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Conditional Clauses Clauses Index


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I. There are three main uses of if ~clauses:

a) To suggest a general fact or something which is likely to happen. The Simple Present Tense or auxiliary will should be used.

If you overcook it, it won't be any good.
If you cook it well, it tastes very good.
We won't go out tomorrow if it rains.
b) To talk about unreal or imaginary events. Use Simple Past Tense in the if ~clause.

If the boss came in now, we would be in trouble.
If I were you, I would not trust her.
c) To refer to the hypothetical past. Use Past Perfect Tense in the if ~clause.

If I had known this earlier, I would have told you.
If you had contacted me yesterday, I would have been able to help you. But now it's too late.
II. Leaving out if : formal inversion structures

In formal and literary styles, if can be dropped and an auxiliary verb put before the subject. This happens with were, had and should, but only very rarely with other auxiliary verbs.

Were you my child,.... (= If you were my child....)

Had I realized the consequences of my action, I would not have acted so hastily. (= If I had realized the consequence of my action, I ....)

Should you find any problems, contact me at once (= If you should find any problems, contact...)

III. Were to

There is a more formal way of talking about unreal or imaginary events, as well as a possible future situation by using "were"+ "to" -infinitive in the if ~clause:

If I were to lose my job, my life would be in crisis.

If we were to move north, we would be able to buy a bigger house.

However, this structure is not used with state verbs, for example:

û: If I were to know her name, I would tell you.
Ö : If I knew her name, I would tell you.

IV. Elliptical Structures

In formal style, subject + be is sometimes left out after if.

If in doubt, never hesitate to ask. (= If you are in doubt....)

If in danger, don't panic. (= If you / we are in danger,....)

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Zero Conditional: certainty

We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.

Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.

IF condition result
present simple present simple
If you heat ice it melts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.


We can also use when instead of if, for example: When I get up late I miss my bus.


Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF condition result
present simple present simple
If I miss the 8 o'clock bus I am late for work.
If I am late for work my boss gets angry.
If people don't eat they get hungry.
If you heat ice does it melt?

result IF condition
present simple present simple
I am late for work if I miss the 8 o'clock bus.
My boss gets angry if I am late for work.
People get hungry if they don't eat.
Does ice melt if you heat it?

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First Conditional: real possibility

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

IF condition result
present simple WILL + base verb
If it rains I will stay at home.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?):

IF condition result
present simple WILL + base verb
If I see Mary I will tell her.
If Tara is free tomorrow he will invite her.
If they do not pass their exam their teacher will be sad.
If it rains tomorrow w ill you stay at home?
If it rains tomorrow what will you do?

result IF condition
WILL + base verb present simple
I will tell Mary if I see her.
He will invite Tara if she is free tomorrow.
Their teacher will be sad if they do not pass their exam.
Will you stay at home if it rains tomorrow?
What will you do if it rains tomorrow?

Sometimes, we use shall, can, or may instead of will, for example: If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.

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Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream

The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.

IF condition result
past simple WOULD + base verb
If I won the lottery I would buy a car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen.

Here are some more examples:

IF condition result
past simple WOULD + base verb
If I married Mary I would be happy.
If Ram became rich she would marry him.
If it snowed next July would you be surprised?
If it snowed next July what would you do?

result IF condition
WOULD + base verb past simple
I would be happy if I married Mary.
She would marry Ram if he became rich.
Would you be surprised if it snowed next July?
What would you do if it snowed next July?

Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would, for example: If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.

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Third Conditional: no possibility

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.

Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(

condition result
Past Perfect WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If I had won the lottery I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.


Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.


Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF condition result
past perfect WOULD HAVE + past participle
If I had seen Mary I would have told her.
If Tara had been free yesterday/ I would have invited her.
If they had not passed their exam /their teacher would have been sad.
If it had rained yesterday /would you have stayed at home?
If it had rained yesterday /what would you have done?


result IF condition
WOULD HAVE + past participle past perfect
I would have told Mary if I had seen her.
I would have invited Tara if she had been free yesterday.
Their teacher would have been sad if they had not passed their exam.
Would you have stayed at home if it had rained yesterday?
What would you have done if it had rained yesterday?

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