Language study - grammar (conditionals)

Revision cards about the conditionals -> be sure to look at the summary and the PowerPoint

The conditionals

1) The zero conditional

2) The first conditional

3) The second conditional

4) The third conditional

The zero conditional

The general conditional

→ It is used to describe the general truth, it is mostly used in the present tense

Example: If you heat ice, it melts

The first conditional

The possible conditional

→ It is used to describe a situation that is likely to happen, it is mostly used in the present tense

Example: If I win the lottery, I will buy a Tesla

When you replace the ‘if’ you change the tone of the sentence

Example: When I win the lottery, I will buy a Tesla

You can replace the ‘will’ with ‘can, could/may, might’

Example: If I win the lottery, I can, could/may, might buy a Tesla

The second conditional

The improbable conditional

→ It is used to describe a situation which is unlikely to happen or a hypothetical current situation, it is mostly used in the past tense

Example: If you were a bit nicer Monday morning, he wouldn’t get so cross

Example: If I was a girl, I would wear a skirt

The third conditional

The impossible conditional

→ It is used to describe a situation which did not happen, it is used in the past tense

Example: If you had opened the door, she wouldn’t have gone away

You can replace the ‘would have’ with ‘could have, might have’

Example: If she had married him, she could have, might have lived in London