conditional sentence

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Dastuti Danial ( 20208301 ) 3EB04

Conditional Sentence

a. Definition and Function

Definition

(According to AS Hornby) Conditional sentence are a sentence depending upon, containing, a condition beginning with if or unless.

(According to Azar) Contrary – to – fact sentence with an “if – clause” and a “result clause” are called conditional sentence.

Function

Often used to talk about situations that are contrary to the fact, situations that are the opposite of the true situation.

b. Types of Conditional Sentence and examples

Conditional Sentence Type I (Future Possible)

Pattern : If + Simple Present, Future Tense

Ex :

① If Dita get a good mark in her English test, she wil very happy.

Fact : Dita has not got the English test result yet. However it’s possible that she get a good mark. And when it happens Dita will very happy.

②If you arrive earlier, you will see the procession.

Fact : You has not arrived yet. However it’s possible that you arrive earlier. And when it happens you will see the procession.

Conditional Sentence Type II (Present Unreal)

Pattern : If + Simple Past, Past Future

Even though this type using the simple past, this has nothing to do with the past activities, make statement about things that are not real or are not known to be true. Some statement in this type are impossible to realize at any time in the present or future.

Ex :

① If Dita got a good mark in her English test, she would be very happy.

Fact : Dita is not happy because she doesn’t get a good mark in English test.

② If you arrived earlier, you would see the procession.

Fact : You don’t see the procession because you don’t arrive earlier.

Conditional Sentence Type III (Past Unreal)

This type expresses something what might have happen or what might happen in thee present time if only something had happened or had not happen in the way it did.

Pattern : If + Past Perfect, Past Future Perfect

Ex :

① If Dita had gotten a good mark in her English test, she would have been very happy.

Fact : Dita didn’t be very happy because she didn’t get a good mark in English test.

② If you had arrived earlier, you would have seen the procession.

Fact : You didn’t see the procession because you didn’t arrive earlier.

c. Related with Conditional Sentence

Some conditional sentence beginning with if suggest that a situation is real – that is, the situation is or was true, or may have been or may become true :

· If anyone phones, tell them I’ll back at 11.00.

· If you really want to learn Italian, you need to spend some time in Italy.

Other suggest that a situation is unreal – that is, the situation is imaginary or untrue :

· What would you do if you won the lottery ?

· If you had started out earlier, you wouldn’t have been so late.

Compare :

· If I go to Berlin, I’ll travel by train. (= real condition) and

· If I went to Berlin, I’d travel by train (= unreal condition)

In the first, the speaker is thinking of going to Berlin (it is a real future possibility), but in the second, the speaker is not thinking of doing so. The second might be giving someone advice.

Real Conditionals

In real conditionals we use tenses as in other kinds of sentences : we use present tenses to talk about the present or unchanging relationships, and past tenses to talk about the past :

· If you leave now, you’ll be home in two hours.

· If I made the wrong decision then I apologise.

· If water is frozen, it expands.

However, when we talk about the future, we use a preset tense, not will :

· I’ll give you a lift if it rains. (not ...if it will rain)

Unreal Conditionals

In unreal conditionals, to talk about present or future situations, we use a past tense (either simple or continuous) in the if – clause and would + bare infinitive in the main clause :

· If my grandfather was / were still alive, he would be a hundred today.

· If you were driving from London to Glasgow, which way would you go?

· I’d (= would) offer to give you a lift if I had my car here.

Notice that we sometimes use if...were instead of if...was. when we talk about something that might have happened in the past, but didn’t, then we use if + past perfect and would have + past participle in the main clause :

· If I had known how difficult the job was, I wouldn’t have taken it.

· If she hadn’t been ill, she would have gone to the concert.

In unreal conditionals, we can also use could / might / should (have) instead of would (have) :

· If I lived out of town, I could take up gardening.

· They might ave found a better hotel if they had driven a few more kilometers.

In some unreal conditionals we use mixed tenses. That is, a past tense in the if – clause and would have + past participle in the main clause, or a past perfect in the clause and would + bare infinitive in the main clause :

· If Bob wasn’t so lazy, he would have passed the exam easily.

· If the doctor had been called earlier, she would still be alive today.

Notice that in unreal conditional sentences :

§ We don’t use the past simple or past perfect in the main clause :

· If we were serious about pollution, we would spend more money on research. (not ...we spent... or ...we had spent...).

§ We don’t use would in an if – clause :

· If I had a more realiable car, I’d drive to Spain rather than fly. (not If I would have...)

In unreal conditionals we use if...were + to – infinitive to talk about imaginary future situations :

· If the technology were to become available, we would be able to expand the business.

· If he were to have a chance of success, he would need to move to London.

However, notice that we can’t use this pattern with many verbs that describe a state, including know, like, remember, understand :

· If I knew they were honest, I’d gladly lend them the money. (not If I were to know...)

We sometimes use this pattern to make a suggestion sound more polite :

· If I were to move over, we could all sit on the sofa.

If the first verb in conditional if – clause is should, were, or had we can leave out if and put the verb at the start of the clause. We do this particularly in formal or literary English :

· Should any of this cost you anything, send me the bill. (= If any of this should cost...)

· It would be embarrassing, were she to find out the truh. (= ...if she were to find out...)

· Had they not rushed Dan to hospital, he would have died. (= If they hadn’t rushed Dan...)

We use if it was / were not for + noun to say that one situation is dependent on another situation or on a person. When we talk about the past we use If it had not been for + noun :

· If it wasn’t / weren’t for Vivian, the conferrence wouldn’t be going ahead.

· If it hadn’t been for my parents, I would never have gone to university.

In formal and literary language we can also use Were it not for... and Had it not been for...:

· Were it not for Vivian...

· Had it not been for my parents...

We often use but for + noun with a similar meaning :

· But for Jim’s support, I wouldn’t have got the job. (= If it hadn’t been for Jim...)

We don’t usually use if...will in conditional sentences. However, we can use if...will when we talk about a result of something in the main clause. Compare :

· Open a window if it will help you to sleep. Or ...if it helps you to sleep.

(‘Helping you to sleep’ is the result of opening the window.)

· I will be angry if it turns out that you are wrong. Not ‘...if it will turn out...’

(‘Turning out that you are wrong’ is not the result of being angry.)

We also use if...will in requests :

· If you will take your seats, ladies and gentlemen, we can begin the meeting.

If you want to make a request more polite, you can use if...would :

· If you would take your seats, ladies and gentlemen...

In a real conditional sentences, we use if...happen to, if...should, or if...should happen to to talk about something which may be possible, but is not very likely. If...happen to is most common in spoken English:

· If you happen to be in our area, drop in and see us. (or If you should (happen to) be...)

Notice that we don’t usually use this pattern in unreal conditionals which talk about impossible states or events in the if – clause :

· If the North Sea froze in winter, you could walk from London to Oslo. (not if the North Sea happened to freeze / should (happen to) freeze in winter...)