TM
ENGLISH
GRAMMAR ENGLISH
GRAMMAR
First and second conditional
1 PresentatiOn
When we talk abOut pOssible Or hypOthetical situatiOns with If ..., we can use a first cOnditiOnal Or
secOnd cOnditiOnal structure. Study the table belOw.
Structure Exanples and use
First cOnditiOnal AccOrding tO the weather fOrecast, it might rain tOnight.
If it rains, I'll stay at hOme.
If I do ..., I’II (= I wiII) ...
We use the first conditional when there is a reaI possibiIity that
Instead Of will, we can use sonething wiII happen in the future.
Other mOdal verbs, e.g.
can, night, nay, nust, If I dOn't call yOu tOnight, yOu can call me.
Will yOu wait fOr me if I an late?
shOuld.
SecOnd cOnditiOnal At the mOment, it’s raining. If it was sunny, I'd gO Out.
If I did ..., I’d (= I wouId) We use the second conditional when we inagine a situation or
... when there is very IittIe or no possibiIity that sonething wiII
happen.
Instead Of wOuld, we What wOuld yOu dO if yOu fOund a lOt Of mOney in the street?
can use cOuld Or If it wasn't dark Outside, we cOuld gO Out.
night.
Things tO renenber
• We dO nOt use will Or wOuld in the if-part Of a cOnditiOnal
sentence: If it will rain rains, I’ll stay at hOme.
• The if-part Of the sentence can gO at the beginning Or at the end:
If it rains, I’ll stay at hOme. I’ll stay at hOme if it rains.
• In the secOnd cOnditiOnal we use if + past (if I did, if I didn’t, etc.), but the meaning is not past. In
this type Of structure, the past tense refers tO an imaginary Or hypOthetical situatiOn, such as
finding a lOt Of mOney in the street:
What wOuld yOu dO if yOu fOund a lOt Of mOney in the street?
• In a first cOnditiOnal sentence, we can use when instead Of if fOr things that we are sure will
happen:
When she cOmes, I’ll call yOu.
1/3
TM
Put the verb in the cOrrect fOrn tO cOnplete each sentence.
1. If global warming continues, temperatures will rise even higher.
2. What would you do if you won a million dollars?
3. If people stopped using cars completely, there would be much less pollution.
4. When it rains again, I won’t forget to bring my umbrella.
5. If I spoke English fluently, I wouldn’t need to take lessons.
6. If Siberia wasn’t so cold, I’d go there in winter.
7. Tom will be at the party tonight. If I see him, I will say hello.
8. If it didn’t rain so much in England, you wouldn’t see so many umbrellas.
9. I will call you when I get home.
10. Where will you live when you moved out of your flat?
11. If you could choose any company, which company would you like to work for?
3 Practice 2
Study each situatiOn and cOnplete the sentence belOw. Decide whether tO use a first Or
secOnd cOnditiOnal structure.
1. According to the weather forecast, there is a chance of snow tomorrow.
If it snows, I will need to buy a pair of gloves.
2. Patrick is deciding whether to go to France or Spain on his next holiday.
If Patrick goes to Spain, he will be very satisfied.
3. John works 12 hours a day.
If John wasn’t so busy, he would have more time for his family.
4. Kate is out of work, but she goes shopping every day.
If Kate continues to go shopping, she will run out of money.
5. It is a sunny day with clear blue skies.
If it rains, I will need an umbrella.
6. Anne’s boss is very demanding.
If Anne’s boss was not so demanding, she would not be so stressed.
7. Daniel has an exam tomorrow.
If Daniel passes his exam, he will celebrate with his friends.
8. Fabio and Carlo are best friends.
If Fabio and Carlo were not best friends, they would probably not be living together.
9. Derek doesn’t have a car. It takes him an hour to get to work.
If Derek had a car, it would not take him so long to get to work.
10. The Olympic Games are held every four years.
If the Olympics were held every year, they would not be so interesting.
TM
