Ready for today’s #Grammarseries? We are talking about conditionals.
Conditionals are simple. They are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened and what we wish would happen.
In English, most sentences using the conditional contain the word if. There are five main ways of constructing conditional sentences in English. Today, we would discuss three and the remaining two next week.
The zero conditional.
The zero conditional is used when the time being referred to is now or always and the situation is real and possible. The zero conditional is often used to refer to general truths. The tense in both parts of the sentence is the simple present. In zero conditional sentences, the word “if” can usually be replaced by the word “when” without changing the meaning.
Let’s look out a few examples
If you hear ice, it melts
If it rains, the ground gets wet
Type 1 conditional
The type 1 conditional is used to refer to the present or future where the situation is real. The type 1 conditional refers to a possible condition and its probable result. In these sentences the if clause is in the simple present, and the main clause is in the simple future.
For example
If you don’t hurry, you will miss the train
Type 2 conditional
The type 2 conditional is used to refer to a time that is now or any time, and a situation that is unreal. These sentences are not based on fact. The type 2 conditional is used to refer to a hypothetical condition and its probable result. In type 2 conditional sentences, the if clause uses the simple past, and the main clause uses the present conditional.
For example
If I spoke Spanish, I would be working in Spain.
Until next week when we complete the series, remember to always keep your grammar in check.
