Conditionals

Conditionals are subordinate sentences that introduce a condition to the main sentence. There are three conditionals increasing its difficulty and decreasing its probability.

— Zero Conditional → This is not a real condition because it is always (or never) fulfilled. It follows the same indications as the 1st conditional.

→ You are punished if the earth rotates around the sun.

— 1st Conditional → If the condition is fulfilled, the premise is fulfilled in every case. There is a correlation of verbs by which the verb in the main sentence must be in either present simple or future and the subordinate clause must always be in present simple.

→ I buy you a motorbike if you pass the course.

— 2nd Conditional → The condition isn’t very probable of being fulfilled. The premise is fulfilled if the condition is fulfilled, but the author of the condition hasn’t got much hope in it being fulfilled, or it is almost impossible. The main sentence must always be in conditional tense (would) and the subordinate proposition must always be in past simple.

→ I would buy you a motorbike if you passed the course.

— 3rd Conditional → This is just a hypothesis, the condition cannot be fulfilled because the time has passed. The main sentence must always be in conditional perfect tense (would have) and the subordinate proposition must always be in past perfect.

→ I would have bought you a motorbike if you had passed the course.