2. Conditions deal with imagined situations:
some are possible,
some are unlikely,
some are impossible.
3. Conditional clauses are usually introduced
by the subordinating conjunction if:
If it rains, we’ll stay in the house.
4. The first conditional
If + present simple +
future tense (e.g. will / shall)
or modal verb with future reference ( e.g.may)
A speaker or writer predicts a likely result in
the future if the condition is fulfilled.
• If Sally comes too, there’ll be five of us.
5. • If they promote her, she’ll get a big pay
rise.
• We won’t have enough time if we want to
do some shopping too.
6. Unless = if not
• She won’t come unless you invite her
personally. (= She won’t come if you don’t
invite her personally.)
• Unless you can reduce the weight of that
case, I’m afraid you won’t be allowed on
the flight. (= If you can’t reduce …)
7. Put the verbs in brackets into
the correct tense.
1. If it ___ this evening, I won’t go out. (rain)
2. If I need your help, I ___ you. (ask)
3. Everyone will be surprised if he ___ the
exam. (pass)
4. Hurry up! Ann will be annoyed if we ___
late. (be)
5. You won’t pass the exam unless you ___
more. (study)
8. 1. If it rains this evening, I won’t go out.
2. If I need your help, I will ask (I’ll ask)
you.
3. Everyone will be surprised if he passes
the exam.
4. Hurry up! Ann will be annoyed if we are
late.
5. You won’t pass the exam unless you
study more.
9. The second conditional
If + past simple tense +
would / could/ might + infinitive
A speaker or writer responds to a possible
or hypothetical situation by indicating a
possible outcome. The condition must be
fulfilled for the present or future to be
different.
10. • If I knew what you wanted, maybe I could
help you. (I don’t know what you want.
You must tell me.)
• I would do a computer course if I had the
time. (I don’t have the time.)
• If I were you, I would tell him the truth.
or: If I was you… (I am not you.)
11. Put the verbs in brackets into
the correct tense.
1. If I found $100 in the street, I ___ it. (keep)
2. If she sold her car, she ___ much money for it.
(not / get)
3. Many people would be out of work if that
factory ___ down. (close)
4. What would happen if you ___ to work
tomorrow? (not / go)
5. They might be angry if I ___ them. (not / visit)
6. If I was offered the job, I think I ___ it. (take)
12. 1. If I found $100 in the street, I would keep it.
2. If she sold her car, she wouldn’t get much
money for it.
3. Many people would be out of work if that
factory closed down.
4. What would happen if you didn’t go to work
tomorrow? (not / go)
5. They might be angry if I didn’t visit them.
6. If I was offered the job, I think I would take it.
(take)
13. The third conditional
If + past perfect tense +
modal verb (e.g. would / could / might)
+ perfect infinitive (have + past participle)
An imagined past situation is described. We
are talking about a past event which did
not happen, and therefore things are
different from how they might have been.
14. • If I had seen you walking, I could have
offered you a lift. (I didn’t see you.)
• Tessa would have been furious if she had
heard him say that. (She didn’t hear him.)
• If she had gone there, she might have
enjoyed it. (She didn’t go there.)
15. Put the verbs in brackets into
the correct tense.
1. I ___ out if I hadn’t been so tired. (go)
2. If I ___ you, I would have said “hello”.
(see)
3. We could have gone out yesterday if the
weather ___ so bad. (not / be)
4. If I ___ that you were ill last week, I’d
have gone to see you. (know)
5. I would have been late for the interview if
I ___ the bus. (miss)
16. 1. I would have gone out if I hadn’t been so
tired.
2. If I had seen you, I would have said
“hello”.
3. We could have gone out yesterday if the
weather hadn’t been so bad.
4. If I had known that you were ill last week,
I’d have gone to see you.
5. I would have been late for the interview if
I had missed the bus.
17. Real situations
• If you want to learn the guitar, you really
need to practise for at least a couple of
hours a day. (for any person who wants to
learn)
• If I criticised her unfairly, then I always
apologized. (It did sometimes happen that
I criticised her and I did apologise.)
18. • If you have a toothache as bad as that,
you must go to a dentist today.
• If steel is exposed to air and water, it
resists rust for a considerable length of
time.
• If you are getting backache all the time,
then you are not sitting properly.
• Come over tomorrow around five unless
my secretary contacts you.
19. Mixed conditionals
• If he hadn’t graduated with top marks, now
he wouldn’t have such a good job.
• If the island were still a tourist attraction,
last week’s earthquake would have
caused far more deaths.
20. Complete the sentences with the correct
form of the verb in brackets.
1. Fleas can jump up to thirty centimetres. If
humans ___ (be) as good at jumping as
fleas, they’d be able to jump 300 metres!
2. Some worms will eat themselves if they
___ (not find) enough food.
3. If she knew how pointless it is, perhaps
she ___ (stop) doing it.
4. If we leave the dog alone all day, it ___
(destroy) the furniture.
21. 5. If I had a million dollars, I ___ (buy) you
a beautiful house.
6. If I had gone to the party last night, I ___
(be) tired now.
7. If I had gone to the party last night, I ___
(see) Ann.
8. If we ___ (play) better, we might have
won.
9. We ___ (go) out if the weather hadn’t
been so bad.
10. If I were you, I ___ (not buy) that coat.
22. 11. We wouldn’t have any money if we ___
(not work).
12. If you stopped smoking, you ___ (feel)
healthier.
13. If the museum charges for entry, a lot of
people ___ (not be able) to visit it.
14.If we had paid our cleaner more, she ___
(not leave) us.
15. I wouldn’t be willing to help you unless
you ___ (pay) me.
23. Answers
1. Fleas can jump up to thirty centimetres. If humans were
as good at jumping as fleas, they’d be able to jump 300
metres!
2. Some worms will eat themselves if they don’t find
enough food.
3. If she knew how pointless it is, perhaps she would stop
doing it.
4. If we leave the dog alone all day, it will destroy the
furniture.
5. If I had a million dollars, I would buy you a beautiful
house.
6. If I had gone to the party last night, I would be tired
now.
7. If I had gone to the party last night, I would have seen
Ann.
24. 8. If we had played better, we might have won.
9. We would have gone out if the weather hadn’t been so
bad.
10. If I were you, I wouldn’t buy that coat
11. We wouldn’t have any money if we didn’t work.
12. If you stopped smoking, you would feel healthier.
13. If the museum charges for entry, a lot of people won’t
be able to visit it.
14. If we had paid our cleaner more, she wouldn’t have left
us.
15. I wouldn’t be willing to help you unless you paid me.
25. Read a situation and write a sentence with if.
Example: We don’t visit you so often because you live so
far away.
If you didn’t live so far away, we would visit you more
often.
1. People don’t understand him because he doesn’t speak
very clearly.
If he spoke (more) clearly, people would understand
him.
2. I’m not going to buy that book because it’s too
expensive.
If that book wasn’t/weren’t so expensive, I would buy it.
26. 3. We can’t have lunch in the garden because it is raining.
If it wasn’t/weren’t raining we could (would be able to)
have lunch in the garden
4. The accident happened because the driver in front
stopped suddenly.
If the driver in front hadn’t stopped suddenly, the
accident wouldn’t have happened.
5. I didn’t wake John because I didn’t know he wanted to
get up early.
If I had known John wanted to get up early, I would have
woken him.
27. 6. You are hungry now because you didn’t have breakfast.
If you’d had (had had) breakfast, you wouldn’t be
hungry now.
7. She didn’t buy the shoes because she didn’t have
enough money on her.
If she’d had (had had) enough money on her, she
would have bought the shoes.
8. She doesn’t go out very often because she can’t walk
without help.
If she could walk without help, she would go out more
often.
