Click the text to read an explanation of the grammar
- 1st Conditional / Conditional 1
- English Grammar Conditional 2 / 2nd Conditional / ...
- English Grammar Conditional 3 / 3rd Conditional / ...
- Conditional 0 / Zero Conditional
The conditional tense says that an action is reliant on something else. The two most common conditionals are real and unreal, they are sometimes called if-clauses.
The real conditional (often named 1st Conditional or Conditional Type I) describes situations based on fact.
The unreal conditional (often named 2nd Conditional or Conditional Type II) describes unreal or imaginary situations.
There is also what we call the 3rd conditional (often named Conditional Type III), used to express no possibility of something having happened in the past, and the 0 conditional (often called the zero conditional), used to express absolute certainty.
Unless you are studying English to pass an exam or test don't try to remember the types, just learn the structure so that you know how to express the meaning conveyed by each type.
Note! If the "if" clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the "if" clause comes second, there is no need for a comma:
Click the text to read an explanation of the grammar
- 1st Conditional / Conditional 1
- English Grammar Conditional 2 / 2nd Conditional / ...
- English Grammar Conditional 3 / 3rd Conditional / ...
- Conditional 0 / Zero Conditional
