CONDITIONAL
CLAUSES
Grammar theory - English Department at ies Sedaví in Valencia.
Conditional
clauses, describe the condition
upon which the action in the main clause depends. Their basic structure is the
following:
If…………then………………..
Different types
of conditional will depend on how possible is that expressed in the conditional
clause.
Here if
could be replaced by when and the resulting sentence would be:
'When it was
very cold, we switched on the heating.'
|
IF |
PRESENT
(or same tense) |
PRESENT
(or same tense |
|
If |
It
is very cold/it was very cold |
We
switch/switched on the heating |
What happens in
the main clause may or may not happen, depending on the conditional cluse
|
IF |
PRESENT |
FUTURE,
IMPERATIVE, CAN, MAY |
|
If |
You want
to lose weight, |
You will
probably be hungry |
|
If |
You see
her, |
Tell her
to give me a ring |
|
IMPERATIVE |
"AND"/"OR" |
FUTURE |
|
Keep
working like that |
And
|
You will
have an accident |
|
Please
sit down |
Or |
You won't
see the show. |
Something that
may happen is seen as depending on chance or highly improbable.
|
IF |
SHOULD |
FUTURE
and IMPERATIVE |
|
If |
You
should find this can difficult to open, |
Return to
the shop |
|
SHOULD
+ subject + verb |
FUTURE
and IMPERATIVE |
|
|
Should
you find my keyholder, |
You will
telephone me immediately Telephone
me immediately |
|
Type
2- hypothetical but possible condition
The
main clause depends on an imaginary non fact in the if-clause, expressed by past
tenses
|
IF |
PAST |
CONDITIONAL,
COULD, MIGHT |
|
If |
You
bought a car |
You would
spend money on fuel You could
drive your friends around |
It is
less likely that the action in the conditional takes place.
|
IF |
"WERE
TO" |
CONDITIONAL,
COULD, MIGHT |
|
If |
You were
to meet Mr James, |
You could
see that he's a nasty little guy |
|
WERE +
SUBJECT + TO INFINITIVE |
CONDITIONAL,
COULD, MIGHT |
|
|
Were you
to find walking difficult, |
You could
try the easy way up. |
|
Type
3- hypothetical but unreal condition
What is
said in the main clause is an imaginary consequence of something that that
didn't happen
|
IF |
PAST
PERFECT |
PERFECT
CONDITIONAL |
|
If |
We had
followed his advices |
We would
have found a house near the river |
|
IF |
PAST
PERFECT |
COULD or
MIGHT HAVE |
|
If |
You had
told me before |
I could
have got you the tickets |
Summary
of inversions in the conditional sentences
In
type 1
|
"SHOULD"
INVERTED |
FUTURE or
IMPERATIVE |
|
Should my
mother call me |
Tell her
I'm not feeling too well |
In type 2
|
"WERE
TO" INVERTED |
CONDITIONAL |
|
Were they
to arrive tomorrow |
We would
have to buy some food |
In type 3
|
PAST
PERFECT INVERTED |
PERFECT
CONDITIONAL |
|
Had you
seen what I saw |
you would
have also believed it |
Other
expressions used in conditional clauses:
|
UNLESS "
Si no…" "A
menos que..." |
You won't
finish the race unless you control your effort. |
|
"WHETHER…OR
NOT" "Tanto….como
si no " |
Whether
you pay or not, you won't get in without an invitation. |
|
"ON
CONDITION THAT" "PROVIDED
THAT" "PROVIDING
THAT" "SO
LONG AS" "AS
LONG AS "Siempre
que, en tanto que, con la condición de que,...etc "ASSUMING
THAT" "SUPPOSING
THAT" "SUPPOSE
THAT" "Suponiendo
que.." |
"I
will only tell my age on condition that you tell yours." "What
would you do supposing that you were given the chance to see the future
?" "Assuming
that it's fine tomorrow, we'll go for a swim" |
MIXED
CONDITIONALS (3)
1.If I
_________________ (be) rich enough to buy a desert island, I ___________(build)
many houses, or wildlife _________________.(disappear)
2. It is a pity
the owner of that Picasso didn't want to sell, because if she _______________
(want) to put up the picture for sale, I _________________ (buy)
it.
3. If my mother
_________________ (come) to see our new house, we _____________ (have) to have
our windows repaired.
4. You
_________________(can) to watch English TV unless you _________________ (buy) a
satellite dish. If I _________________ (be) you, I _________________(buy) one.
5. I'm sure
some people in the institute _________________ (wear) jeans even if they
_________________ (live) under the water.
Exercise 2
MIXED
CONDITIONAL (4)
1. If you
____________________ (have) anything to say to me, please ____________________
(tell) me quick.
2. I would have
asked for another set if you ____________________ (give) me the money.
3.
____________________ children start bothering you, please ____________________
(call) the teacher.
4. Drive faster
and you ____________________ (have) an accident.
5. If I
____________________ what was going to happen, I ____________________ the club.
6. If he
____________________ (be) on his knees today, maybe I ____________________
(marry) him.
7. You
____________________(can) to pass your driving test, provided that you
____________________(keep) calm.
8.What
____________________ you ____________________ (do) if you ____________________
(find) a bag containing a lot of
money ?
9. I
____________________ (tell) you on conditon that you ____________________ (not
tell) anybody.
10. Something
horrible ____________________ ( happen)if I ____________________ (not turn) off
the gas
Exercise 3
Rewrite
these sentences using the conjunctions in brackets.
1. If you gave
me 1000€ I still ____________(not go) into a coal mine.(Even if)
Even if you
gave me 1000€ I wouldn't go into a coal mine.
2 I (lend) you
my book if you let me have it back by Monday. (on (the) condition (that))
____________________________________________________________
3 If you look
after it, I (let) you keep my bicycle till the weekend. (providing (that))
______________________________________________________
4 If you (not
tell) anyone else, I'll tell you what happened. (so long as)
______________________________________________________
5 If it (be) a
holiday on Monday, we can drive to the seaside. (assuming (that))
______________________________________________________
6 The children
were never scolded if they (do) what they were told. (so long as)_-
______________________________________________________
exercise
4
Put in the
right conditionals.
THE SECRET
OF A LONG LIFE
Grygori
Pilikian recently celebrated his 114th birthday and reporters visited him in his
mountain village in Georgia to find out the secret of a long life. 'The secret
of a long life,' Grygori said, 'is happiness. If you (be) 1 __________ happy,
you will live a long time.' 'Are you married?' a reporter asked. 'Yes,' Grygori
replied. 'I married my third wife when I was 102. If you are happily married,
you (live)__________2 for ever. But for my third wife, I __________(die) 3 years
ago.' 'What about smoking and drinking?' a reporter asked. 'Yes, they are
important,' Grygori said. 'Don't smoke at all and you (feel)__________ 4 well.
Drink two glasses of wine a day and you__________ (be) 5 healthy and happy.' 'If
you_________ (can/live) B your life again, what (you/do) 7__________?' a
reporter asked. 'I would do what I have done. If I had had more sense, I
__________(eat) 8 more yoghourt!' he chuckled. 'Supposing you
__________(can/change) 9 one thing in your life what you/change)__________ 1O ?'
another reporter asked. 'Not much,' Grygori replied. 'So you don't have
anyregrets?' 'Yes, I have one regret,' Grygori replied. 'If I (know)
11__________ I was going to live so long, I__________(look after) 12 myself
better!'