September 30, 2023
Conditionals
If
conditionals have given you problems in the past, then now is the time to clear
them up. It’s guaranteed that you’ll see them — in all kinds of combinations —
on your Michigan Exam.
Conditionals
need not be difficult. The following is a short review aimed at helping you
clear up any misunderstandings you may have.
I
recommend reading through the list and looking for examples from your course
books or even from other printed material. It’s not so important to remember
what number conditional they are as it is to remember the structures which they
follow.
The good
thing about conditionals is that they are used often in speech and everyday life
and, therefore, are more easily learned than other aspects of the
language.
So, are
you ready to review conditionals?
Here
goes……
Conditionals
======================================
Type
1 refers
to present or future time
[possible
situations]
If +
simple present + will / can / may / might + infinitive
If he
wants to go to
If she
is quiet, she’ll hear the answer.
If they
can afford it, they’ll go on vacation to
If he
has any time, he can stop at the store.
Type
2 refers
to past or future time [unlikely situations,
unreal or imaginary]
If +
simple past + would / could / might + infinitive
If he
wanted to go to
If she
were quiet, she’d hear the answer.
If they
could afford it, they’d go on vacation to
If he
had any time, he could stop at the store.
Type
3 refers
to past time [actions that didn’t
happen or, if they did, the outcome would be different tan it is
now]
If +
past perfect + would / could / might + have + past
participle
If he
had wanted to go to
If she
had been quiet, she’d have heard the answer.
If they
had been able to afford it, they’d have gone on vacation to
If he
had had any time, he could have stopped at the store.
Mixed
Conditionals –
Various tense combinations are possible depending on the context, or logic, of
the condition.
style=”FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-US”>If you
had seen it happen, you’d know why I’m concerned.
[You
didn’t see it happen, so you can’t know why I’m concerned]
If you
are such a risk taker, why didn’t you bet on the outcome?
[A real
risk taker would have bet on the outcome]
If the
plane landed on time, she’ll be long gone by now.
[Depending
on the time the plane was to land in relation to now]
If +
should
[implies probability – though not very great]
If he should ask, tell him I’ll be back shortly. (If he happens to
ask)
Inverted
Conditionals = check
under the Michigan TIPS entitled ‘inversion’ for a more detailed look at the
following
The
words should, had and were can be placed before the subject,
with the word if
omitted.
If he should ask, tell him I’ll be back in a few
minutes.
Should he ask,
tell him I’ll be back in a few minutes.
If I were in your position, I would quit.
Were I in your
position, I would quit.
If I had seen Francis, I would have invited him as
well.
Had I seen
Francis, I would have invited him as well.
BUT for:
[meaning
without]
If it wasn’t for = without
If it hadn’t been for = without
But for her, I would have given up long ago.
But for your help, I wouldn’t have been able to finish the
project.
If +
will / would
expresses willingness, refusal, insistence,
desire, request, annoyance, etc.
If you will / would wait a moment, the manager will be with you
shortly.
If you will keep on making noise, I will send you out of the
room.
If she would see it my way, we could get through the problem
easily.
We can
express doubt or uncertainty with: I don’t know / I doubt / I wonder / I’m not sure if / whether.
I doubt if he will agree to such terms in the
contract.
I don’t know if she will accept your invitation to the
party.
If +
would [for
reported speech]
He asked me if / whether I would tell anyone else.
If +
would like [if +
want / wish]
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***Don’t
use future tenses after
the following words or phrases:
Unless, provided/providing, even if, suppose/supposing, on condition that, so / as long as, in case
I will
let you go to the game provided you come home early.
Unless
he changes his mind, I’ll lose my job. [NOT: Unless he will
change…]
I can
lend you my phone on condition you don’t lose it.
You can
get a cat as / so long as you look after it yourself.
I will
never forget my baptism as long as I live. [NOT: as long as I will
live.]
Take
your sweater in case it gets cold later.
Even if
he leaves now, he’ll miss his train. [NOT: Even if he will
leave…]
**NOTE:
UNLESS
Unless
can be used to mean – if … not:
I’ll tell your mother unless you behave [NOT: unless you don’t
behave.]
Unless can be used to mean – except…. if, we
can sometimes use a negative structure after it.
He’ll stay unless you don’t want him to. [This is rare but tested
item]
In
case is
followed by a present or past tense, or by should [might]
Take a compass in case you get lost. [NOT: in case you will get
lost.]
OR
He took
a compass in case he got lost.
He took
a compass in case he should get lost
=====================================
Well,
that’s about all there is to know about conditionals and your
Teaching + Inspiration + Practice = Success
Good learning everyone!
Till next time…
Todd
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