Conditionals
"If I knew conditionals, I wouldn't need this page."
Teachers refer to conditional sentences in different ways. Some talk about first, second, and third conditionals. I am trying to save your life, so I am going to use easy-to-understand terms and functions. Let's get started.
Basically, conditionals come in four categories:
1. True in the present
2. Untrue in the present
3. Untrue in the past
4. Mixed tenses
We are going to look at each category and learn when to use it.
I. True in the Present
Have you ever said, "If I am tired, I take a nap."? Sure you have; everybody has. When you use this kind of sentence, you are talking about something that does happen. It is true. Sometimes you are tired. If you have a brother, you could say,"If my brother visits me, we go out for coffee." You can say this because you have a brother, and he does visit you sometimes. Let's look at some more examples in sentences 1, 2, and 3.
1. My father gets angry if I play video games too long.
2. If I forget my homework, the teacher gives me a bad grade.
3. If I get hungry late at night, I usually eat cereal.
There are two things you should notice about sentences 1, 2, and 3. First, you need a comma if the condition comes first, as in 2, and 3. If the condition comes second, as in 1, you don't add a comma. You might remember your adverb clauses. Did you recognize "If I forget my homework," as an adverb clause? Great! Yes, it is one kind of adverb clause. It tells us a condition. The second part of the sentence is the result, such as "the teacher gives me a bad grade." Second, look at the verbs. They are in present tense. You are referring to REAL events in the present, so you use the present tense. We will talk more about this in the next section.
II. Untrue in the Present
Do you ever wish things were different? Sure. We all do. This means you want something that is not true or does not exist in your present life. For instance, I want a Volvo station wagon, but it costs $45,000. I do not have that much money to spend on a car. Therefore, I cannot buy the car. This is the truth. Okay, so how can I write a sentence that explains how I could buy the car? I will need to use a sentence that refers to things that are not true in the present, as in sentence 4 below.
4. If I had $45,000, I would buy a Volvo station wagon.
What is the first thing you notice that is odd in this sentence? Yes, the verbs "had" and "would". It seems like the sentence is in the past tense. This is called backshifting. You don't need to memorize this. Backshifting means the tense of the verbs is moved back on a time line. This means that present tense verbs become past tense, and past tense verbs become past perfect. It is like we have to go back in time to change the situation.
III. Untrue in the Past
Sometimes we need to refer to event in the past that actually did not happen. For instance, last week I was in a shopping mall, and a good friend of mine was there. However, I did not know this until a couple of days later. Therefore, when I was at the mall I did not get together with my friend because I did not know she was there. This is the truth of the past. How can I write a sentence in which I pretend that I knew she was at the mall that day. Sentence 5 is one example.
5. If I had known my friend was at the mall last week, I would have had lunch with her.
What do you notice in this sentence that seems strange? Exactly. The verbs are in the past perfect form. I am referring to the past, but the events are not true. Therefore, I need to go further into the past to change things. This means I backshift from past tense to past perfect.
IV. Mixed Tenses
Many times we need to refer to different tenses in conditional situations. Here is an example. Last year I played the lottery, but I did not win. Now I need to buy a car, but I do not have enough money. How can I relate the lottery to my present situation? For instance, let's pretend that I did win the lottery. How would my situation be different now? Sentence 6 is a possible example.
6. If I had won the lottery last year, I would be able to buy a new car now.
Notice that the first part of the sentence, the condition, uses the past perfect "had won." Why? Well, we are referring to an event in the past that did not happen, just like your friend at the mall. Therefore, in this section of the sentence we backshift from past tense to past perfect. Now look at the second part of the sentence, the result. The verb "would" is in the past tense even though we are talking about the present. This is because we are talking about a present situation that is not true, just like sentence 4. As a result, the present tense backshifts to the past. See how simple it is? Now you can protect yourself against all those frightening conditional sentences.
Basically, conditionals come in four categories:
1. True in the present
2. Untrue in the present
3. Untrue in the past
4. Mixed tenses
We are going to look at each category and learn when to use it.
I. True in the Present
Have you ever said, "If I am tired, I take a nap."? Sure you have; everybody has. When you use this kind of sentence, you are talking about something that does happen. It is true. Sometimes you are tired. If you have a brother, you could say,"If my brother visits me, we go out for coffee." You can say this because you have a brother, and he does visit you sometimes. Let's look at some more examples in sentences 1, 2, and 3.
1. My father gets angry if I play video games too long.
2. If I forget my homework, the teacher gives me a bad grade.
3. If I get hungry late at night, I usually eat cereal.
There are two things you should notice about sentences 1, 2, and 3. First, you need a comma if the condition comes first, as in 2, and 3. If the condition comes second, as in 1, you don't add a comma. You might remember your adverb clauses. Did you recognize "If I forget my homework," as an adverb clause? Great! Yes, it is one kind of adverb clause. It tells us a condition. The second part of the sentence is the result, such as "the teacher gives me a bad grade." Second, look at the verbs. They are in present tense. You are referring to REAL events in the present, so you use the present tense. We will talk more about this in the next section.
II. Untrue in the Present
Do you ever wish things were different? Sure. We all do. This means you want something that is not true or does not exist in your present life. For instance, I want a Volvo station wagon, but it costs $45,000. I do not have that much money to spend on a car. Therefore, I cannot buy the car. This is the truth. Okay, so how can I write a sentence that explains how I could buy the car? I will need to use a sentence that refers to things that are not true in the present, as in sentence 4 below.
4. If I had $45,000, I would buy a Volvo station wagon.
What is the first thing you notice that is odd in this sentence? Yes, the verbs "had" and "would". It seems like the sentence is in the past tense. This is called backshifting. You don't need to memorize this. Backshifting means the tense of the verbs is moved back on a time line. This means that present tense verbs become past tense, and past tense verbs become past perfect. It is like we have to go back in time to change the situation.
III. Untrue in the Past
Sometimes we need to refer to event in the past that actually did not happen. For instance, last week I was in a shopping mall, and a good friend of mine was there. However, I did not know this until a couple of days later. Therefore, when I was at the mall I did not get together with my friend because I did not know she was there. This is the truth of the past. How can I write a sentence in which I pretend that I knew she was at the mall that day. Sentence 5 is one example.
5. If I had known my friend was at the mall last week, I would have had lunch with her.
What do you notice in this sentence that seems strange? Exactly. The verbs are in the past perfect form. I am referring to the past, but the events are not true. Therefore, I need to go further into the past to change things. This means I backshift from past tense to past perfect.
IV. Mixed Tenses
Many times we need to refer to different tenses in conditional situations. Here is an example. Last year I played the lottery, but I did not win. Now I need to buy a car, but I do not have enough money. How can I relate the lottery to my present situation? For instance, let's pretend that I did win the lottery. How would my situation be different now? Sentence 6 is a possible example.
6. If I had won the lottery last year, I would be able to buy a new car now.
Notice that the first part of the sentence, the condition, uses the past perfect "had won." Why? Well, we are referring to an event in the past that did not happen, just like your friend at the mall. Therefore, in this section of the sentence we backshift from past tense to past perfect. Now look at the second part of the sentence, the result. The verb "would" is in the past tense even though we are talking about the present. This is because we are talking about a present situation that is not true, just like sentence 4. As a result, the present tense backshifts to the past. See how simple it is? Now you can protect yourself against all those frightening conditional sentences.
