Grammar
English conditionals: real possibilities, advice, and imagined results
If you heat ice, it melts. If it rains tomorrow, I will take the bus. If I had more time, I would learn Arabic. Each sentence connects a condition with a result, but the verb forms show a different kind of meaning.
Use zero, first, and second conditional patterns to describe facts, likely results, and imagined situations.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
If I were you, I would ask for more time. /ɪf aɪ wɜː juː, aɪ wʊd ɑːsk fə mɔː taɪm/
The short answer
Use the zero conditional for general facts: If you heat ice, it melts. Use the first conditional for a real future possibility: If it rains tomorrow, I will take the bus. Use the second conditional for an imagined or unlikely present or future situation: If I had more time, I would learn Arabic.
If the library is open, we will study there after lunch.
Why it works: The library may be open, so this is a possible future plan.
4 more examples
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If you press this button, the screen turns on.
This describes the usual result of pressing the button, so both clauses use the present simple.
Not this:If you
press this button tonight, the screen will turn on. What changes: This refers to one possible future occasion rather than a general instruction. -
If Mara finishes early, she will join the call.
Mara may finish early, so the sentence presents a realistic future possibility.
Not this:If
Mara finished early every day, she would join the call more often. What changes: This imagines a different routine, rather than predicting today's result. -
If I had a quieter room, I would record the presentation at home.
The speaker does not have a suitable quiet room now, or treats that possibility as unreal.
Not this:If I
have a quiet room tomorrow, I will record the presentation at home. What changes: This leaves open a real possibility for tomorrow. -
If I were you, I would ask for more time.
This is a common second-conditional pattern for giving advice from an imagined position.
Not this:If
you ask for more time, the manager may agree. What changes: This talks about a possible action by the real listener and a possible result.
Read the full guide
Start with the meaning, not the label. Is the result something that normally happens? Is it a possible plan or consequence in the future? Or are you stepping away from reality to imagine a different situation? Once you know that, the verb pattern becomes easier to choose.
Choose the meaning before the verb form
A conditional has a condition and a result. The condition often begins with if, but the important part is the speaker's view of the situation. A general rule, a real future possibility, and an imagined situation need different patterns. Do not choose a tense just because the sentence contains if.
If the temperature drops below zero, water freezes.
This is a general fact, so it uses the present simple in both clauses.
If the temperature drops tonight, the roads will freeze.
This is a possible future result, so the result clause uses will.
Which meaning fits If I had a car, I would drive there: a general fact, a real plan, or an imagined situation?
It is an imagined situation. The speaker does not have a car now, or does not expect to have one.
Use the zero conditional for facts and routines
Use the zero conditional when the result normally follows whenever the condition happens. It is useful for scientific facts, instructions, habits, and rules that are generally true. The usual pattern is if plus present simple, then present simple.
If you mix red and blue, you get purple.
The sentence describes the same result each time, not one future event.
If my phone battery is low, I charge it before I leave.
This describes a routine. The speaker normally charges the phone in that situation.
Complete the general instruction: If the light is red, you ____ . Choose stop or will stop.
Use stop. The instruction states a general rule, so both clauses use the present simple.
Use the first conditional for likely future results
Use the first conditional when the condition is possible and you want to state the expected result. Use the present simple after if, even when you mean the future. Put will, may, can, or another suitable result word in the main clause.
If the client accepts the proposal, we will start work on Monday.
Accepts is present simple after if. Will start shows the future result.
If you leave now, you can catch the earlier train.
Can catch shows a possible future result without using will.
Choose the correct sentence: If it will rain, we will stay inside, or If it rains, we will stay inside?
Use If it rains, we will stay inside. The usual first-conditional if-clause takes the present simple.
Use the second conditional to imagine a different situation
The second conditional creates distance from the real situation. Use it for an unlikely possibility, an imaginary future, or advice based on an imagined position. The common pattern is if plus a past form, then would plus the base verb.
If I lived nearer the office, I would cycle to work.
Lived refers to a current imagined situation. It does not say that the speaker lived near the office in the past.
If they offered me the role, I would need a few days to decide.
The job offer is uncertain or unlikely, so would need describes the imagined response.
Complete the advice: If I ____ you, I would check the details again. Choose were or will be.
Use were. If I were you is a common second-conditional way to give advice.
Keep the clauses in a clear order
The order of the clauses can change without changing the basic meaning. Put the if-clause first when you want to set the condition before the result. Put it second when the result is the main point. Use a comma after an opening if-clause, but do not usually use one when the if-clause comes second.
If you see Nadia, tell her the meeting has moved.
The opening condition is followed by a comma before the instruction.
Tell Nadia the meeting has moved if you see her.
The condition comes second, so a comma is not normally needed.
Add punctuation: If you finish the report today we will send it this afternoon.
Write: If you finish the report today, we will send it this afternoon. The opening if-clause needs a comma.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose the conditional from the meaning. Use present simple plus present simple for a regular fact, present simple plus will for a likely future result, and a past form plus would for an imagined situation. Keep will out of the usual if-clause in the first conditional.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "English conditionals: real possibilities, advice, and imagined results"
What are conditional sentences in English?
Conditional sentences connect a condition with a result. The pattern changes with the meaning: If you press this button, the screen turns on states a usual result, while If the library is open, we will study there after lunch describes a possible future result.
If you press this button, the screen turns on.
What is the difference between the zero and first conditional?
Use the zero conditional for a fact, rule, or routine: If you press this button, the screen turns on. Use the first conditional for a possible future result: If you press this button tonight, the screen will turn on. The first conditional normally uses present simple after if and will in the result clause.
If you press this button tonight, the screen will turn on.
Why do we use a past form in the second conditional?
The past form in the second conditional creates distance from a real situation; it does not usually place the meaning in past time. Use a past form after if and would plus a base verb in the result clause when you are imagining a different situation now or later.
If the library is open, we will study there after lunch.
Can I use will after if?
For the usual first conditional, use a present form after if: If Mara finishes early, she will join the call. Do not normally say If Mara will finish early for this meaning. Put will in the result clause to describe the likely future outcome.
If the library were open all night, we would study there after dinner too.
Is if I were you correct?
Yes. The expression if I were you is a common second-conditional pattern for advice. Were is a useful careful form with I, he, she, and it when you are discussing an imagined situation, followed by a result clause with would.
If Mara finishes early, she will join the call.
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