Conditional sentences
In English, there are complex sentences where one part is a condition (starts with "if") and the second part is the consequence — the result of what happens if the condition works. We call such sentences conditional sentences, or conditionals.
There are 3 types of conditional sentences:
- a real, feasible condition (if you go there, you'll have fun)
- an imaginary condition that refers to the present or to the future (if you went there, you would have fun)
- an imaginary condition that refers to the past (if you had gone there, you would have had fun)
How to make three types of conditionals
| Type | Condition | Result | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | if + present simple | future simple | If you go away, I will miss you. |
| II | if + past simple | would + infinitive | If you went away, I would miss you. |
| III | if + past perfect | would + have + past participle | If you had gone away, I would have missed you. |
You can read more on how to form and use each type of conditionals in the related topics.