Definition of Conditional Sentence – Everyone must have imagined. If it didn’t rain this morning, I would go to the park today, if I had money I would buy a new car. Supposedly like that of course can not be separated from everyday life is not it. Then what about the conditional in English?
How do you express supposition? In English, presuppositions can be expressed in conditional sentences. However, conditional sentences are not only used to express suppositions. Conditional sentences themselves have several types and are used with different conditions as well. To understand more about conditional sentences, see the text below.
Definition of Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences are compound sentences that have a condition about imagination, supposition, and something that has never happened. This presupposition expressed may or may not materialize.
Conditional sentences consist of independent clauses and dependent clauses which usually start with the word ‘if’ or if. A sentence that consists of both clauses can then be called a conditional sentence. However, there are some sentences that can be started with ‘when’ or when.
The form of a conditional sentence is an if-clause + main clause. if clause is a clause that is part of the conditional. main clause is a sentence that contains the consequences of the conditional presupposition at the beginning of the sentence. Besides that, the conditional sentence formula can also be reversed into a main clause + if-clause.
Examples of conditional sentences:
a. If i save enough money, i can go to Bali this year = If i save enough money, i can go to Bali this year.
(the beginning of this sentence is an if – clause followed by the main clause)
b. My sister can have dessert if she finishes her homework . = My sister can get dessert if she finishes her homework.
(beginning of the sentence is the main clause, and followed by if – clause)
However, before you can compose good sentences, you must first understand grammar in English. You can use the Smart Trick Grammar book to learn various tips and tricks for understanding grammar easily.
Conditional Sentence Types
After understanding what a conditional sentence is, you must also understand the types of conditional sentences. This is because so you can use it correctly according to the circumstances and conditions that exist. Because of the many types of conditional sentences, many English users have difficulty and are not used to using them. Therefore, consider the types of conditional sentences below.
With so many types of conditional sentences, there are also various sentence elements, variations of expressions, and much more for you to learn. All of these things have been summarized into one in the book Sentence Writing: Exploration of Models and Practice.
1. Conditional Sentence Type 0
For the first type, it is actually still simple and very easy to understand. Conditional sentence zero is used to express a fact with the formula “if…then…”. In Indonesian, for example, “if it rains, the streets will get wet”, ‘if it’s hot, the clothesline dries quickly’ and so on.
These two sentences are called conditional sentence zero because they express a common fact that many people already know. Conditional sentence zero is usually found in the present tense.
Formula: if + simple present, simple present
simple present + if + simple present
Example of sentences:
a. if you drink a glass of milk before sleep, you sleep well = If you drink a glass of milk before bed, you will sleep well.
(The sentence above is a fact, many people already know the fact that drinking milk before going to bed can make you sleep better)
b. If it rains, the road gets wet. = if it rains, the streets get wet.
(This is of course commonplace and people should know this fact)
c. If you stare at the sun too long, your eyes will be damaged. = If you stare at the sun for too long, your eyes will be damaged.
d. When she goes on a trip, she always takes lots of videos. = When he travels, he always takes a lot of videos.
e. If you heat the water to 110 degrees, it boils. = If you heat water to 110 degrees, it will boil.
2. Conditional Sentence Type 1
Conditional sentence type 1, or first conditional sentence is a form of conditional sentence that is used to express when the consequences or results are likely to occur in the future. This can happen because it is still realistic or makes sense for the possibility of this supposition to occur. Therefore, the first conditional sentence uses sentences with the simple future.
Formula: if + simple present, simple future tense
simple future + if + simple present
Example of sentences:
a. If you tell your mom the truth, she will forgive you. = If you tell your mother the truth, she will forgive you.
(the sentence above states that there is still a possibility that if he is honest with his mother, there is still a possibility that his mother will forgive him)
b. If I win the lottery, I will take you to Paris. = If I win the lottery, I will take you to Paris.
(The sentence above implies that the speaker entered the lottery, and if he wins, he will take his friend to Paris. But it means that there is a possibility that he will lose the lottery, so he and his friend do not go to Paris.)
c. If I come home late, I will get in trouble. = If I come home late, I will get into trouble.
(The condition is that the speaker will get in trouble if he gets home late, but if he doesn’t, then he won’t get in trouble.)
d. I will buy you a pizza if you wait for me a little longer. = I’ll buy you a pizza if you wait a little longer.
In addition, the first conditional sentence can also be used to give instructions or advice. However, what is used is not ‘will’ anymore, but the imperative mood. The imperative is the form of the verb, more precisely the mood. This form expresses an explicit order, demand, command, request and so on.
e. If you don’t like coffee, don’t drink it. = If you don’t like coffee, don’t drink it.
f. Listen to me carefully if you don’t want to miss something. = Listen to me carefully if you don’t want to miss anything.
3. Conditional Sentences Type 2
Conditional sentence type 2, or second conditional sentence is a conditional sentence that is used to express when a consequence or result can occur even though the possibility is very small for that to happen. The second conditional sentence is very suitable to be used to express dreams and wishes. Even though it may not necessarily happen, it could happen. The second conditional sentence uses would, could and might which are used to explain how much the condition will occur.
Formula: if + past tense, past future
past future + if + past tense
Example of sentences:
a. If I become the President of this country, I will pay more attention to the education sector. = If I become the president of this country, I will pay more attention to the education sector.
(The sentence above of course expresses a supposition about what the speaker wants to do if he becomes president. He uses the second conditional sentence, meaning he thinks that his dream of becoming president is just wishful thinking.)
b. If I owned an amusement park, I might open it up to 24 hours. = If I had an amusement park, I might open it up to 24 hours.
(From the sentence above, we can know that the speaker doesn’t have an amusement park, and it’s possible that it could happen, but the probability of that dream happening is very small.)
c. If I won the lottery, I would go on a trip around the world with you.
(The sentence above means that he will take his friends around the world if he wins the lottery, but the probability is very small that the speaker wins the lottery.)
When using the second conditional sentence to give advice, usually use the phrase ‘if i were’,
d. I wouldn’t be thinking about it if I were you. = I wouldn’t think about that if I were you.
e. If I were you, I would continue my study to get a master’s degree. = If I were you, I would continue my studies to get a master’s degree.
4. Conditional Sentence Type 3
Conditional sentence type 3 or third conditional sentence is a conditional sentence that is used when you want to express a condition that is not possible at all. This is because the conditions expressed are simply impossible, or just an imagination.
This third conditional sentence also expresses something that is contrary to what has happened in the past. In conditional sentences of type three, the past perfect tense is used and an auxiliary modal (would, should, could) is also added.
Formula: if + past perfect, future perfect
future perfect + if + past perfect
Example of sentences:
a. If my grades were good, I would have gotten a better job. = If my grades were good, I would have gotten a better job.
(From this sentence we can see that the speaker did not have good grades during his studies, and he is currently not getting a job that he thinks is good.)
b. If I hadn’t broken my arm, I would have traveled to Bali with my boyfriend. = If I didn’t break my hand, I would definitely go to Bali with my boyfriend.
(from this sentence we know that she can’t go to Bali with her boyfriend, it’s just wishful thinking because the speaker has broken her hand so she can’t go anywhere.)
c. If she had taken the bus, she wouldn’t have had a car accident. = If only he had taken the bus, he wouldn’t have had a car accident.
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Examples of Conditional Sentence Questions and Answers
- If I have time, I (go) camping with you. = If I have time, I will go camping with you.
- If you (speak) Japanese, you will get along with my family perfectly. = If you can speak Japanese, you will get along with my family really well.
- If we had gone for a walk, we (turned off) the lights off. = If we go for a walk, we turn off the lights.
- If my mom (come) to see us, we will go to the beach. = If my mother comes to visit us, we will go to the beach.
- I would have told you if I (see) her. = I will tell you if I see him.
- Would you mind if I (open) the door?= Do you mind if I open the door?
- If Rina and John (invited) me, I would not have said no. = If Rina and John invited me, I would not say no.
- My sister (will meet) me at the airport if she gets the afternoon off. = My sister will meet me at the airport if she has an afternoon off.
- If i (did not do it), my brother would do it. = If I don’t do it, my brother will.
- If my mom (does not pick up) me up, I’ll take the subway home. = If my mom doesn’t pick me up, I’ll take the subway home.
- If Jane eats too much cheese, she (will) get sick. = If Jane eats a lot of cheese, she will get sick.
- If you (don’t study), you will fail the math exam. = If you don’t study, you will fail the math test.
- If I (leave) my job, I could travel around the world. = If I leave my job, I can travel the world.
- It (would be) nice if the rain stopped. = It would be better if the rain stopped.
- If she (not asleep) fell asleep while driving, she wouldn’t have crashed her car. = If he hadn’t fallen asleep while driving, he wouldn’t have crashed his car.
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Answer:
- If I had time, I would go camping with you. = If I have time, I will go camping with you.
- If you speak Japanese, you will get along with my family perfectly. = If you can speak Japanese, you will get along with my family really well.
- If we had gone for a walk, we would have turned the lights off. = If we go for a walk, we turn off the lights.
- If my mom comes to see us, we will go to the beach. = If my mom comes to see us, we will go to the beach.
- I would have told you if I had seen her. = I will tell you if I see him.
- Would you mind if I opened the door? = Do you mind if I open the door?
- If Rina and John had invited me, I would not have said no. = If Rina and John invite me, I won’t say no.
- My sister will meet me at the airport if she gets the afternoon off. = My sister will meet me at the airport if she has an afternoon off.
- If I didn’t do it, my brother would do it. = If I don’t do it, my brother will.
- If my mom doesn’t pick me up, I’ll take the subway home. = If my mom doesn’t pick me up, I’ll take the subway home.
- If Jane eats too much cheese, she gets sick. = If Jane eats a lot of cheese, she will get sick.
- If you don’t study, you will fail the math exam. = If you don’t study, you will fail the math test.
- If I left my job, I could travel around the world. = If I leave my job, I can travel the world.
- It would be nice if the rain stopped. = It would be better if the rain stopped.
- If she hadn’t fallen asleep while driving, she wouldn’t have crashed her car. = If he hadn’t fallen asleep while driving, he wouldn’t have crashed his car.
That’s an explanation of conditional sentences that you can learn. If you want to learn more about grammar, you can get the best collection of English books at www.sinaumedia.com . sinaumedia is always #FriendsWithoutLimits so you can be more fluent in English.