Conditionals

2.1 The Zero Conditional

Formation
We form the Zero Conditional by using the present tense in the subordinate clause. The same goes for the main sentence. Both sentences are joined by the conjunction if:

• IF – present tense (subordinate clause), – present tense (main clause).
• If you heat snow, it melts.
• Instead of the conjunction if you can use the conjunction when – Snow melts when you heat it.

if/when

Use
We use the Zero Conditional for so-called general truths i.e.. situations which always happen when the condition is fulfilled.

• Water freezes when the temperature is below 0 °C.
  • In this example we see that if the condition (the temperature is below 0°C) is fulfilled, the situation in the main clause will happen (water freezes).
  • The Zero Conditional also means that if the condition occurs, the situation in the main clause always happens i.e. every-time the temperature is below 0°C water freezes.
• If it rains, the ground gets wet.
  • Again, we can see that any time the condition occurs (it rains), the situation in the main clause also happens (the ground becomes wet).

2.2 The First Conditional

Formation
We create the First Conditional by using the present tense in the subordinate clause and future time in the main clause. Again, both sentences are joined by the conjunction if:

• IF – present time (subordinate clause), – future time (main clause).
• If I miss the train, my mom will be angry.

if

Use
The events in the First Conditional take place in the future. It means that they are likely to happen, however only if their condition is fulfilled (in the subordinate clause). Take a look at the following examples:

• If I score a goal tomorrow, my dad will be really happy.
  • From the sentence it is clear that if the condition is fulfilled (I score a goal tomorrow), the situation in the subordinate clause will also happen (my dad will be really happy). However, it is not quite certain because we do not know if the speaker will actually score a goal.
• I will visit Jacob if I have time.
  • It is possible that the speaker will visit Jacob, but we do not know if it will happens.
• Watch out for this common mistake! In Czech we have future tenses in both sentences that is why we have a tendency to use it in English when in fact we must use the Present tense!
  • I will buy the car if I will have enough money.
    but:
  • I will buy the car if I have enough money.

2.3 The Second Conditional

Formation
For the Second Conditional we use the past tense in the subordinate clause and the conditional tense in the main clause – it is enough to know the word WOULD:

• IF – past tense (the subordinate clause), – conditional clause = would (the main clause).
• If I was rich, I would move to London.

if

Use
The Second Conditional expresses events that take place in the present or in the future. These are hypothetical situations. In other words, we are thinking about what would be now, if.. or what might be in the future, if.. Because these are hypothetical situations, it is not likely that the condition will be met, but it is not completely unrealistic. Let’s look at some examples:

• I would buy myself a Ferrari if I was a millionaire.
  • Unfortunately, the speaker is not a millionaire, so he only thinks about what he would do if the condition happened and he becamese a millionaire. It is unlikely that the situation will occur although it might do.
• If she wasn‘t so busy, she would attend the meeting next week.
  • The person we’re talking about is busy and that’s why it is a hypothetical situation. It is possible that she will be able to free up her diary and come to the meeting but not very likely.
• In the Second Conditional we can use If I were.. respectively If he/she/it were.. in the first and third person instead of If I was.. and He/she/it was… This change is grammatically correct and very often used. It doesn’t change the meaning:
• If I was you, I would help him.
  =
• If I were you, I would help him.

Another type is using the pattern were to + infinitive in the subordinate clause instead of past tense:

• If we won the match, we would be extremely happy.
  =
• If we were to win the match, we would be exteremely happy.

Using the word were (same as should in the First Conditional) requires us to use the so called inversion. We will discuss this in more detail at the end of this article.

2.4 The Third Conditional

Formation
In the Third Conditional we use the past perfect tense in the subordinate clause and the past conditional tense in the main clause – again it is enough to know two words – would have:

• IF – the past prefect tense (the subordinate clause), – the past conditional tense = would have (the main clause)
• If I had stopped him, none of this would have happened.

In the Third Conditional here is also the possibility of so-called inversion. What is it and what it looks like find further on in this article.

Use
The Third Conditional always takes place in the past. It describes events in which the condition can no longer be fulfilled, because the event in the past has ended and the past cannot be changed. You can only think about what would have been if…:

• If I hadn’t lost the keys, we wouldn’t have had to sleep outside.
  • As the example suggests, the speaker has lost the keys and that is why during the night spent outside he could think about what would have been if he hadn’t lost his keys.
• She would have finished first if she hadn’t stumbled just before the end.
  • The runneracer did stumbled and the position she might have finished in if she hadn’t stumbled is anyone’s guess.

2.5 Comparison of the Second and the Third Conditional

Now let’s compare the Second Conditional and the Third Conditional. They both express a hypothetical situation but it is important to understand the difference that in the Second Conditional the possibility of fulfilling a given condition is very unlikely, but not unrealistic. However, in the Third Conditional, this condition is unrealistic – it cannot be fulfilled:

• The Second Conditional:
  • If I had more money, I would buy that car.
  • The speaker is not rich which is why he won’t buy it. And the probability that he will suddenly become rich and buy the car is quite low.
• The Third Conditional:
  • If I had had more money, I would have bought that car.
  • The speaker did not have more money and that is why he did not buy that car. Now it is sold and the condition cannot be fulfilled. The key point is we are talking about a past event and the past, sadly, cannot be changed.