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.