CONDITIONALS
1.- Present real conditional or Zero Conditional
FORM: [If / When + Simple Present, Simple Present ] or [Simple Present + if / when Simple
Present]
(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.)
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.
2.- Present Unreal Conditional or Second Conditional
FORM: [If + Simple Past , would + verb ] or [ would + verb, if + Simple Past]
(Excepcion 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' or 'I would play basketball if I were taller'.
Only the word "if" is used with the Present Unreal Conditional because you are discussing
imaginary situations. "When" cannot be used.
There are some special conditional forms for modal verbs in English: would + can = could ; would
+ shall = should ; would + may = might .The words "can," "shall" and "may" cannot be used with
"would” )
USE: The Present Unreal Conditional is used to talk about what you would generally do in
imaginary situations.
Examples:
•If I owned a car, I would drive to work. But I don't own 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 watch so much TV.
3.- Past Real Conditional
FORM: [If / When + Simple Past , Simple Past ] or [Simple Past if / when + Simple Past ]
(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.
You can also use the form "used to", which expresses the idea that something was an old habit
that stopped in the past. This form is commonly used in Past Real Conditional sentences to
emphasize that something was a habit. Examples: 'If I went to a friend's house for dinner, I used to
take a bottle of wine or some flowers. I don't do that anymore' or 'When I had a day off from work, I
used to go to the beach. Now, I never get time off'. These examples have the same meaning as the
examples below)
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.
4.- Past Unreal Conditional or Third Conditional
