Zero Conditional First Conditional Second Conditional Third Conditional Mixed Conditional Alternatives to 'If'

1. CONDITIONALS

2. Zero conditional
 Possible and true situations. Also used for a general
truth
 If you freeze water, it turns into ice.
or Water turns into ice if you freeze it.
IF + Present Simple , Present Simple

3. FIRST CONDITIONAL
 Real or possible situations
 If I study hard, I will pass the exam.
 If you come on time, you will access the backstage.
 The if clause can be followed by can/can’t, present perfect, going to,
present continuous.
 The main clause can include could, be able to, can, going to, imperative,
had better etc.
 Some if clauses may contain will for emphasis or won’t for refusing to.
 If clauses can be used with will or would for politeness.
IF + Present Simple , Future (will + infinitive)

4. SECOND CONDITIONAL
 Hypothetical situations / unreal (unlikely to
happen)
 If I won the lottery, I would buy a car.
 If he ran, he would catch the bus.
 Could and might can be used instead of would.
IF + Past simple , conditional (would + infinitive)

5. THIRD CONDITIONAL
 Hypothetical situations in the past and their probable result
in the past (it didn’t happen) no possibility of becoming true.
(to express regret for an impossible situation in the past with
no solution)
 If I had studied more, I would have passed the exam.
 If it hadn’t rained, we would have gone to the park.
 Could have and might have can be used instead of would
have.
IF +Past Perfect (= had + past participle)(= had + past participle),, Conditional PerfectConditional Perfect
(= would + have + Past Participle) /(= would + have + Past Participle) /
(passive form = would have been done)(passive form = would have been done)

6. MIXED CONDITIONAL
 Conditionals 2 & 3 sometimes can be mixed, that is, the time of the if
clause is different from the one of the main clause. This type of
conditional is used to express a past unreal situation and its probable result
in the present.
 Imagined situation with a result in the present:
 If I had gone to bed early last night, I wouldn’t be so tired.
 If she hadn’t lost all her money on clothes, she would be travelling with us
next week.
 A present situation that affected past events:
 If I were rich, I would have bought that Ferrari.
 If he didn’t have so much talent, he wouldn’t have been on that movie.

7. Alternatives for “If”
 Used in 1st and 2nd conditional types
► I will help you with Physics, as long as you help
me with English.
► You will go to London, providing that you get
good grades in school.
►Unless you study more, you won’t pass the exams
this year.
► Had I known that he was leaving, I would have
tried to convince him to stay.

8. Assessment
 Describe the main problems that affect the world
and our society, state the possible solutions,
hypothetically speaking, if you were able to come
up with a solution.
 What would you have done in the following
situations?
 A mother found drugs in her son’s pocket, she told
the police and they arrested him.
 A man found a wallet with 1000 Euros in it, in the
back of a taxi. He kept it to himself.