| Present |
| If I have time, I
study English. (Sometimes I have time.) [If / When ... SIMPLE PRESENT..., ... SIMPLE PRESENT ...] |
| Past |
| If Ihad time, I studied English. (Sometimes I had time.) [If / When ... SIMPLE PAST ..., ... SIMPLE PAST ...] or [... SIMPLE PAST... if / when ... SIMPLE PAST ...] |
| Future |
| If I have time, I will study English. If I have time, I am going to study English. (I don't know if I will have time or not.) [If / When ...SIMPLE PRESENT..., ... SIMPLE FUTURE.] or [... SIMPLE FUTURE... if / when ... SIMPLE PRESENT...] |
| Present |
| If I had time, I would study English. (I don't have time.) [If ... SIMPLE PAST ..., ... would + VERB ...] or [... would + VERB ... if ... SIMPLE PAST ...] |
| Past |
| If I had had time, I would have studied
English. Had I had time, I would have studied English. [If ... PAST PERFECT ..., ... would have + PAST PARTICIPLE ... ] or [... would have + PAST PARTICIPLE ... if ... PAST PERFECT ...] |
| Future |
| If I had time, I would study English. (I won't have time.) [If ... SIMPLE PAST ..., ... would + VERB ... ] or [If ... were VERB+ing ..., ... would be + VERB+ing ... ] or [If ... were going to VERB ..., ... would be + VERB+ing ... ] |
FORM
[If / When ... SIMPLE PRESENT..., ... SIMPLE PRESENT
...] or [... SIMPLE PRESENT ... if / when ... SIMPLE PRESENT...]
USE
The Present Real Conditional is used to talk about
what you normally do in real-life situations
EXAMPLES:
If I go to a friend's house for dinner, I
usually take
a bottle of wine or some flowers.
When I have a day off
from work, I often go
to the beach.
If
the weather is nice, she walks
to work.
Jerry helps me with my homework when he
has time.
I read if
there is
nothing on TV.
What do you
do when it rains ? I stay at
home.
Where do you stay if you
go to Sydney? I stay with my friends near the
harbor.
IMPORTANT
If / When Both "if" and
"when" are used in the Present Real Conditional.
Using "if"
suggests that something happens less frequently.
Using
"when" suggests that something happens
regularly.
EXAMPLES:
When I have a day off from work, I usually go
to the beach. (I regularly have days off from work.)
If I have a day off
from work, I usually go to the beach. (I rarely have days off from work.)
FORM
[If ... SIMPLE PAST ..., ... would + VERB ...] or
[... would + VERB ... if ... SIMPLE PAST ...]
USE
The Present Unreal Conditional is used to talk about
what you would do in imaginary situations in general.
EXAMPLES:
If I had a car, I would
drive to work. But I
don't have a car.
She
would travel around the world if she had more money.
But she doesn't have much money.
I would
read more if I didn't have a TV.
Mary would move to Japan if she
spoke Japanese.
If they
worked harder, they would earn
more money.
What would you do if you
won the lottery? I
would travel.
Where
would you live if you moved
to the U.S.? I would live in
Seattle.
EXCEPTION If I were ...
In the
Present Unreal Conditional, the form "was" is not considered grammatically
correct.
In written English or
in testing situations, you should always use "were
."
However, in everyday conversation, "was " is often used.
EXAMPLES:
If he were French, he would
live in Paris.
If she were
rich, she would buy a yacht.
I
would play basketball if I were
taller.
I would buy that computer if it
were cheaper.
I would
buy that computer if it was cheaper. NOT CORRECT
(But often said in conversation.)
EXCEPTION Conditional with Modal
Verbs
There are some special Conditional
forms for modal verbs in English:
EXAMPLES:
If I went to Egypt, I would can
learn
Arabic. NOT CORRECT
If I went to Egypt, I could
learn
Arabic. CORRECT
If she had time, she would may
go to
the party. NOT CORRECT
If she had time, she
might go
to the party. CORRECT
IMPORTANT Only use "If"
Only the
word "if" is used with the Present Unreal Conditional because you are discussing
imaginary situations. "When" cannot be used.
FORM
[If / When ... SIMPLE PAST ..., ... SIMPLE PAST
...] or
[... SIMPLE PAST... if / when ... SIMPLE PAST ...]
USE
The Past Real Conditional describes what you used to
do in particular real life situations. It suggests that your habits have changed
and you do not usually do these things today.
EXAMPLES:
If I went to a friend's house for dinner,
I usually took
a bottle of wine or some flowers. I don't do that anymore.
When I had a day
off from work, I often went
to the beach. Now, I never get time off.
If the weather
was nice, she often walked to work. Now, she usually drives.
Jerry always helped me
with my homework when he had time. But he doesn't do
that anymore.
I usually read if there
was nothing on TV.
What did you
usually do when it rained
? I usually stayed at home.
IMPORTANT Used to
The form "Used
to" is often used to emphasize that the past action was a habit. If you are not
familiar with the form "Used to," you can read about it in the English Page's
"Used to Page."
EXAMPLES:
If I went to a friends house for dinner, I
used to take
a bottle of wine or some flowers. I don't do that anymore.
When I had a day
off from work, I used to go
to the beach. Now, I never get time off.
If the weather
was nice, she used to walk to work. Now, she usually
drives.
Jerry used to help me
with my homework when he had time. But he
doesn't do that anymore.
What did you do when it
rained? I used to stay at
home.
IMPORTANT If / When
Both "if" and
"when" are used in the Past Real Conditional.
Using "if" suggests that
something happened less frequently.
Using "when" suggests that something
happened regularly.
FORM
[If ... PAST PERFECT ..., ... would have + PAST
PARTICIPLE ... ] or [... would have + PAST PARTICIPLE ... if ... PAST PERFECT
...]
USE
The Past Unreal Conditional is used to talk about
imaginary situations in the past. You can describe what you would have done
differently or how something could have happened differently if circumstances
had been different
EXAMPLES:
If I had had a car, I would have
driven to
work. But I didn't have one, so I took the bus.
She would have traveled around the world
if she had had
more money. But she didn't have much money, so
she never traveled.
I would have read
more as a child if I hadn't had a TV.
Unfortunately, I did have a TV, so I never read for entertainment.
Mary
would have gotten the job and moved to Japan
if she had studied
Japanese in
school instead of French.
If they had worked harder, they
would have earned
more money. Unfortunately, they were lazy and they didn't earn much.
What would you
have done if you had won
the lottery last week? I would have traveled.
What city
would you have chosen if you had
decided to move to the United
States? I would have chosen Seattle.
EXCEPTION Conditional with Modal
Verbs
There are some special Conditional forms for modal
verbs in English:
The words "can," "shall" and "may" must be used in these special forms; they cannot be used with "would."
EXAMPLES:
If I had gone to Egypt, I could
have learned
Arabic. CORRECT
If she had
had time, she might have gone
to the party. CORRECT
If I
had had more time, I would have could exercise
after work. NOT CORRECT
If I had had more time, I could
have exercised after work. CORRECT
If he had
invited you, you would have might go .
NOT CORRECT
If he
had invited you, you might have gone
. CORRECT
IMPORTANT Only use "If"
Only the
word "if" is used with the Past Unreal Conditional because you are discussing
imaginary situations. "When" cannot be used.
EXAMPLES:
I would have bought that computer when it
had been
cheaper. NOT CORRECT
I would have bought
that computer if it had been
cheaper. CORRECT
FORM
[If / When ...SIMPLE PRESENT..., ... SIMPLE
FUTURE.] or [... SIMPLE FUTURE... if / when ... SIMPLE PRESENT...]
Notice
that there is no future in the "If" or "When" clause.
USE
The Future Real Conditional describes what you think
you will do in a specific situation in the future. It is different from other
real conditional forms because, unlike the present or the past, you do not know
what will happen in the future. Although this form is called a "real
conditional," you are usually imagining or guessing about the future. It is
called "real" because it is still possible that the action might occur in the
future. Carefully study the following examples and compare them to the Future
Unreal Conditional described below.
EXAMPLES:
If I go to my friend's house for dinner
tonight, I will take
a bottle of wine or some flowers. (I am still not sure if I
will go to his house or not.)
When
I have a day off from work, I am going
to go
to the beach. (I have to wait until I have a day off.)
If the weather is nice, she is
going to walk
to work. (It depends on the weather.)
Jerry will help me with my homework when
he has time
. (I have to wait until he has time.)
I am going to read if there
is nothing on TV. (It depends on the TV
schedule.)
What are you going to do
if it rains ? I am going to stay at home.
IMPORTANT If / When
Both "if" and
"when" are used in the Future Real Conditional, but the use is different from
other real conditionals. In the Future Real Conditional, "if" suggests that you
do not know if something will happen or not. "When" suggests that something will
definitely happen at some point; we are simply waiting for it to occur. Notice
also that the Simple Future is not used in "if' clauses or "when" clauses.
EXAMPLES:
When you call me, I will give you the address.
(You are going to call me later, and at that time, I will give you the address.)
If you call me, I will give you the address. (If you want the address, you
can call me.)
FORM 1 (MOST COMMON FORM)
[If ... SIMPLE PAST ..., ...
would + VERB ... ] or [... would + VERB ... if ... SIMPLE PAST ...]
Notice
the form looks the same as Present Unreal Conditional.
USE
The Future Unreal Conditional is used to talk about
imaginary situations in the future. It is not as common as the Future Real
Conditional because most English speakers leave open the possibility that
anything MIGHT happen in the future. It is only used when a speaker needs to
emphasize that something is impossible.
EXAMPLES:
If I had a day off from
work next week, I would go
to the beach. (I don't have a day off from work.)
I am busy next week. If I had
time, I would come
to your party. (I can't come.)
Jerry would help me with my homework
tomorrow if he didn't have to
work. (He does have to
work tomorrow.)
FORM 2 (COMMON)
[If ... were VERB+ing ..., ... would be
+ VERB+ing ... ] or [... would be + VERB+ing ... if ... were VERB+ing ...]
USE
Form 2 of the Future Unreal Conditional is also used
to talk about imaginary situations in the future. Native speakers use this form
rather than Form 1 to emphasize that the Conditional form is a plan in the same
way Present Continuous is used to indicate a plan in the future. To learn more
about Present Continuous, visit Englishpage.com's Present Continuous Page. Also
notice in the examples below that this form can be used in the "If" Clause, the
Result, or both parts of the sentence.
EXAMPLES:
If I were going to Fiji next week, I
would be taking
my scuba diving gear with me. IN IF CLAUSE AND RESULT (I am not going to
go to Fiji and I am not going to take my scuba gear with me.)
If I were not visiting my
grandmother tomorrow, I would help
you study. IF CLAUSE (I am going
to visit my grandmother tomorrow.) I am busy next week.
If I had time, I would be
coming
to your party. RESULT (I am not going to come to your party.)
FORM 3 (COMMON)
[If ... were going to VERB ..., ...
would be + VERB+ing ... ] or [... would be + VERB+ing ... if ... were going to +
VERB ...]
USE
Form 3 of the Future Unreal Conditional is also used
to talk about imaginary situations in the future. Native speakers use this form
rather than Form 1 to emphasize that the Conditional form is a plan or
prediction in the same way "Going To" is used to indicate a plan or prediction.
To learn more about Going To, visit Englishpage.com's Simple Future Page. In
many sentences, Form 2 and Form 3 are interchangeable. Also notice in the
examples below that this form can be used in the If Clause, the Result, or both
parts of the sentence. NOTICE Form 3 is only different from Form 2 in the "If"
Clause.
EXAMPLES:
If I were going to go to Fiji next week, I
would be taking
my scuba diving gear with me. IN IF CLAUSE AND RESULT (I am not
going to go to Fiji and I am not going to take my scuba gear with me.)
If I were not going to visit
my grandmother tomorrow, I would help
you study. IF
CLAUSE (I am going to visit my grandmother tomorrow.)
I am busy
next week. If I had time, I would be coming
to your party. RESULT (I am not going to come
to your party.)
EXCEPTION Conditional with Modal
Verbs
There are some special Conditional forms for modal
verbs in English:
The words "can," "shall" and "may" must be used in these special forms; they cannot be used with "would."
EXAMPLES:
If I went to Egypt next year, I
would can learn
Arabic. Unfortunately, that's not possible. NOT
CORRECT
If I went to Egypt next year, I
could learn Arabic.
Unfortunately, that's not possible. CORRECT