Grammar Notes ii
Conditional = IF clauses or IF statements
There are other conditionals but I will talk about the 4 Basic conditionals. (No Mixed Conditionals)
Conditional 0 = FACT
Conditional 1 = LIKELY events
Conditional 2 = UNLIKELY but POSSIBLE events
Conditional 3 = IMPOSSIBLE events because of TIME
CONDITIONAL 0
Conditional 0 deals with FACTS.
Conditional 0 can easily be identified because Conditional 0 uses the present tense in both clauses.
Conditionals come in DC, IC or IC DC.
For example:
If you heat water to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils.
Water boils if you heat it to 100 degrees Celsius.
If you quit, you lose.
You lose if you quit.
CONDITIONAL 1
Conditional 1 deals with LIKELY events.
Conditional 1 can be identified because Conditional 1 uses the present tense in the dependent clause and the future tense in the independent clause.
Conditionals come in DC, IC or IC DC.
For example:
If you study, you will pass.
You will pass if you study.
If you drink coke, you will get fat.
You will get fat if you drink coke.
CONDITIONAL 2
Conditional 2 deals with UNLIKELY but POSSIBLE events.
Conditional 2 can be identified because Conditional 2 uses the past tense in the dependent clause and auxiliary verb + present tense (present conditional or present continuous conditional) in the independent clause.
Conditionals come in DC, IC or IC DC.
For example:
If I won the lottery, I would buy a new car.
I would buy a new car if I won the lottery.
If I become president, I would make the country better.
I would make the country better if I become president.
CONDITIONAL 3
Conditional 3 deals with IMPOSSIBLE events (because of TIME).
Conditional 3 can be identified because Conditional 3 uses the past perfect in the dependent clause and auxiliary verb + present perfect tense (perfect conditional or perfect continuous) in the independent clause.
Conditionals come in DC, IC or IC DC.
For example:
If I had known the lottery numbers, I would have won.
I would have won if I had known the lottery numbers.
If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam.
You would have passed your exam if you had worked harder.
♦ The SAT occasionally test for Conditional 0 and 1, but mostly the SAT tests for Conditional 2 and 3.