GRAMMAR & STRUCTURE
Conditionals

Definition

Conditionals show a cause-and-effect relationship between actions.

Example

If it rains tomorrow, I will not go to the beach.

Explanation

Conditionals:

• have two parts: a cause and a result (the cause and the result both have a subject and a verb).
• separate the cause and the result with a comma (,).
• express possibility.
• express situations that are always true in the present (zero conditional).
• express situations that are true in the future (first conditional).
• express situations that are possible in the future (second conditional).
• express situations that are impossible in the past (third conditional).
• have patterns for expressing the types of conditional sentences:
  If + subject + present tense verb, subject + present tense verb
  = zero conditional
  If + subject + present tense verb, subject + will + verb
  = first conditional
  If + subject + past tense verb, subject + would + verb
  = second conditional
  If + subject + past perfect verb, subject + would + present perfect
  = third conditional.

Related Sections

Future Simple
Commonly Used Punctuation