What if clause

Offices Find an office near you. About EF Who we are. Careers Join the team. Resources for learning English. Test your English. Type 3 conditional Form In a type 3 conditional sentence, the tense in the "if" clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the main clause is the perfect conditional or the perfect continuous conditional.

Examples If it had rained, you would have gotten wet. You would have gotten wet if it had rained. You would have passed your exam if you had worked harder. If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam. When people smoke cigarettes, their health suffers. There are a couple of things to take note of in the above sentences in which the zero conditional is used. First, when using the zero conditional, the correct tense to use in both clauses is the simple present tense.

A common mistake is to use the simple future tense. When people smoke cigarettes, their health will suffer. Secondly, notice that the words if and when can be used interchangeably in these zero conditional sentences. First conditional sentences are used to express situations in which the outcome is likely but not guaranteed to happen in the future. Look at the examples below:. If you rest, you will feel better. Note that we use the simple present tense in the if-clause and simple future tense in the main clause—that is, the clause that expresses the likely outcome.

This is how we indicate that under a certain condition as expressed in the if-clause , a specific result will likely happen in the future. Examine some of the common mistakes people make using the first conditional structure:.

If you will rest , you will feel better. If you rest , you will feel better. Explanation: Use the simple present tense in the if-clause. If you set your mind to a goal, you eventually achieve it. Explanation: Use the zero conditional i. If the result is likely, use the first conditional i. Farther , farthest or further , furthest?

Fast , quick or quickly? Fell or felt? Female or feminine ; male or masculine? Finally , at last , lastly or in the end? First , firstly or at first? Fit or suit? Following or the following? For or since? Forget or leave? Full or filled? Fun or funny? Get or go? Grateful or thankful? Hear or listen to? High or tall? Historic or historical? House or home? How is …? If or when? If or whether? Ill or sick? Imply or infer? In the way or on the way? Late or lately? Lay or lie?

Lend or borrow? Less or fewer? Look at , see or watch? Low or short? Man , mankind or people? Maybe or may be? Maybe or perhaps? Nearest or next? Never or not … ever? Nice or sympathetic? No doubt or without doubt? No or not? Nowadays , these days or today? Open or opened? Opportunity or possibility? Opposite or in front of? Other , others , the other or another?

Out or out of? Permit or permission? Person , persons or people? Pick or pick up? Play or game? Politics , political , politician or policy? Price or prize? Principal or principle? Quiet or quite? Raise or rise? Remember or remind? Right or rightly? Rob or steal? Say or tell? So that or in order that? Sometimes or sometime? Sound or noise? Speak or talk? Such or so? Towards or toward? Wait or wait for? Wake , wake up or awaken? Worth or worthwhile? Noun phrases: dependent words Noun phrases: order Noun phrases: uses Noun phrases: noun phrases and verbs Noun phrases: two noun phrases together.

If the children of two powerful enemies fell in love, what would happen to them? If a young girl in the rural south watched her father defend an innocent black man, how would that change her view of right and wrong?

If the greatest wizard who ever lived was a boy, what would his school years be like? Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device. English Language Blog.