Introduction to conditional sentence

The models will, would, can, and could often appear in conditional sentence. Usually sentences contain the word if. There two types of conditional: the real and the unreal. The real, or “future possible” as it is sometimes called, is used when the speaker expresses an action or situation which usually occurs, or will occur if the circumstances in the main clause are met.

Hypothetical situation: If  I am not planning anything for this evening, when someone asks me if I want to go to the movies, I say:

• If I have the time, I will go.
• If my headache disappears, we can play tennis.

However, the unreal condition express a situation (past, present, or future) that would take place or would have taken place if the circumstances expressed were or had been different now or in the past.

Hypothetical situation:

• If I don’t have time to go to the movies, but I actually want to go, I say:
• If I had the time, I would go.

(I know I don’t have time, and therefore, I can’t go to the movies.)

• If today were Saturday, we could go to the beach.

( Today is not Saturday, so we can’t go to the beach.)

The if clause can some first or last in the sentence with no change in meaning. Notice that when the if clause comes first, it is followed by a comma.

• If we didn’t have to study, we could go out to night.
• We could go out tonight if we didn’t have to study

( Both sentences means: we can’t go out tonight because we have to study.)

Note: the word if is generally not followed directly by the modal; the modal appears in the other part of the sentence unless there are two modals in one sentence:

If + subject + conjugated verb…………+ modal………

Or

Subject + modal …..+ if………+ conjugated verb……………

Note: In the unreal condition, the past tense form of be is always were in a conditional sentence; it can never be was in correct English.

If I were……………….                    If we were…………… If you were…………….                    If you were……… If he were………… If she were…………                        If they were………. If it were………….

Unreal conditional sentences are difficult for foreign students to understand because it seems that the truth value of a sentence is the opposite of the way the sentence appears. If a verb in an unreal conditional sentence is negative, the meaning is actually positive;  if a verb is positive, the meaning is actually negative.

• If I were rich, I would travel around the world.

(I am not rich). (I’ m not going to travel around the world.)

• If he were sick, he would stay home today.

( He’s not sick.)  (He’s not going to stay home today.)

• If the firemen hadn’t arrived when they did, they couldn’t have saved the house.

( The firemen arrived in time.)      (They saved the house.)

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