Conditional Sentences / If-Clauses
Conditional
Sentences are also known as Conditional Clauses or If Clauses. They are
used to express that the action in the main clause (without if) can
only take place if a certain condition (in the clause with if) is
fulfilled.
There are three types of Conditional Sentences :
IF Clause Type I
=>
refer to the future. An action in the future will only happen if a
certain condition is fulfilled by that time. We don't know for sure
whether the condition actually will be fulfilled or not, but the
conditions seems rather realistic- so we think it is likely to happen.
Form : if + Simple Present, will-Future
=> I want to send an invitation to a friend. I just have to find her address. I am quite sure, however, that I will find it.
=> The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentences. In this case, don't use a comma.
=> I will send her an invitation if I find her address
Note : Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Simple Presend and will-Future on how to form negative sentences.
Example : If I don't see him this afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.
IF-Clause
Type II
Ă° => refer to situations in the present. An
action could happen if the present situation were different. I don’t really
expect the situation to change, however. I just imagine,” what would happen if
..”
example
: If Ifound her address, I would send her an invitation.
I
would like to send an invitation to a friend. I have looked everywhere for her
address, but I cannot find it. So now I think it is rather unlikely that I will
eventually find her address.
Example: If John
had the money, he would buy a Ferrari.
I know John very well and I know that he doesn't have much
money, but he loves Ferraris. He would like to own a Ferrari (in his dreams).
But I think it is very unlikely that he will have the money to buy one in the
near future.
Form
if + Simple Past, main
clause with Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)
Example: If I found her address, I would send her an
invitation.
The main clause can also be at the beginning of
the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.
Example: I would send her an invitation if I found her
address.
Note: Main clause and / or if
clause might be negative. See Simple Past and Conditional I on how to form
negative sentences.
Example: If I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t stay here.
Were instead of Was
In IF Clauses Type II, we usually use ‚were‘ –
even if the pronoun is I, he, she or it –.
Example: If I were you, I would not do
this.
=> refer to situations in the past. An action could have happened in the past if a certain condition had been fulfilled. Things were different then, however. We just imagine, what would have happened if the situation had been fulfilled.
Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.
Sometime in the past, I wanted to send an invitation
to a friend. I didn't find her address, however. So in the end I didn't
send her an invitation.
Example: If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.
I knew John very well and I know that he never had
much money, but he loved Ferraris. He would have loved to own a Ferrari,
but he never had the money to buy one.
Form
if + Past Perfect, main clause with Conditional II
Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.
Example: I would have sent her an invitation if I had found her address.
Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Past Perfect and Conditional II on how to form negative sentences.
Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.
source : http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences/
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