Conditionals: 1st, 2nd, 3rd

If you have ever wondered how to use if and the second conditional, you would start reading this post right now. If you read this post, you'll also learn about the first conditional. I wouldn't have started writing this post, if I had written about the third conditional earlier😆!

The First Conditional

If you lend me your car, I'll clean it every day.

If + present simple + will /won't + base form

We use the first conditional for situations in the present or near future that are possible and have a very good chance of happening. 

Look at the infographic then read the dialogue

A: Would you like to go for a hike on Sunday? 

        B: If it doesn't rain on the weekend, I'll go with you.

The first conditional is used:

a) in negotiations "If you order six cases, I'll give you a 10% discount."
b) to make bets/promises "If the Steelers lose on Sunday, I'll buy you beer for a month."
c) to make predictions "There won't be much space left if we don't clear out these boxes." 

There's no comma if  will/won't is at the start of the sentence.

The Second Conditional

We use the second conditional to talk about imaginary situations and situations in the present/near future that aren't likely to happen or are impossible.

A: What would you do if you found a $5000 on the street?

                         

              B: If that happened, I wouldn't take it. There would probably be 
                   someone watching it.
 

If + past simple + would(n't) + base form

                                   could(n't)

The second conditional is often used to give advice.

A: I've got two job offers. I'm not sure which one to take. What should I do?

B: If I were you, I'd take the job that's closest to home. You could save a lot of money on gas.

Note: in the second conditional, it's "If I were....". Although, many people use "was", using "were" is grammatically correct.

The Third Conditional

 The third conditional is about imaginary/impossible situations in the past.

A: Wow. This book is scary. It's set in a world the allies lost World War Two.

B: If the Nazis had won the war, we wouldn't have been born. The world would've ended.

 If + had/hadn't +past participle + would/wouldn't have + past participle 

We also use the third conditional to speculate about past events.

A: I think Bob was fired yesterday because he was late so many times.

B: I don't know. If that had been the reason, the boss would've fired him a

    long time ago.

Practice

Today's exercise are from the examenglish.com grammar page. 

1/ 1st Conditional

2/ 2nd Conditional

3/  3rd Conditional