Unit 3: Conditionals

Conditional Sentences.

The use of the conditional means that one action depends on another. Conditionals are used to talk about real or unreal situations. In general, conditional sentences have the word "if" (Si).

Note that there is no verb tense for the conditional in English as there is in Spanish. At the same time, the auxiliary verb "would" is used to form the conditional in English.

There are four types of conditional sentences and the use of one or the other reflects the probability of the action.

 

Conditional Types: 

Zero Conditional.  

This type of conditional is used when the condition and the result is always true, such as scientific facts. 

The words or expressions with which it is usually identified are mainly: when, if, unless, among others.  

It is used to talk about situations or things that are always true.

The sentences used in this type of conditional are always in the present simple tense and are formulated as follows:

 

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• If + Conditional sentence + Main sentence

  If      you add two and five,     you get even 

  
  The clauses in this type of conditional are separated by the comma (,), which separates and indicates the order of the actions:
  
  Just like the previous sentence, these are situations that are always fulfilled or are universal truths in two ways:
   

  • Describing general scientific facts.

  • Indicating a condition and a result (or consequence).
    

  If the order of the sentence is reversed, the truth stated there remains universal. In this way, the meaning and its conditional form are still preserved, thus:

  •  Fase Inicial: If you chop onions, you cry. (Si picas cebollas, lloras)
    

  • Frase Inverida: You cry if you chop onions.(Tu lloras, si picas cebollas)  

     
    

    First Conditional.  

    The first conditional identifies that an event has the possibility of occurring in the future and is used when speaking of real or possible situations, as previously indicated, in the future. 

     

    

    
    

    For example:   

    If + Verb Present Simple + Future Simple (will)   

    -If it rains today, I'll stay home. (Si llueve hoy, me quedaré en casa) 

    -I'll stay home if it rains  (Me quedaré en casa si llueve hoy. 

    -If Bill studies, he will pass the exam. (Si Bill estudia, aprobará el examen)

    -Bill will pass the exam if he studies. (Bill aprobará el examen, si él estudia) 

  • Note: Some modal verbs can be used instead of "will" to change probability or express an opinion.

   

  Second Conditional.   

  Type 2 is used to express an unreal possibility in the present, such as a wish or a dream, or for an action in the not-so-probable future. 

   

  

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  • If + Verb in Past Simple + "Would" + Infinitive

  • Examples:  

    -If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world. (Si ganara la lotería, viajaría alrededor del mundo.) 

    -I would travel around the world if I won the lottery. (Viajaría alrededor del mundo si ganara la lotería) 

    Note: As in type 1, other modal verbs can be used instead of "would" to change the meaning and possibility.

   

  Third Conditional.

  Unlike types 1 and 2, the third type of conditional is used when we speak of a condition in the past that has not happened. 

   

  

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  If + Past Perfect + "would"/have + Past Participle.

  • If I had known then what I know now, I would have done things differently. (Si hubiera sabido entonces lo que sé ahora, habría hecho las cosas de otra manera)
    

  • I would have done things differently if I had known then what I know now.(Habría hecho las cosas de otra manera si hubiera sabido entonces lo que sé ahora.)