English

“IF CLAUSE”

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 Verb Tense in "If" Clauses

What this handout is about

There are many different ways to express "conditional" or "hypothetical"
meaning in English. One of them is to use the word "if" in the clause that
expresses the condition. For example, "If it rains, we'll cancel the picnic. If it
doesn't rain, we won't." This handout explains how different verb tenses
indicate different meanings when you are speaking hypothetically and should
help you choose the right verb tense for the meaning you want to convey.

Using this handout

Most explanations of the conditional don't use one consistent example, so it's
difficult to see how different verb tenses convey different meanings. This
handout uses the same basic activity in each example (sticking your fingers into
the fire) to show how the situation influences the choice of verb tense. The
critical factor is the *likelihood* of the situation being real. Pay attention to the
situation described before each example and notice how the verb changes as the
situation becomes more and more likely.

Zero conditional: "Real condition"

This conditional deals with "real" conditions. We don't call it "real" because it
has already happened: we call it real because it *always* happens this way. We
use this to describe a condition with an absolutely predictable result, in other
words, to state a fact.
 If you stick your fingers in the fire, they get burned. (fact—happens
every time)
When the situation is completely likely, use present tense in both clauses.

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First conditional: "Unreal, but likely"
This conditional deals with "unreal, but likely" situations in the present or
future. We call it "unreal" because situation we are describing hasn't happened
yet, and "likely" because we can easily imagine it happening. We use the first
conditional to describe these situations.
For example, a 3 year old child is reaching toward the fire. She hasn't put her
fingers into the fire yet, but we know that small children don't understand fire,
so we can easily imagine her touching it. We would say:
 If you stick your fingers into the fire, you will burn yourself. (Same idea
as above, but rather than stating a general fact, you are talking about a
specific incident.)
 If you stick your fingers into the fire, you will be crying all day.
Notice that the verb "stick" is in the present tense. Using the present tense verb
shows two things:
1. it hasn't happened yet (it's unreal)
2. you believe it could happen (it's likely)
Also notice that the main clause verbs (will burn, will be crying) can be in
simple form or -ing form. It depends on whether you want to emphasize a
single moment in time (simple form) or the an extended period of time (-
ing form). In either case, use will + verb in the main clause.
When the situation is unreal, but likely, use present tense in the conditional
clause and will + verb in the main clause.

Second conditional: "Unreal and

unlikely"
This conditional deals with situations in the present and future that are both
unreal and unlikely. The situation we are describing hasn't happened yet, and
we really can't imagine it happening very easily, except in a freak accident or a
moment of great stupidity.

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For example, a 25 year old is joking about reaching into the fire. He hasn't put
his fingers into the fire yet, and we don't think he's serious about doing it, but
we want to warn him about the consequences just in case. We would say:
 If you stuck your fingers into the fire, you would need medical attention.

 If you stuck your fingers into the fire, you would be screaming in pain
all day.
Notice that the verb "stuck" is in the past tense. Using the past tense verb shows
two things:
1. it hasn't happened yet (it's unreal)
2. you don't really believe it will happen (it's unlikely)
Also notice that the main clause verbs (would need, would be screaming) can
be in simple form or -ing form. It depends on whether you want to emphasize a
single moment in time (simple form) or the an extended period of time (-
ing form). In either case, use would + verb in the main clause.
When the situation is unreal and unlikely, use past tense in the conditional
clause and would + verb in the main clause.

Third conditional: "Unreal condition"

This conditional deals with situations in the *past* that are unreal—they didn't
happen. We can still imagine what the consequences would have been.
For example, the 25 year old was joking about reaching into the fire, but he
didn't actually do it. We would say:
 If you had stuck your hand into the fire, you would have needed medical
attention.
 If you had stuck your hand into the fire, you would have been screaming
in pain.
In the next two examples, the 25 year old actually did stick his hand into the
fire. The "unreal" situation is the opposite:
 If you hadn't stuck your hand into the fire, you wouldn't have spent the
evening in the emergency room.
 If you hadn't stuck your hand into the fire, you wouldn't have blistered it
so badly.

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When the situation is unreal and in the past, use past perfect (had + -ed) in
the conditional clause and would have + verb in the main clause.

Mixing time references

In the examples of the third conditional (unreal and in the past), both the
conditional clause and the main clause refer to past time: If you had done this
in the past, you would have experienced this in the past.
It is also possible to mix time references—to talk about a condition in the past
and the consequences in the present. For example:
 If you had stuck your fingers into the fire last night, you would be in a
lot of pain right now.
 If you hadn't stuck your fingers into the fire last night, you wouldn't be
wearing bandages today.

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QUESTION
1. If you go out with your friends tonight, I (watch) ____________ the
football match on TV.
2. I (earn) ____________ a lot of money if I get that job.
3. If she (hurry/not) ______________, we (miss) _____________ the bus.
4. If he (try) ________ harder, he (reach) ____________ his goals.
5. I (buy) ____________ these shoes if they (fit) __________.
6. It (surprise/not) ______________________ me if he (know/not)
______________ the answer.
7. If we (listen) _____________ to the radio, we (hear) ______________
the news.
8. If you (switch) ____________ on the lights, you (fall/not)
_______________ over the chair.
9. She (come) ___________________to our party if she (be/not)
_______________ on holiday.
10. If I ______ stronger, I'd help you carry the piano.
11. If we'd seen you, we ________________
12. If we ____________ him tomorrow, we'll say hello.
13. He would have repaired the car himself if he __________ the tools.
14. If you drop the vase, it ____________.
15. If I hadn't studied, I ___________________________________ the
exam.
16. I wouldn't go to school by bus if I _____ a driving licence.
17. If she ______________ him every day, she'd be lovesick.
18. I _____________ to London if I don't get a cheap flight.
19. We'd be stupid if we ______ him about our secret.
20. If she _____________ the bus, she ___________________ on time.

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Answer Question :
1. If you go out with your friends tonight, I will watch the football match
on TV.
2. I will earn a lot of money if I get that job.
3. If she does not hurry, we will miss he bus.
4. If he tried harder, he would reach his goals.
5. I would buy these shoes if they fitted
6. It would not surprise me if he did not know the answer.
7. If we had listened to the radio, we would have heard the news.
8. If you had switched on the lights, you would not have fallen over the
chair.
9. She would have come to our party if she had not been on holiday.
10. If I were stronger, I'd help you carry the piano.
11. If we'd seen you, we would have stopped.
12. If we meet him tomorrow, we'll say hello.
13. He would have repaired the car himself if he had had the tools.
14. If you drop the vase, it will break.
15. If I hadn't studied, I would not have passed the exam.
16. I wouldn't go to school by bus if I had a driving licence.
17. If she didn't see him every day, she'd be lovesick.
18. I won't travel to London if I don't get a cheap flight.
19. We'd be stupid if we told him about our secret.
20. If she had taken the bus, she would not have arrived on time.