Los Cuatro Condicionales

LOSCURSOSDEINGLESGRATISPREFERIDOSPORLOSHISPANOHABLANTES

Many visitors and subscribers ask us: I was told there are four conditionals in
English,butIsupposeIknowjustone.Itistrue,thereexistFOURdifferenttypes
ofconditionalsentencesinEnglish.Let'sstudythemhere...
Muchos visitantes y suscriptores nos consultan: Me dijeron que hay cuatro tipos de
condicionalesperocreosaberslouno.Escierto,bsicamenteexistenCUATROtiposde
condicionaleseninglsqueanalizamosaqu...

conditionaltype0>>ZEROCONDITIONAL
IF+SIMPLEPRESENT+SIMPLEPRESENT
Used for scientific facts or general truths (usado para expresar verdades
cientficas, hechos que nunca cambian o situaciones que siempre ocurren).
Algunos gramticos incluyen este tipo de condicional dentro de FIRST
CONDITIONALoConditionalTypeI.
Ifyouheatbutter,itmelts.
Sicalientasmanteca,stasederrite.
Ifyouputwaterinacooler,itfreezes.
Sicolocasaguaenelcongelador,stasecongela.
Ifyouheatwaterto100degrees,itboils.
Sicalientasaguaa100grados,stahierve.
Ifyoucrossaninternationaldateline,thetimechanges.
Sicruzasunalneadetiempointernacional,lahoracambia.
Ifyoudropiceinwater,itfloats.
Sitirashieloalagua,steflota.
Ifirongetswet,itrusts.
Sielhierrosemoja,seoxida.

conditionaltypeI>>FIRSTCONDITIONAL
Usedtotalkaboutthingswhicharepossibleinthepresentorthefuture.It
isgenerallyusedforthingswhichmayhappen(utilizadoparacosasquepueden
ocurrirenpresenteofuturo).
a)IF+SIMPLEPRESENT+SIMPLEFUTURE
Ifyoustudyhard,youwillpassyourexams.
Siestudiasintensamenteaprobarstusexmenes.
Ifwedonotprotectthepandabears,theywillsoonbecomeextinct.
Sinoprotegemosalososospanda,prontoseextinguirn.
b)IMPERATIVE+OR/AND+SIMPLEFUTURE
Usedforthreatsandpromises(usadoparaexpresaramenazasypromesas)

Don'tsayawordaboutthis,orIwillkillyou.
Nocuentesunapalabradeestootemato.
Finishyourjob,andyouwillhaveabonus.
Terminatutareaytendrsunagratificacin.
c)IMPERATIVE+IF/INCASE+SIMPLEPRESENT
Contactmeifyouneedanyhelp.
Ponteencontactoconmigosinecesitasayuda.
Callthemincaseyouneedhelp.
Llmalosencasodenecesitarayuda.

conditionaltypeII>>SECONDCONDITIONAL
Usedtotalkaboutthingswhichareunreal(nottrueornotpossible)inthe
present or the future. It is generally used for things which don't or won't

happen.Itisgenerallyusedforthingswhichmayhappen(utilizadoenpresente
o futuro para expresar situaciones hipotticas, que normalmente son irreales o
imposibles).
IF+SIMPLEPAST+SIMPLECONDITIONAL
IfFIRSTverbinthesentenceisTOBE,WEREisusedforallpersons.
(SielPRIMERverbodelaoracinesTOBE,seusaWEREparatodaslaspersonas)

IfIwererich,Iwouldbuyacastle.
Sifuerarico,comprarauncastillo.
IfIwerehim,Iwouldgoandseeadoctor.
Sifueralensulugarconsultaraconunmdico.
Ifelephantshadwings,theywouldbeabletofly.
Siloselefantestuvieranalas,podranvolar.

conditionaltypeIII>>THIRDCONDITIONAL
Usedtotalkaboutunrealsituationsinthepast,thatis,thingswhichdidnot
happen in the past. (utilizado para expresar situaciones irreales que nunca
sucedieronenelpasadoy,engeneral,dentrodeuncontextodecrtica,quejao
remordimiento). En espaol tienes una construccin similar por lo cual este
condicionalnodeberaresultarcomplicado.
IF+PASTPERFECT+CONDITIONALPERFECT
IfIhadknownthatyouweresick,Iwouldhavegonetoseeyou.
Sihubiesesabidoqueestabasenfermo,tehabraidoaver.
TherealsituationwasthatIdidn'tknowyouweresick.SoIsayIfIhadknown...Whenyouare
talkingaboutthepast,youusethePastPerfect(Ihadknown)afterIF.

Ifyouhadsavedyourmoney,youcouldhaveboughtalaptop.
Sihubiesesahorradotudinero,podrashabertecompradounacomputadora.
Therealsituationwasthatyoudidn'tsaveyourmoney.SotheysayIfyouhadsaved...Whenyou
aretalkingaboutthepast,youusethePastPerfect(youhadsaved)afterIF.

Ifyouhadn'tbeenlateforworksooften,theywouldn'thavefiredyou.
Sinohubiesesllegadotardealtrabajotanseguido,notehabrandespedido.
Therealsituationwasthatyouwasn'tearlyforwork.SotheysayIfyouhadn'tbeenlate...When
youaretalkingaboutthepast,youusethePastPerfect(youhadn'tbeenlate)afterIF.

ompersonalenglish|ndicedeomverbs