Conditional sentences
Form first, second and third conditionals correctly.
You have learnt many tenses. This lesson shows how to combine them in sentences with if to talk about real and imagined situations.
A conditional sentence has an if-clause stating a condition and a main clause stating the result.
Examples
- If you hurry, you will catch the bus.
- If I had wings, I would fly to the hills.
- If she had asked, I would have helped.
- If I were the captain, I would bat first.
- We will stay indoors if the storm comes.
How it works
First conditional
Use it for a real possibility in the future: if + present tense, then will + verb.
If the shop is open, I will buy some bread.
Second conditional
Use it for an unreal or unlikely situation now or in the future: if + past tense, then would + verb.
If Kiran lived nearer, she would visit more often.
Third conditional
Use it to imagine a different past: if + past perfect, then would have + past participle.
If we had left earlier, we would have caught the train.
Two key rules
Do not put will or would in the if-clause. In formal English, use were for all subjects in the second conditional.
If he were taller, he would play basketball.
Quick reference
| Type | If-clause | Main clause | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | if + present | will + verb | real future possibility |
| Second | if + past | would + verb | unreal or unlikely present/future |
| Third | if + past perfect | would have + past participle | imagined past |
| Example 1 | If it is sunny, | we will go out. | likely |
| Example 2 | If it were sunny, | we would go out. | not the case now |
| Example 3 | If it had been sunny, | we would have gone out. | did not happen |
Common mistakes
✕If it will rain, we will stay home.
✓If it rains, we will stay home.
The if-clause of a first conditional uses the present tense.
✕If I would know her number, I would call her.
✓If I knew her number, I would call her.
Would belongs in the main clause, not the if-clause.
✕If he had trained harder, he would win the race.
✓If he had trained harder, he would have won the race.
An imagined past result needs would have + past participle.
Worked example
Exercise 1
Tap the verb in the if-clause.
If it rains, we will stay.
✓rains,
The if-clause is If it rains, and its verb is rains.
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