THIRD CONDITIONAL

Third Conditional: no possibility

EXERCISE ONE

EXERCISE TWO 

EXERCISE THREE 

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.
Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(

	condition	result
	Past Perfect	WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If	I had won the lottery	I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF	condition	result
	past perfect	WOULD HAVE + past participle
If	I had seen Mary	I would have told her.
If	Tara had been free yesterday	I would have invited her.
If	they had not passed their exam	their teacher would have been sad.
If	it had rained yesterday	would you have stayed at home?
If	it had rained yesterday	what would you have done?

 

result	IF	condition
WOULD HAVE + past participle		past perfect
I would have told Mary	if	I had seen her.
I would have invited Tara	if	she had been free yesterday.
Their teacher would have been sad	if	they had not passed their exam.
Would you have stayed at home	if	it had rained yesterday?
What would you have done	if	it had rained yesterday?

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SECOND CONDITIONAL

Second conditional

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The Second Conditional is used to talk about 'impossible' situations.

• If we were in London today, we would be able to go to the concert in Hyde Park.
• If I had millions dollars, I'd give a lot to charity.
• If there were no hungry people in this world, it would be a much better place.
• If everyone had clean water to drink, there would be a lot less disease.

Note that after I / he/ she /it we often use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was'. (Some people think that 'were' is the only 'correct' form but other people think 'was' is equally 'correct' .)

• If she were happy in her job, she wouldn't be looking for another one.
• If I lived in Japan, I'd have sushi every day.
• If they were to enter our market, we'd have big problems.

Note the form 'If I were you' which is often used to give advice.

• If I were you, I'd look for a new place to live.
• If I were you, I'd go back to school and get more qualifications.

The Second Conditional is also used to talk about 'unlikely' situations.

• If I went to China, I'd visit the Great Wall.
• If I was the President, I'd reduce taxes.
• If you were in my position, you'd understand.

Note that the choice between the first and the second conditional is often a question of the speaker's attitude rather than of facts. Compare these examples. Otto thinks these things are possible, Peter doesn't.

• Otto – If I win the lottery, I'll buy a big house.
• Peter – If I won the lottery, I'd buy a big house.
• Otto – If I get promoted, I'll throw a big party.
• Peter – If I got promoted, I'd throw a big party.
• Otto – If my team win the Cup, I'll buy champagne for everybody.
• Peter – If my team won the Cup, I'd buy champagne for everybody.

Note that the 'If clause' can contain the past simple or the past continuous.

• If I was still working in Brighton, I would commute by train.
• If she were coming, she would be here by now.
• If they were thinking of selling, I would want to buy.

Note that the main clause can contain 'would' 'could' or 'might.

• If I had the chance to do it again, I would do it differently.
• If we met up for lunch, we could go to that new restaurant.
• If I spoke to him directly, I might be able to persuade him.

Also note that sometimes the 'if clause' is implied rather than spoken.

• What would I do without you? ("if you weren't here")
• Where would I get one at this time of night? ("if I wanted one")
• He wouldn't agree. ("if I asked him")

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

exercise 6

FIRST AND ZERO CONDITIONALS

First Conditional: real possibility

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

IF	condition	result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	it rains	I will stay at home.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?):

IF	condition	result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	I see Mary	I will tell her.
If	Tara is free tomorrow	he will invite her.
If	they do not pass their exam	their teacher will be sad.
If	it rains tomorrow	will you stay at home?
If	it rains tomorrow	what will you do?

 

result	IF	condition
WILL + base verb		present simple
I will tell Mary	if	I see her.
He will invite Tara	if	she is free tomorrow.
Their teacher will be sad	if	they do not pass their exam.
Will you stay at home	if	it rains tomorrow?
What will you do	if	it rains tomorrow?

The Zero Conditional

We can make a zero conditional sentence with two present simple verbs (one in the 'if clause' and one in the 'main clause'):

• If + present simple, .... present simple.

This conditional is used when the result will always happen. So, if water reaches 100 degrees, it always boils. It's a fact. I'm talking in general, not about one particular situation. The result of the 'if clause' is always the main cluase. The 'if' in this conditional can usually be replaced by 'when' without changing the meaning.
For example: If water reaches 100 degrees, it boils. (It is always true, there can't be a different result sometimes). If I eat peanuts, I am sick. (This is true only for me, maybe, not for everyone, but it's still true that I'm sick every time I eat peanuts)
Here are some more examples:

• If people eat too much, they get fat.
• If you touch a fire, you get burned.
• People die if they don't eat.
• You get water if you mix hydrogen and oxygen.
• Snakes bite if they are scared
• If babies are hungry, they cry

EXERCISE ONE 

EXERCISE TWO 

EXERCISE THREE 

EXERCISE FOUR (ZERO CONDITIONAL) 

 

 

EXÀMENES DE ENERO

NIVEL INTERMEDIO 1, 
GRUPO NI1A (TURNO DE MAÑANA):

MIERCOLES 14 Y LUNES 19 DE ENERO, PRUEBAS ESCRITAS.

MIERCOLES  21 Y LUNES 26, EXÁMENES ORALES.

MUST, HAVE TO, SHOULD (OBLIGATION)

Modal Verbs of Obligation

We can use have to + infinitive, must + infinitive and should + infinitive to express obligation (something you have to do).

Present	Positive	Negative
have to / don’t have to	strong obligation (possibly from outside) Children have to go to school. (sometimes ‘have got to’)	no obligation I don’t have to work on Sundays. You don’t have to eat anything you don’t like.
must / mustn’t	strong obligation (possibly based on the speaker’s opinion) I must study today.	negative obligation You mustn’t smoke here.
should / shouldn’t	mild obligation or advice You should save some money.	mild negative obligation or advice You shouldn’t smoke so much.

Be careful about the difference between mustn't and don't have to!
Mustn't means it's not allowed, or it's a bad idea:

• You mustn't eat so much chocolate, you'll be sick

Don't have to means you don't need to do something, but it's fine if you want to do it:

• I don't have to get up early at the weekend
  (of course, if I want to get up early, that's fine, but I can stay in bed if I want

Past	Positive	Negative
had to / didn’t have to	obligation in the past I had to go to wear a school uniform when I was a child.	no obligation in the past We didn’t have to go to school on Saturdays.
must*	changes to 'had to'	-
should have + pp / shouldn’t have + pp	a past action which didn’t happen: the advice / regret is too late You should have gone to bed earlier, now you have missed the train.	a past action which didn’t happen: the advice / regret is too late You shouldn’t have taken that job., it was a bad idea.

* Remember ‘must have done’ is a modal verb of deduction or speculation, not obligation in the past. For example: Julie must have left. Her coat’s not here.


EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO
EXERCISE THREE