Conditional sentences describe situations and their results. English has four main types (zero to third) plus mixed conditionals, each expressing a different degree of likelihood or reality. They are built from an "if" clause and a main clause.
Zero conditional describes general truths and facts: if + present simple, present simple. "If you heat ice, it melts." First conditional describes real or probable future situations: if + present simple, will + base verb. "If it rains, I will take an umbrella." Both the if-clause and main clause are about real, possible situations.
Practice
If she ___ the exam, she will be accepted into university.
If you mix blue and yellow, yougreen.
Put the words in the correct order (first conditional):
The second conditional describes situations that are imaginary, unlikely, or contrary to present reality: if + past simple, would + base verb. "If I had more time, I would learn Japanese." (= I don't have time now.) Use "were" instead of "was" in formal English: "If I were you, I would accept the offer." This is not about the past — the past simple shifts the situation into the hypothetical.
Practice
"If I were you, I ___ that job offer." (= advice about an imaginary situation)
If heharder, he would probably get a promotion.
Put the words in the correct order (second conditional):
The third conditional talks about imaginary situations in the past — things that didn't happen. It is used for regrets, speculation, and criticism of past choices. Structure: if + past perfect, would have + past participle. "If she had studied harder, she would have passed." (= She didn't study hard; she didn't pass.)
Practice
If they had left earlier, they ___ the traffic.
I wouldn't have been so upset if youtold me the truth.
Put the words in the correct order (third conditional):
Mixed conditionals combine tenses from different conditional types to express more complex relationships between past and present. Third-to-second (past → present): if + past perfect, would + base verb. "If I had studied medicine, I would be a doctor now." Second-to-third (present → past): if + past simple, would have + past participle. "If she were more careful, she wouldn't have made that mistake."
Practice
If he had moved to Japan in his twenties, he ___ fluent in Japanese by now.
If she were less impulsive, shemade such a rash decision.
Put the words in the correct order (mixed conditional):