Sentence in English 1 2 types. Conditional sentences - what are they? The First Conditional. Type I conditional sentences

Conditional sentences in English are sentences that contain some kind of condition and thus connect 2 events, for example:

“If a frog falls on you, you will definitely marry successfully” :-).

There are conditional sentences real(they have happened, will happen or are likely to happen) and unreal(i.e. events that definitely will not happen, but are fictitious, incredible).

Conditional sentences are divided into several types. Let's look at each type in a little more detail. So,

Conditional sentences of the zero type, or Zero Conditional

This absolutely real, actually occurring events that are always true, such as scientific facts . Relates to the present time.

if + Present Simple + Present Simple

If the temperature is below zero, water freezes. (If temperature goes down below zero, water starts to freeze)

Conditional sentences of the first type, or First Conditional

The first type of conditional sentence means real condition and refers to the future tense .

if + Present Simple + Future Simple

If you call me I will pick you up. (If you call me, I you I'll take over)

Conditional sentences of the second type, or Second Conditional

The second and third types of conditional sentences indicate unreal actions, events and are translated through the particle “would” .

The difficulty lies in the fact that in the Russian language the forms of the present and past tenses coincide (remember that it is in the RUSSIAN language). In the English version, these will be completely different sentences. How can we understand what we are talking about, the present or the future, if the forms of the verb are the same? We look at the context and marker words that indicate time, for example, “now” or “last week”, etc.

So, the second type of conditional sentences refers to the present tense .

If +Past Simple +would +Infinitive

The verb most often used in the main clause is would , but can be used could / might . Although this type of conditional sentence is formed in the past tense, it actually denotes the present. For example:

If I got the job I'd (=I would) move to Vienna now. ( If I received work, then would move to Vienna now.)

If you came in time, you could catch the train. ( If You came on time then I could leave by train) - we mean now based on the forms of the verb, because there are no marker words indicating time).

BUT#1: Form was often replaced by were (typical for formal speech).

If I were you I would sell this house. (If I were you, I would sell this house.)

BUT#2: Usually in a subordinate clause after if we don't use would, except in cases when we politely ask someone, For example, in an official letter(don’t forget that the British are sooooo polite people and even after breaking all the terms of the contract and a bunch of reminders about this, they do not forget about their politeness):

I would be gratefu l if you would let me know your decision. ( Would be thankful to you, if You notified me about your decision)

Conditional sentences of the third type, or Third Conditional

Third type of conditional sentences refers to the past tense and also denotes an unreal action.

If + Past Perfect + would have + Participle II

Instead of would have + Participle II can also be used could have / might have + Participle II

If he had come in time he could have caught the train. ( If He I arrived on time, he I wish I had time On the train)

Offers with wish

Instead of if you can often find sentences with a verb wish. Such proposals express regret or unrealistic desire.

The rules for using tenses are preserved, i.e. they are exactly the same as for the if part of the clause. The design is translated into Russian "what a pity". Besides, affirmative sentences are translated negatively and vice versa - negative sentences are translated affirmatively.

I wish you were here. ( It's a pity, what you not here).

I wish I didn't work. (It's a pity, what am I Working.)

Wish + (that) + would

In some special cases we use would together with wish. Namely, when we talk about other people and we don't like what they do and we would like them to change. This design not used in relation to your loved one, and also in relation to what no one can change. Although in exceptional cases this can be said, for example, about the weather.

I wish that he would not eat much chocolate ( I not happy, What he eats so much chocolate.) - I would like to change that.

I wish that it would stop raining! ( I wish I could to the rain has stopped) - we are talking about the weather, although we cannot influence the weather in any way, but since this case is an exception, we can say with would).

I wish I would study harder! - This wrong, we don’t say that about ourselves!!! We can change our behavior, right?! Therefore, we do not classify the proposal as unrealistic!) .

Therefore, this proposal should be said like this:

I wish I studied harder. ( I would like to work harder) - This Right!

If only...

Iwish for expressiveness can be replaced by ifonly

If only I hadn't watched that film. ( I wish I didn't look This movie)

If only I could speak English well. ( Now if I spoke English is good...)

Mixed Conditions

The fun begins when conditionals are mixed . But don’t panic, you need to carefully analyze both parts of the sentence and decide which times they refer to.

If he had finished his work yesterday, he would be free now. ( If He finished work yesterday, now would be already free) - type 3 + type 2

If I were Rich, I would have bought that house yesterday. ( If I was rich, I'm I would buy yesterday that house) - type 2 + type 3

Now you can move on to practice:

In order to understand the essence of a conditional sentence, or rather subordinate clause conditions, let's look at a few examples:

Conditional Sentence

As can be seen from the examples above, a conditional sentence is a subordinate clause that expresses the condition under which the action of the main sentence occurs or would occur. Such a subordinate clause answers the question ‘under what conditions?’ - “under what conditions?”

Separate with commas subordinate clauses in Russian and English have significant differences. For conditional subordinate clauses, these differences are manifested in the fact that a comma is separated, mainly the subordinate clause, which is in preposition, that is, standing before the main one. Whereas the conditional sentence after the main sentence is not separated by commas.

Subordinate clauses of conditions are introduced most often using a conjunction if - “if”. Subordinate clauses with the following conjunctions are less common in the table:

All subordinate clauses in English differ in one important grammatical feature - in them no verb usedwill and its past form would, even if there is an action that will be performed in the future. At the same time, the future tense can be used in the main sentence, which will be discussed in more detail below. However, we should not forget that the conjunction if is used not only in the meaning of “if”, but also in the meaning of “whether” and does not introduce conditional sentences. With the conjunction if meaning “whether” the verb will, as well as its form would, are used. Let's compare:

In English, there are several types of conditional sentences depending on the time and reality of the condition described in them.

Zero Conditionals / Conditional sentences of zero type

Such conditional sentences are not often used in speech, since they denote certain well-known truths that are repeated from time to time and do not relate to any specific moment in time or individual incident in life. Such sentences denote a real condition. In the subordinate clause of the condition, in this case it is only permissible to use different tenses of the Present group, while in the main predicate the predicate is used either in or in the imperative mood Imperative :

Zero Conditionals are used in cases where the sentence talks about:

A distinctive feature of conditional sentences of the zero type is the ability to replace the conjunction if with when (“when”):

First Conditionals / Conditional sentences of the first type

One of the most common types of conditionals are First Conditionals. They are characterized by the presence real condition (real possibility), covering a specific situation in the future or present.

The formation of conditional sentences of the first type is characterized by the use of Future Simple (will + Infinitive) or Imperative in the main clause and Present Simple in the subordinate clause:

Second Conditionals / Conditional sentences of the second type

Along with conditional sentences of the first type, Second Conditionals occupy a leading position in popularity in speech. Such sentences mean unreal possibility

Which would make a certain situation possible in the present or future:

In this kind of unrealistic sentences finds its application conditional moodConditional Mood- a verb form formed by adding to the auxiliary verb would (or should, but in the context of this topic it is not of particular interest to us) an indefinite form of the verb (the Infinitive) without the particle to or similar to the tense forms of the Past group. Conditional Mood partly corresponds to the Russian subjunctive mood. It shows the attitude of the author of the statement to a particular action, reflecting his personal perception. The verb form in this case shows the action not as real, but rather as expected, desirable or possible. The conditional mood finds its application in both simple and complex sentences, but its main area of ​​application is subordinate clauses of condition:

Taking a closer look at the examples presented above, it is easy to notice that after the subject in the third person singular we use were (for example, ...it were possible). No, this is not a mistake, but a distinctive feature of the conditional mood - the use of were is acceptable for all persons. If you use was rather than were in such a sentence, this will also not be a mistake, but were is more common in unreal sentences.

Let's return to conditional sentences of the second type. To form them in the main sentence, the predicate is put in the form would + Infinitive Simple(a simple infinitive is the original form of the verb), and in the main sentence the predicate is in a form similar to . Both forms, as we have already seen above, correspond to the conditional mood.

It should be noted that would often used in the abbreviated form - ‘d, For example:

A striking manifestation of conditional sentences of the second type are sentences of character If I were you... - “If I were you, I would...”(literally: “If I were you...”), where were is also used instead of was:

Third Conditionals / Conditional sentences of the third type

This type of conditional clause serves to express unrealistic condition related to events in past.

Since we are talking about actions that happened, or rather, did not happen in the past, the use of perfect forms becomes natural. At the same time, the subordinate clause uses the form (less often), while the main clause uses would + Infinitive Perfect (less often Infinitive Perfect Continuous). For those who are not familiar with the topic in English, let us explain that Infinitive Perfect = have + V 3 (a semantic verb in the third form), and Infinitive Perfect Continuous = have been + Ving (a semantic verb with the ending -ing).

Mixed Conditionals / Mixed type of conditional sentences

Sometimes a sentence combines a condition associated with an action from the past (Third Conditional) in a subordinate clause and its probable consequences for the present or future (Second Conditional) - in this case they speak of a mixed type of conditional sentence, also called the fourth:

1) Conditional sentences of the first type

(First Conditional sentences)

These sentences are used to express a real action in the future tense, that is, an action that can actually happen.

Example: If it`s a sunny day I will go to the park. - If it's a sunny day, I'll go to the park.

In this example, the action will take place (I will go to the park), provided that (it`s a sunny day).

Let's look at the diagram:

If it is snowing I won`t go out - If it snows, I won’t go for a walk.

2) Conditional sentences of the second type

(Second Conditional sentences)

Used to express an action that relates to the present or future tense.

That is, at the moment or in the future is unreal.

Example: If I had a lot of money I would go to Paris- If I had a lot of money (today or tomorrow), I would go to Paris.

(But I don't have a lot of money). Since I don't have a lot of money now, I can't go to Paris.

Let's look at the diagram:

If I called him we could go to the park together- If I called him, we could go to the park together.

• Remember! The verb to be in conditional sentences of type 2 is always used in the form were.

If I were you I would tell him- If I were you, I would tell him.

3) Conditional sentences of the third type

(Third Conditional sentences)

Used to express an action that is unreal in the past.

That is, you regret things you did or didn't do in the past.

When you criticize that something happened or didn’t happen in the past and you can no longer change anything.

Example: If I had earned a lot of money I would have gone to Paris - If I had earned a lot of money (then in the past), I would go to Paris.

But since I didn't make much money in the past, I didn't go to Paris.

Or vice versa, you indicate the positive side of an event that happened in the past.

Example: If I had not met John in Paris I would not have married him - If I had not met John in Paris, then I would not have married him.

Let's look at the diagram:

If I had called him we could have gone to the park together. - If I had called him (then), we could have gone to the park together.

I wish design - it’s a pity that...

1). If an action is expressed in the present or future, then we use it in the past.

Example: I wish I spoke to him - It’s a pity that I don’t talk to him.

2). If it expresses an action in the past, then we use it in the Past Perfect

Example: I wish I had spoken to him yesterday - It’s a pity that I didn’t talk to him yesterday.

Example: If I call him I will tell him about everything - If I call him, I will tell him about everything.

I said if I called him I would tell him about everything. (1 type of conditional sentences)

Conditional sentences of types 2 and 3 do not change form.

If I called him I would tell him about everything. (type 2 conditional sentences)

I said if I called him I would tell him about everything.

If I had called him I would have told him about everything. (type 3 conditional sentences)

I said if I had called him I would have told him about everything.

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History knows no “if” - History does not know the subjunctive mood.

Fortunately, he knows English. Like history, we cannot rewrite or change the past. All we can do is speculate about possible interpretations, think about alternative versions of what happened, and regret that we did not act differently. To do this, we will need conditional sentences of the third type, which we will consider here.

Formation of conditional sentences Conditional 3

Example sentences

If you had behaved, better the teacher wouldn’t have punished us. (criticism) If you had behaved better, the teacher would not have punished us (criticism: you should have behaved differently). If I had seen James, I would have told him about the meeting (lost opportunity) If I had locked the door, they wouldn’t have robbed our house (regret)

Example sentences

If we'd known you were ill, we would have come to see you. If I had known you were sick, I would have come to see you. I would have gone to the party if I hadn’t been so busy. I would go to the party if I weren't so busy. We wouldn't have got a fine if you hadn't driven so fast. We wouldn't have gotten a ticket if you weren't driving so fast. If I’d had the camera I would have taken some pictures of that view. If I had a camera, I would have taken several photos of that landscape.

Example sentences

I’d have sent her my wedding invitation if I’d known her address. I would have sent a wedding invitation if I knew her address. If I'd slept enough I'd have driven the car. If I had gotten enough sleep, I would have driven.

Example sentences

If we had not hurried we might have come late to the theater. If we didn't hurry up, we might be late for the theater. If you hadn’t failed your exams you could have studied at the university. If you hadn't failed your exams, you could have studied at university.

Do you ever find yourself regretting events that have already happened? Or, on the contrary, are you glad that everything turned out exactly this way and not otherwise?

In Russian, when we talk about this, we use the word “if”:

“If he had woken up on time, he would not have missed the plane. She wouldn’t have come with us if she hadn’t finished all the work yesterday.”

In English, when we talk about past events that could have happened under certain conditions, we use type 3 conditionals.

It is not difficult to understand and learn to construct such sentences. In this article I will teach you this.

From the article you will learn:

• When we use conditional sentences of the third type
• Rules and schemes for the formation of affirmative sentences

When are type 3 conditionals used in English?

If you don’t know how conditional sentences of types 1 and 2 are formed, then be sure to look at these articles first:

Conditional sentences of the third type (Third Conditionals)- express unrealistic situations that might or might not have happened in the past under certain conditions.

Most often, such sentences are used when we:

• We regret something and would like to change our actions in the past (but since the events have already happened, we cannot do this)

• We talk about past actions, imagine alternative options (such sentences may not express regret, but, on the contrary, joy that everything happened this way)
• We criticize someone's actions in the past

Let's look at examples:

If he had taken classes, he would not have been expelled from the university (but he did not do this, so he was expelled).

They wouldn't have met if she hadn't gone to that party (but she went, so they know each other now).

She would have gotten that job if she knew English (but she didn't, so she didn't get it).

As you can see, all these actions are unreal because they have already happened in the past.

At the moment, we can only think about how events would have unfolded if the person had acted differently.

Attention: Confused about English rules? Find out in Moscow how easy it is to understand English grammar.

How do conditional sentences of type 3 differ from conditional sentences of type 2?

Very often these sentences are confused, since in both cases we are talking about unreal events. In addition, they are very similar or identically translated into Russian.

Let's see how to distinguish them.

Conditional sentences of the second type

Using them we are talking about imaginary situations present or future . That is, the events we are talking about are unlikely or unrealistic.

For example:

If he won the lottery, he would buy a car.

(We are talking about the future, he now has a ticket, and he dreams of winning. But the fact that he will win it is unlikely, almost unreal).

Conditional sentences of the third type

Using them we say about situations in past . The events we are talking about are completely unreal, because we cannot change the past.

For example:

If he had won the lottery, he would have bought a car.
If he won the lottery, he would buy a car.

(He bought a ticket in the past, but didn't win anything. There's no way to change that.)

Now let's see how to construct such sentences in English.

Rules for the formation of conditional sentences of the 3rd type in English

Conditional sentences consist of 2 parts:

1. The main part is an action that could have happened in the past.

2. Condition - events in the past under which the action in the main part would have been possible.

Conditional sentences can begin with either a main clause or a condition.

Let's look at how each of these parts is formed.

Main part of the sentence

The main part contains an unreal action that could have happened in the past, but did not happen.

This part is formed using:

• would (also could, should, might)

That is, the diagram of this part will be as follows:

Actor + would + have + action in 3rd form

For example:

She would have won this competition….
She would have won these competitions...

I could have passed the exam….
I could pass this exam...

Conditional part of a sentence

This part contains a condition, upon the occurrence of which the events in the main part would occur.

In this part we use the Past Perfect tense, which is formed using:

• auxiliary verb had
• 3rd form of irregular verb or regular verb ending -ed

The conditional part always begins with the word if - “if”.

Let's look at the diagram of this part:

For example:

If she had worked hard...
If only she worked hard...

If they had bought the flat….
If they bought this apartment...

What do type 3 conditional sentences look like?

Now let's connect the two parts. We will get the following diagram:

Actor + would + have + action in 3rd form + if + actor + had + action in 3rd form

For example:

She would have succeeded if she had heard his advice.
She would have succeeded if she had listened to his advice.

I would have forgiven him if he had told me the truth.
I would forgive him if he told the truth.

We can swap the two parts, putting the condition first. Education rules will remain the same. Only a comma will be added to separate the two parts of the sentence.

The outline of such a proposal:

If + actor + had + action in 3rd form , actor + would + have + action in 3rd form

If you had asked me, I would have helped you.
If you asked me, I would help you.

If he had known her phone number, he would have called her.
If he knew her phone number, he would call her.

Negation in conditional sentences of the third type in English

In such sentences we can use negation:

• In the main part
• In the conditional part
• In both parts

Let's look at these cases separately.

Negation in the main part

In this case, we say that an action in the past would not have happened if certain events had occurred.

To make a negation in the main clause, we put not after would.

We can shorten: would + not = wouldn’t

The outline of such a proposal:

Actor + wouldn’t + have + action in 3rd form + if + actor + had + action in 3rd form

They wouldn't have been late if they had taken a taxi.
They wouldn't be late if they took a taxi.

She wouldn't have worked in the café if she had graduated from the university.
She wouldn't have worked in this cafe if she had graduated from university.

Negation in the conditional part

In this case, we say that an action in the past would have happened if certain events had not occurred.

To make the conditional part negative, we put not after had.

Abbreviation: had + not = hadn't

The outline of such a proposal:

If + actor + hadn’t + action in 3rd form, actor + would + have + action in 3rd form

If she hadn't made a mistake, we would have won.
If she hadn't made a mistake, we would have won.

If they hadn't helped us, we would have failed our exams.
If they had not helped us, we would have failed our exams.

Negation in both parts

In this case, we say that an action in the past would not have happened if certain events had not occurred.

The outline of such a proposal:

Actor + wouldn’t + have + action in 3rd form + if + actor + hadn’t + action in 3rd form

She wouldn't have been late if she hadn't missed a bus.
She wouldn't have been late if she hadn't missed the bus.

We wouldn't have met each other if we hadn't gone to that party.
We wouldn't have met each other if we hadn't gone to that party.

Question with conditional sentence type 3 in English

We can ask a question and find out whether something would happen if certain conditions were or were not met.

It should be remembered that in such sentences the question is asked only to the main part. To do this, you need to put would first in the sentence.

The outline of such a proposal:

Would + actor + have + action in 3rd form + if + actor + had + action in 3rd form?

Would she have got this job if she had known English?
Would she have gotten this position if she knew English?

Would they have helped if they had been with us?
Would they help if they were with us?

So, we've sorted out the theory. Now practice making such sentences yourself.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

1. He would not have made this mistake if he had more time.
2. She would have come if she hadn’t missed the train.
3. If he had told me about the meeting, I would have come.
4. Would she move if they got married?
5. If we had listened to you, we would have been home.