What are English conditionals?
To be honest, the theory here is not especially difficult. The problem is mainly that English uses a different way of speaking from our native language, so we make literal translations… even when we may know in theory how it should be said.
That is why I want to say in advance that the best way to learn these structures is simply to repeat, repeat, and repeat the correct patterns on the Speakingo online English course, where the lesson plan contains many typical uses in which we usually make mistakes.
However, a little grammar theory will not hurt either!
So what is this all about?
To begin with, you can watch a short, 6-minute video in which I briefly explain English conditionals:
So once again:
Conditionals, also called English conditional sentences, are sentences in which, surprise, surprise (surprise!), there is a condition (for example, “if”, “provided that”, “as long as”, etc.).
In general, conditional sentences express our guessing and speculation.
Conditionals introduce words such as the following condition markers:
- If
- when
- as soon as, as late as
- before, after
- until, till
So whenever we hear one of these words (of course there are more, but that is for another post), a red warning light should go on in our head: Aha! A conditional is coming!
The only question now is: which of the three, or really four, conditional forms is it?
In principle, there are three English conditionals (the first conditional, the second conditional, and the third conditional), plus the zero conditional and… mixed conditionals.
How many conditionals are there in English?
In short:
- the zero conditional expresses timeless truths,
- the first conditional is for future guessing,
- the second conditional is for present guessing,
- and the third conditional is for past guessing.
The only problem is that we use grammar patterns that are not intuitive for us.
So let us go through them one by one:
The zero conditional (zero conditional)
You could say that the zero conditional is not really even a conditional, which is why it gets such a low rating (zero). Still, it counts, because these are sentences that contain words like if, when, until, etc.
In the zero conditional, we use the present tense in sentences that describe timeless laws of nature, obvious truths, and unchanging wisdom. For example:
- If people are happy themselves, they are nice to other people.
If people are happy themselves, they are nice to other people.
or
- When the sun rises, the world becomes brighter.
When the sun rises, the world becomes brighter.
So here we have a condition, but both parts of the sentence are in the present simple, which describes situations that happen regularly, or even always. In English, this is straightforward, so this type does not usually cause us problems.
The fun starts with the next conditionals.
The first conditional (first conditional, if-clause type 1)
In the first conditional, we speculate about the future. If something happens (or does not happen), I will do something (or not do something), for example:
- When I see her, I will kiss her.
When I see her, I will kiss her.
or
- If I don’t get the money, I will sue you!
If I don’t get the money, I will sue you!
or
- Until he apologizes, she won’t speak to him.
Until he apologizes, she won’t speak to him.
Important point: in Polish, both parts of the sentence are formed in the future tense — in English only one part is! You could say that the condition, for example the word if, removes our need for will (we do not say If I will not get the money but If I don’t get the money).
We often want to add will here, but we should not. In the part with the condition, we use the present simple tense, and in the other part we use the future as normal — because we are guessing about the future.
The parts of the sentence can be switched, for example:
- I will kiss her if I see her.
Then we do not even need a comma (which not many people know). But English punctuation is a completely different topic.
The second conditional (second conditional, if-clause type 2)
This is definitely the most common of the conditionals, and I would risk saying that this is where we most often make mistakes.
As with the first conditional, the problem is that Polish uses different grammar structures to express the same ideas.
That is why it is worth remembering that when we speculate about the present, we use would only once, and in the other part of the sentence we use a past tense. For example:
- If he was rich, he would buy a helicopter.
If he were rich, he would buy a helicopter.
In Polish, the hypothetical –by appears in both parts of the sentence, but in English would appears only once.
The same is true if we reverse the sentence:
- I would buy a helicopter if I was rich.
Again, we do not need a comma.
We can also “speculate negatively”:
- I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need the money.
I would not be here if I did not need the money.
Note: it is nicer to use were instead of was:
- If I were you, I wouldn’t do it.
If I were you, I would not do it. – Instead of: If I was you…
- Unless she were abroad, she would never talk English.
She would never speak English unless she were abroad. – Instead of Unless she was abroad…
The third conditional (third conditional, if-clause type 3)
The third conditional is guessing about the past. We blame ourselves for mistakes, or in history class we speculate about what would have happened if…
- If I had learned more, I would have passed my matura exam.
If I had studied more, I would have passed my final exam.
Both events are in the past. Here we use If + past perfect (had + the third form of the verb), and would have + the third form of the verb in the other part.
Of course, the parts can also be switched, which lets us leave out the comma:
- I would have passed my driving licence test if I hadn’t come drunk.
I would have passed my driving test if I had not arrived drunk.
- If he had had the money, he wouldn’t have taken this bloody bank loan.
If he had had the money, he would not have taken this unfortunate, literally bloody, loan.
Mixed English conditionals (mixed conditionals)
More advanced students will certainly notice that the simple rules above can take many different forms in practice, depending on context. To express what we mean more precisely, we can also use many mixed combinations of conditional forms and structures, for example:
Basic first conditional:
- If the girl knows English, I will marry her.
If that girl knows English, I will marry her.
– can take the form of an order:
- If the girl knows English, marry her!
If that girl knows English, marry her!
– or a modal verb can appear here (can, could, may, etc.)
- If the girl knows English, you can marry her.
If that girl knows English, you can marry her.
How English conditionals can be mixed is clearly shown in the table below:
First conditional (first conditional)
| The condition refers to guessing about: | The condition part (if/unless/when etc.) | The second (main) part of the sentence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| an action in the future (result) | Present simple (simple present) | If she offers you the job, … | Simple future | …I will take it. |
| Command | …take it! | |||
| Modal verb | …you can take it. | |||
| an action in the near future (something happening) | present continuous (present continuous) | If she is complaining, … | Simple future | …I will run away. |
| Command | …run away! | |||
| Modal verb | …you can always run away. | |||
| an action already completed | Present Perfect | If he has brought you the flowers, … | Simple future | …she will kiss him. |
| Command | …kiss him! | |||
| Modal verb | …you can kiss him. | |||
| an unlikely action | should + infinitive | If she should fail the exam, … | Simple future | …she will simply take it again. |
| Command | …go for a beer with her! | |||
| Modal verb | …we can cheer her up. | |||
| states a fact / zero conditional | Present simple (simple present) | If people are happy, … | Present tense | …they are naturally friendly. |
Second conditional (second conditional)
| The condition refers to: | The sentence part with the condition | The second (main) part of the sentence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| guessing about the present
(or thinking ahead into the future) |
Simple Past | If I was rich, … | Second conditional
(second conditional) |
…I would travel to Bhutan. |
| guessing about a result in the past
– although in this case it would usually be more correct to use the third conditional, the idea is that the knowledge (know her) is something permanent, not something that ended in the past – I probably still do not know her |
Simple Past | If I knew her, … | Third conditional
(third conditional) |
…I would have said “hi”. |
Third conditional (third conditional)
| The condition refers to: | The sentence part with the condition | The second (main) part of the sentence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| something from long ago up to now | Past Perfect | If I had known it, … | First conditional (first conditional) | …I wouldn’t be here now. |
| something from the past | Past Perfect | If he hadn’t learned English, … | Second conditional (second conditional) | …he would not have become an English teacher. |
Real and unreal conditionals
Finally, it is worth mentioning that there is another way to describe conditional sentences.
Some sentences with if, when, etc. describe something unreal or imaginary.
For example:
- If I knew English better, I would get a better job. (unreal conditional)
So we are guessing that if I knew English better, I would get a better job. But I do not know it well, and that is frustrating. Life can feel stuck. We can only dream about it.
However, in the sentence below the situation is different:
- If I start learning English, I will get a better job! (real conditional)
This is not just guessing. If I sign up for an English course, getting a better job is a very real option! That is a real possibility!
But I write more about real and unreal conditionals in a separate text:
Exercises on English conditionals (conditionals)
As you can see, English conditionals are not so hard to understand. The grammar itself is not difficult. What is difficult is building the habit of using it correctly!
That is why I invite you to lessons on the Speakingo online English course, where you can practise all these conditionals by talking to a computer, in a pleasant way, anytime and anywhere, until they become natural. Register to try it for free and see whether this English learning method suits you!
The table with mixed conditionals was inspired by the English-language site English Grammar Online
Did this text help you understand English conditionals? If you have any questions, ask them in the comments!
