1. English Conditionals
There are several structures in English that are called conditionals.
"Condition" means "situation or circumstance". If a particular condition is true, then a particular result happens.
- If y = 10 then 2y = 20
- If y = 3 then 2y = 6
In this lesson, we will look at the three basic conditionals as well as the so-called zero conditional. We'll finish with a quiz to check your understanding.
A) First Conditional: Real Possibility
We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?
IF
|
CONDITION
|
RESULT
|
PRESENT SIMPLE
|
WILL + BASE VERB
| |
If
|
it rains
|
I will stay at home.
|
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?):
IF
|
CONDITION
|
RESULT
|
PRESENT SIMPLE
|
WILL + BASE VERB
| |
If
|
I see Mary
|
I will tell her.
|
If
|
Tara is free tomorrow
|
he will invite her.
|
If
|
If they do not pass their exam
|
their teacher will be sad.
|
If
|
If it rains tomorrow
|
will you stay at home?
|
If
|
If it rains tomorrow
|
what will you do?
|
RESULT
|
IF
|
CONDITION
|
WILL + BASE VERB
|
PRESENT SIMPLE
| |
I will tell Mary
|
if
|
see her.
|
He will invite Tara
|
if
|
she is free tomorrow.
|
Their teacher will be sad
|
if
|
they do not pass their exam.
|
Will you stay at home
|
if
|
it rains tomorrow?
|
What will you do
|
if
|
it rains tomorrow?
|
B) Second Conditional: Unreal Possibility Or Dream
The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.
IF
|
CONDITION
|
RESULT
|
PAST SIMPLE
|
WOULD + BASE VERB
| |
If
|
I won the lottery
|
I would buy a car.
|
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen.
Here are some more examples:
IF
|
CONDITION
|
RESULT
|
PAST SIMPLE
|
WOULD + BASE VERB
| |
If
|
I married Mary
|
I would be happy.
|
If
|
Ram became rich
|
she would marry him.
|
If
|
it snowed next July
|
would you be surprised?
|
If
|
it snowed next July
|
what would you do?
|
RESULT
|
IF
|
CONDITION
|
WOULD + BASE VERB
|
PAST SIMPLE
| |
I would be happy
|
if
|
I married Mary.
|
She would marry
|
if
|
he became rich.
|
Would you be surprised
|
if
|
it snowed next July?
|
What would you do
|
if
|
it snowed next July?
|
Note” Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would, for example: If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.
C) Third Conditional: No Possibility
The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.
Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(
CONDITION
|
RESULT
| |
PAST PERFECT
|
WOULD HAVE+ PAST PARTICIPLE
| |
If
|
I had won the lottery
|
I would have bought a car.
|
Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.
Note: Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for Example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.
Look at some more examples in the tables below:
IF
|
CONDITION
|
RESULT
|
PAST PERFECT
|
WOULD HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
| |
If
|
I had seen Mary
|
I would have told her.
|
If
|
Tara had been free yesterday
|
I would have invited her.
|
If
|
they had not passed their exam
|
their teacher would have been sad.
|
If
|
it had rained yesterday
|
would you have stayed at home?
|
it had rained yesterday
|
what would you have done?
|
RESULT
|
IF
|
CONDITION
|
WOULD HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
|
PAST PERFECT
| |
I would have told Mary
|
if
|
I had seen her.
|
I would have invited Tara
|
if
|
she had been free yesterday.
|
Their teacher would have been sad
|
if
|
they had not passed their exam.
|
Would you have stayed at home
|
if
|
it had rained yesterday?
|
What would you have done
|
it had rained yesterday?
|
D) Zero Conditional: Certainty
We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.
Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.
CONDITION
|
RESULT
| |
PRESENT SIMPLE
|
PRESENT SIMPLE
| |
If
|
you heat ice
|
it melts.
|
Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.
We can also use when instead of if, for example: When I get up late I miss my bus. Look at some more examples in the tables below:
IF
|
CONDITION
|
RESULT
|
PRESENT SIMPLE
|
PRESENT SIMPLE
| |
If
|
I miss the 8 o'clock bus
|
I am late for work.
|
If
|
I am late for work
|
my boss gets angry.
|
If
|
people don't eat
|
they get hungry.
|
If
|
you heat ice
|
does it melt?
|
RESULT
|
IF
|
CONDITION
|
PRESENT SIMPLE
|
PRESENT SIMPLE
| |
I am late for work
|
if
|
I miss the 8 o'clock bus.
|
My boss gets angry
|
if
|
I am late for work.
|
People get hungry
|
if
|
they don't eat.
|
Does ice melt
|
if
|
you heat it?
|
Online Practice
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-conditional_quiz.htm http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional1.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional5.htmhttp://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional6.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional7.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional8.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional9.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional10.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional11.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditional12.htm
2. Present Perfect
3. Present Perfect: Already, Just, Still & Yet
4. Exercises on Present Perfect Progressive
5. Tests on Present Perfect Progressive
6. FUTURE PERFECT AND FUTURE PROGRESSIVE
Future perfect
Relatively rare in English, the future perfect serves to express one future action which precedes a future moment or another future action.
Moreover, it asserts that these actions will be completed before the principal action. It is formed by adding the modal "will" to the auxiliary "have," preceding the past participle:
· She will have finished before eight o'clock.
· Tomorrow morning they will all have left.
· They will already have finished eating by the time we get there.
One can often use the simple future instead of the future perfect, but a nuance is lost: the simple future does not emphasize the completion of the first action:
Tomorrow morning they will all leave. (The future perfect would emphasize that they will already have departed before tomorrow morning.)
They will finish eating by the time we get there. (They may finish just as we arrive; the future perfect would emphasize that they will have
finished before we arrive.)
Future Progressive/Continuous
The future progressive serves to express an action which will be in the process of occurring. It is formed by putting the present progressive into the future: will be + present participle.
· I will be waiting for you at six o'clock.
· He will be eating by the time you arrive.
·
Hint for usage: How to choose between the future progressive and the simple future? If it is possible to use the expression "will be in the process of," it is the future progressive that best expresses the action.
The future progressive indicates that an action will be continuing at a given moment; the simple future suggests that the action will be
complete. Thus the verb tense can nuance meaning.
Consider these sentences, both of which are grammatically correct:
· I will be finishing my homework at 10:00. (This suggests that I may finish my homework at 10:05 or 10:15; I will be nearing completion, in the process of completion.)
· I will finish my homework at 10:00. (This suggests that I will finish at 10:00 sharp.)
Use
1) An action will be in progress at a certain time in the future. This action has begun before the certain time.2) Something happens because it normally happens.
Form
will + be + infinitive + ingExamples
1) When I come to school, the other kids will be waiting for me.2) We'll be going to the disco on Saturday.
Online Exercises
http://www.englishmedialab.com/Quizzes/advanced/futureforms.htmhttp://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs25.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs26.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs27.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs28.htm
