Conditional sentences

Zero-conditional.

It invariably rains if you have left your umbrella at home.

If you add sugar to coffee, it dissolves.

If the offender is under 14 he is not sentenced to imprisonment.

I always feel tired the next day if I go to bed late.

Vegetables taste awful if you cook them for too long.

If you boil water, it turns (or will turn) into steam.

If it rains heavily, our river floods.

Real condition referring to the future.

If you wash the shirt in hot water, it will shrink.

If the house burns down, we can claim compensation.

I won’t be able to do any work unless I have a quiet room.

If I find your passport, I will telephone you at once.

Assuming that it is fine tomorrow, we’ll go for a swim.

I’ll tell you what happened so long as you do not tell anyone else.

If you will smoke (=if you persist in smoking), of course you will get a cough.

2. Unreal condition referring to the present or future.

If you washed the shirt in hot water, it would shrink.

If I were you, I wouldn’t trust him. I wouldn’t drink that wine if I were you. I would buy shares in that company if I had some money.

He would look much younger, if he shaved off his beard.

I could tell you what it means if I knew French .

If computers could think like humans, a lot of people would lose their jobs.

But for the age gap, she would marry him. = If it were not for the age gap, she would marry him. Were it not for the age gap, …

But for the roommate who snores, I wouldn’t ask for a separate room.

If it were/was not for the roommate who snores, I wouldn’t ask for a separate room.

You could get rid of that nasty cough if you wouldn’t smoke so much.

She wouldn’t be so annoyed if you wouldn’t interrupt her all the time.

3. Unreal condition referring to the past.

If you had washed the shirt in hot water, it would have shrunk.

I would have taken a taxi if I had realized it was such a long way.

The criminal wouldn’t have escaped if his wife had not helped him.

If I hadn’t been wearing a raincoat, I would have got wet through.

If it hadn’t been for the fog, we could have reached the destination ages ago.

( But for the fog we ….)

But for the roommate who snored, I wouldn’t have asked for a separate room.

If it hadn’t been for the roommate who snored, I wouldn’t have asked for

a separate room. Hadn’t it been for the roommate…

But for the age gap, she would have married him. = If it hadn’t been for

the age gap, she would have married him.

They might have found a better hotel if they had driven a few more

kilometers.

If I had been you / If I had been in your shoes / If I had been in your

position, I wouldn’t have accepted the offer.

He would have recognized me if you had shown him my photo.

Had I known that you were in trouble, I would have postponed my trip.

Had the management acted sooner, the strike wouldn’t have happened.

Had it not been for the unusually bad weather, the rescue party would

have been able to save the stranded climber.

S P L I T C O N D I T I O N ( Type 4, 5 )

4. Unreal condition referring to the past, the present consequence.

If you had left the window open, it wouldn’t be so stuffy in the room.

If the dress had been made properly, they wouldn’t have to alter it now.

If you hadn’t eaten so much ice-cream yesterday, you wouldn’t be ill .

I could go to the football match with you if I hadn’t promised Jane to

fetch the children from school.

5. The condition refers to no particular time, the consequence – to the past.

If the windows of my room didn’t face a noisy street, I wouldn’t have

spent a sleepless night. If he were honest, he would have told her the

truth. If she were not so forgetful, she would have told him about the

telephone call. If he were not such a careless driver, the police wouldn’t

have stopped his car yesterday. If it were not for the age gap, she would have married him.

6. Clauses of unreal condition denoting a doubtful future action.

There is enough money to last you for ten days. If ( in case ) you should

want more Ann will lend you some.

Should they insist on their own terms, we will not sign the agreement.

Should you be interested in our offer, please contact us.

Should you have any complaints about the product, return it to the shop.

If you should see him,

If you happen to see him,

If you should happen to see him, please give him my regards.

Should you see him,

Should you happen to see him,

7. Clauses of unreal condition denoting imaginary future situations.

( the pattern is not used with many verbs describing a state, including

know, like, remember, understand )

If the technology were to become available, we would be able to expand

the business. It would be embarrassing if she were to find out the truth.

It would be embarrassing, were she to find out the truth.

If you were to find out that your neighbours are drug smugglers, what

would you do ?