Conditional
tenses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened,
and what we wish would happen. In English, most sentences using the conditional
contain the word if. Many
conditional forms in English are used in sentences that include verbs in one of
the past tenses. This usage is referred to as "the unreal
past" because we use a past tense but we are not actually referring to
something that happened in the past.
First-type Conditionals
The type 1 conditional is used to
refer to the present or future
where the situation is real.
The type 1 conditional refers to a possible condition and its probable result.
In these sentences the if clause is in the simple present, and the main clause
is in the simple future.
Formula : If + Simple Present, + Simple
Future
Example :
-
Nobody will notice if you make a mistake.
-
If I have time, I'll finish that letter.
-
If
he's sleeping, he won't wake up until morning
Function : The type 1 conditional refers to a possible
condition and its probable result. These sentences are based on facts, and they
are used to make statements about the real world, and about particular
situations. We often use such sentences to give warnings. In type 1 conditional
sentences, the time is the present
or future and the situation is real.
Second-type
Conditionals
The
type 2 conditional is used to refer to a time that is now or any time, and a
situation that is unreal.
These sentences are not based on fact. The type 2 conditional is used to refer
to a hypothetical condition and its probable result. In type 2 conditional
sentences, the if clause uses the simple past, and the main clause uses the
present conditional.
Formula : if + Simple Past, + would + base verb
Example :
-
If you really loved me, you would buy me a diamond
ring
-
If I were you, I would give up smoking.
-
If I knew better, I wouldn’t make these mistakes.
Function
: The
type 2 conditional refers to an unlikely or hypothetical condition and its
probable result. These sentences are not based on the actual situation. In type
2 conditional sentences, the time is now or
any time and the situation is hypothetical.
Third-type Conditional
The
type 3 conditional is used to refer to a time that is in the past, and a
situation that is contrary to
reality. The facts they are based on are the opposite of what
is expressed. The type 3 conditional is used to refer to an unreal past
condition and its probable past result. In type 3 conditional sentences, the if
clause uses the past perfect, and the main clause uses the perfect conditional.
Formula
: if + Past Perfect, + would + have + Past Participle
Example :
-
I would have believed you if you hadn't lied to me
before.
-
If I had known you were coming I would have baked
a cake.
-
If I had worked harder I might have passed the
exam.
Function
: The
type 3 conditional refers to an impossible condition in the past and its
probable result in the past. These sentences are truly hypothetical and unreal,
because it is now too late for the condition or its result to exist. There is
always some implication of regret with type 3 conditional sentences. The
reality is the opposite of, or contrary to, what the sentence expresses. In
type 3 conditional sentences, the time is the past and the situation is hypothetical.
Source :
