite these sentences using the clues in parentheses.
1) If I had had time, I would have come to see you. (but)

2) If she had told him the truth, he would have got angry with her. (or (else) )

3) The neighbours probably would have called to complain about the noise if
Olga hadn’t turned down the volume on the tape player. (otherwise)

4) If there were no electricity, we would still be living like primitives. (without)

Discuss the following quotes in pairs and try to understand
what they mean.
 Answer these questions about the quotes.

1-Martin Luther would stop planting his apple tree if the world ended. TRUE FALSE

2- Margaret Thatcher doesn’t care about getting what she wants. TRUE FALSE

3-Mr. Livingstone doesn’t feel he needs to go forward. TRUE FALSE

4-You need to lose to learn how to win according to Kareem. TRUE FALSE

5- People shouldn’t look back to go forward says H.D. Thoreau. TRUE FALSE

6- As a precaution, Amanda Holden wants her cell phone in her grave. TRUE FALSE
MEANING FORM EXAMPLE SENTENCE
  In questions….

Examples:
1- Stains like grass or blood don’t go awayEVEN
_______
IF you wash them with expensive
detergent. It is a waste of money.

2- I always carry some cash with meIN CASE some shops don’t accept credit cards.
________

3- They will take the jumper back ___________________

PROVIDED/AS LONG AS you show them the receipt.

UNLESS
4-They won't take the jumper back ___________ you show them the receipt.

5- You can take out this book___________________

AS LONG you fill out a form.
AS/PROVIDED
IN CASE
6- Don't move him ____________ his leg is broken.

EVEN IF
7- You won’t get there on time ___________ you leave now. The meeting will start in
10 minutes. I wouldn’t go if I were you.
Rewrite these sentences using the clues in parentheses.
1- If you don't clear the table away, I won't let you go out. (unless)

2-The kidnappers won't kill the hostage if you pay the ransom without informing the police. (provided)

3-You cannot improve your technique as a violinist unless you attend a master's class. (only if)

4-You won't be allowed in if you are not registered. (as long as)

5-You should have a spare tyre because you might have a puncture. (in case)

6-You may need to contact me, so I'll give you my phone number. (in case)

7- I don’t think I’ll be able to solve this problem unless you help me. (without)

8. I will go to the party whether you come or not. (even if)

9- She talks to everybody very easily even if she doesn't know them. (whether…or not)