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Condition to be satisfied likely outcome
be: If I am better tomorrow, I will get up
have.If I have a headache I will take an aspirin
simple present:If she finishes early she will go home
present progressive:if he is standing in the rain, he will catch cold
present perfect:If she has arrived at the station, she will be here soon
present perfect progressiveIf he has been travelling all night, he will need a rest
can, must.If I can afford it, I will buy it
Some examples with the condition clause in the past tense:
If she took that flight yesterday, she arrived at 10pm.
If she took that flight yesterday, she is somewhere in town today.
If she took that flight yesterday, we'll see her tomorrow.
A condition clause in the present tense refers to a future event, a current event which may be true or untrue, or an event which could be verified in the future. The result can be in the past, present, or future:
If it's raining here now, then it was raining on the West Coast this morning.
If it's raining now, then your laundry is getting wet.
If it's raining now, there will be mushrooms to pick next week.
If it rains this afternoon, then yesterday's weather forecast was wrong.
If it rains this afternoon, your garden party is doomed.
If it rains this afternoon, everybody will stay home.
If I become President, I'll lower taxes.
Certain modal auxiliary verbs (mainly will, may, might, and could) are not usually used in the condition clause in English:
If it will rain this afternoon, …
If it may have rained yesterday, …
There are exceptions, however, in which willis used exactly as in the first example, namely when the action in the if-clause takes place after that in the main clause [13; 249]:
The weather forecast says it's going to rain.) Well, if it will rain, we must take umbrellas. If aspirins will cure it, I'll take a couple tonight instead of this horrible medicine.
Other situations in which willcan be used in an if- clause include when willis not being used as an auxiliary verb, in other words when it is being used modally to express willingness, persistence, refusal [10; 121] or a request [12; 84]:
If you'll just hold the door open for me a moment, I can take this table out to the kitchen.
If you will keep all the windows shut, of course you'll get headaches.
If you will excuse me, I think I will slip into something more comfortable.
If you want to make the request more polite you can use if … would:
If you would take your seats, ladies and gentlemen…
We may also use modal verbs in the main clause [6; 283]:
can (we are free to)
could (we would be able to)
may (it's possible)
If it's fine tomorrow, we might (it's possible) go out.
Should (it's advisable)
ought to (it's advisable)
must (it's necessary)
Progressive and perfect combinations with modals are possible:
If I hear from Tim, I may be leaving tonight
If he is in New York he may not have got my letter yet
In hypothetical (counterfactual) constructions, the condition clause expresses a condition that is known to be false, or presented as unlikely. The result clause contains a conditional verb form consisting of would(or could, should, might) plus a main verb in the base form (infinitive without to) [19].
3. The contrary-to-fact present conditional, often referred to as the "second conditional"or "conditional 2", is used to refer to a current state or event that is known to be false or improbable [19]. Type 2 conditionals talk about imaginary situations in the if-clause and speculate about their imaginary consequences in the main clause. Though past tenses are used, the reference is not to the past time. (That is why this use of the past tense after ifis often called 'the unreal past'.) By comparison, Type 1 conditionals talk about things which will possibly happen and consider their real consequences for the future. Depending on the attitude of the speaker, a Type 2 conditional can be used in place of a Type 1 to describe something that is reasonably possible. So:
If you went by train, you would get there earlier
If you didn't stay up so late every evening, you wouldn't feel so
sleepy in the morning
mean the same, but are more 'tentative' than:
If you go by train, you will get there earlier
If you don't stay up so late every evening, you won't feel so sleepy
in the morning
However, Type 2 conditionals more often describe what is totally
impossible:
If I had longer legs, I'd be able to run faster
In Type 2 conditionals the past subjunctive (or in colloquial English, simply the past tense) in the if-clause and “would” + non-perfect infinitive in the main clause must be used [9; 142]:
If she were [colloq. was] at work today, she would know how to deal with this client.
If I were [colloq. was] the king, I could have you thrown in the dungeon.
If I were you, I would accept their offer.
The same structure can be used to refer to a future state or event:
If I won the lottery, I would buy a car.
If he said that to me, I would run away.
Basic forms of Type 2 conditionals [6; 285]:
'if'-clause: main clause:
past tense 'would/should'
condition to be satisfied likely outcome
be:If I were taller, I would become a policeman
have. If he had any money, he'd leave home
other verbs:If you took a taxi, you'd get there quicker
could: If you could see me now, you'd laugh your head off
In conditional sentences we may use the expression If it were not for/Were it not forthat explains why something has or hasn't happened. In this case one situation is dependant on another situation or on a person [6; 286]. When we talk about the past we use If it hadn’t been for …[12; 88]:
If it weren't for your help, I would still be homeless.
If it hadn’t been for my parents, I would never have gone to university.
In formal contexts, If it were not forcan be expressed as Were it not for, with the negative in full (Not * Weren't it*):
Were it not for your help, I would still be homeless.
If it were notfor and Were it not for areoften followed by the fact that:
Were it not for the fact that you helped me,I would be homeless
We can also use Had it not been for…:
Had it not been for my parents, I would have never gone to university.
We often use but for + nounwith a similar meaning [12; 88]:
But for Jim’s support, I wouldn’t have got the job.(= If it hadn’t been for Jim…)
In unreal conditionals we use if…were + to-infinitiveto talk about imaginary future situations [10; 122]:
If the technology were to become available, we would be able to expand the business.
If he were to have a chance of success, he would need to move to London.
However, notice that we can’t use this pattern with many verbs that describe a state, including know, like, remember, understand:
If I knew they were honest, I’d gladly lend them the money.
We sometimes use this pattern to make a suggestion sound more polite:
If you were to move over, we could all sit on the sofa.
In the main clause of Conditional 2 sentences modal verbs may be used [6; 286]:
'If'-clause: past tense main clause: modal