Unit 1. ConditionalsBeatriu Cardona i Prats . Universitat de Valncia

Basic StructureA conditional sentence is usually formed by two parts:an if clauseanda main clauseWhen we put the if clause first, we write a comma:If I had a car, I'd drive you homeI'd drive you home if I had a car

Patterns (1)There are 4 basic sentence patterns:Zero conditionalFirst conditionalSecond conditionalThird conditional

Patterns (2)And there are 2 mixed sentence patterns:Mixed 2nd/3rd conditionalMixed 3rd/2nd conditional

Basic PatternsThe 4 basic patterns can be divided intoPOSSIBLEthis is, belonging to the REAL worldorIMPOSSIBLE/IMPROBABLEthis is, belonging to the unreal world

Possible ConditionalsZERO CONDITIONALAlso known as 'general conditional' We use it for states or events which can occur at anytime, but mainy in the presentIf you are tired, then go to bedIf you drink-drive, you are being reckless

Possible ConditionalsFIRST CONDITIONALAlso known as 'possible/likely conditional' We use it for states or events which can occur in the futureIf you are coming to the party, you'll need to buy a presentIf the weather is nasty, we won't go to the beach tomorrow

Impossible/Improbable ConditionalsSECOND CONDITIONALAlso known as 'improbable/unlikely cond.' We use it to describe an improbable future: If I won the lottery, I'd buy an islandand a hypothetical (unreal) present:If you were a bit nicer, we wouldn't argue all the time. (but you are NOT nice)

Impossible/Improbable ConditionalsTHIRD CONDITIONALAlso known as 'impossible/past cond.' We use it to describe a hypothetical/unreal/impossible situation in the past: This is, it didn't really happened If I had come by train, I wouldn't have spent 30 minutes in a trafffic jam. (but you didn't come by train, you took your car)

Mixed ConditionalsSECOND/THIRD CONDITIONALWe use it for hypothetical/unreal situations in the present, with a result in the past If Valncia had better drinking water, I wouldn't have bought a water filter. This is, Valncia has terrible drinking water so I had to buy a water filter.

Mixed ConditionalsTHIRD/SECOND CONDITIONALWe use it for hypothetical/unreal situations in the past, with a result in the present If Americans hadn't stepped on the Moon, we would still think it's made of cheese. This is, Americans got to the Moon (or so they say) and forgot the popular saying.