Zero Conditional

December 16, 2013 by Bret Tutor

Zero Conditional

The easiest conditional to understand is the zero conditional. We use this type of conditional when the condition put forward is an absolute. Indisputable scientific facts are often expressed as zero conditionals. For example, boil some water and see the vapor rise. This is a zero conditional.

IF	Condition	Result
	present simple	present simple
If	you boil water	vapor rises.

This is different than the other conditionals since the outcome is not questionable. The vapor rises; end of story. We are not concerned about past or future, we are referring to facts and conditions that always hold true.

IF	Condition	Result
	present simple	present simple
If	I run too fast	my knees hurt.
If	you whisper	I can’t hear.
If	you stay quiet	I can hear the water.
If	the door closes	I won’t get on the plane.

You can change the order of the clauses as seen below:

Result	IF	Condition
present simple	if	present simple
My knees hurt	if	I run too fast.
I can’t hear	if	you whisper.
I can hear the water	if	you stay quiet.
I won’t get on the plane	if	the door closes.

Third Conditional

December 16, 2013 by Bret Tutor

Third Conditional

The third conditional is different from the first and the second because we talk about events in the past. There is absolutely no possibility of the even happening since something else already happened in the past. We are talking about something that should have happened, or that we wanted to happen differently in the past but did not. As an example, you did not go to your mom’s house last week.

	Condition	Result
	Past Perfect	WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If	I had gone to my mom’s house	I would have sang with my brothers.

In the third conditional the time for the specific condition to occur is gone. In the example above you did not go to your mom’s house where your brothers were signing. You may go to your mom’s house in the future, but that one opportunity has passed. We use the past perfect tense to refer to the past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to refer to the outcome that could not have happened. In this conditional, both the original condition and the outcome are impossible.

In the third conditional the words would have can be replaced by should have, could have, or might have. For example: If you had put gas in the car, we could have made it to the airport. More examples are listed below:

IF	Condition	Result
	past perfect	WOULD HAVE + past participle
If	I had heard her	I would have gone.
If	John had jumped	he would have made the shot.
If	she had seen the spot	she would have parked there.
If	it had snowed yesterday	they would have closed public transportation.
If	it had rained at graduation	where would you have gone?

Also, you can switch the order of the clauses(result and condition) along with the if statement:

Result	IF	Condition
WOULD HAVE + past participle		past perfect
I would have gone	if	I had heard her.
John would have made the shot	if	he had jumped.
She would have parked there	if	she had seen the spot.
They would have closed public transportation	if	it had snowed yesterday.
Where would you have gone	if	it had rained at graduation?

Second Conditional

December 16, 2013 by Bret Tutor

Second Conditional

The second conditional refers to a condition in the future that is not likely to happen. For example, you did not read a book assigned for a book report. The possibility of you getting an “A” on the assignment is highly unlikely or what is also referred to as unreal. You could get lucky and guess all of the answers, but again that is near impossible. Here is the structure:

IF	Condition	Result
	past simple	WOULD + base verb
If	I read the book	I would pass my class.

We are still talking about a future condition. In formulating the second conditional we use the past simple tense to address the future activity and then we use WOULD + base verb talk to address the potential future result. Always remember there is only a remote possibility of this condition happening.
For example:

IF	Condition	Result
	past simple	WOULD + base verb
If	I exercised daily	I would be thin.
If	he left his job	he would be happy.
If	he moved to this town	I would date him.
If	it rained at your wedding	what would you do?

The words should, could or might can substitute the word would in some cases. For example: If I won the contest, I should take a picture.
Also, you can switch the order of the clauses(result and condition) along with the if statement:

Result	IF	Condition
WOULD + base verb	if	past simple
I would be thin	if	I exercised daily.
He would be happy	if	he left his job.
I would date him	if	he moved to this town.
What would you do	if	it rained at your wedding?

First Conditional

December 16, 2013 by Bret Tutor

First Conditional

The first conditional refers to an event in the future with an almost certain or real possibility that it will happen. We think of one specific event that needs to happen in the future for the other event to happen. For example, you are watching the news and waiting to hear the snow forecast from the weatherman. One more inch of snow will close the bus routes. What will happen?

IF	Condition	Result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	it snows	I will not take the bus.

In the example above we are thinking about something in the future that you will do based on an event. In this case you will use the present simple tense of the verb for the possibility of the condition happening in the future. We then use WILL + the base verb for the future result that we think will happen. With the first conditionals the possibility of the condition happening is very real. Here are some more examples:

IF	Condition	Result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	you go home tomorrow	Mom will be happy.
If	he does his homework early	he will have time to play.
If	you don’t review tonight	you will fail the test.
If	it snows tomorrow	will you miss work?
If	it floods tomorrow	where will you go?

The words shall, can or may can substitute the word will in some cases. For example: If you do your homework early tonight, you may have time to play.

Also, you can switch the order of the clauses(result and condition) along with the if statement:

Result	IF	Condition
WILL + base verb		present simple
Mom will be happy	if	I go home tomorrow.
He will have time to play	if	he does his homework early.
You will fail the test	if	you don’t review tomorrow.
You will miss work	if	it snows tomorrow.
Where will you go	if	it floods tomorrow?