2024-08-09 What is a conditional? – Conditionals with Georgie

What is a conditional sentence?

Conditionals are structures which express a situation and the possible results. 

• If it rains, I’ll stay inside and watch a film. 

They consist of a condition clause (if-clause): 

• If it rains,

And a main clause (result clause): 

• I’ll stay inside and watch a film.

What are the types?

Use the zero conditional to express general truths and facts. 

• If I don’t sleep well, I feel grumpy in the morning. 
• If you mix blue and red paint, you get the colour purple. 
• Grass turns brown if you don’t water it. 

Use the first conditional to express likely future situations and their consequences. 

• If I pass my exams, I’ll go to university. 
• We’ll cancel the picnic if it rains. 
• If AI continues improving, we’ll all be in danger of losing our jobs. 

Use the second conditional to express unlikely future situations and their consequences. 

• If I won a million pounds, I’d travel the world. 
• She loves space so much – if she could live on the Moon, she would. 
• If aliens landed in our garden, my mum would make them dinner. 

Use the third conditional to imagine a different past.

• If I hadn’t become an English teacher, I would’ve trained as a vet. 
• If our train had been cancelled, we would’ve been late for the event. 
• I wish I had studied harder, because if I’d studied harder, I would’ve got a place at a top university.