CONDITIONAL FORMS HYPOTHETICAL PHRASES (part 1)

FIRST TYPE
[C] Condition part (PRESENT SITUATION),
IF + S
UNTIL
UNLESS

+ PRESENT SIMPLE, S

[CON] Consequence part (PRESENT SIT)

WILL/WILL NOT/WONT
+
MUST/MUST NOT/MUSTN'T
SHALL/SHALL NOT/SHAN'T
CAN/ CANNOT/CAN'T
MAY/MAY NOT
IMPERATIVE

VERB

CONCEPT: HYPOTHETICAL PHRASE AND LIKELY TO HAPPEN

EX.

If I SEE you tomorrow I WILL give you the book

I WON'T give you the book UNTIL I see you
Unless I SEE you I WON'T give you the book
COME to my house if she CALLS you (condition and consequence parts interchanged)

QUESTION FORM : WILL you give me the book if I SEE you tomorrow?
SHALL I visit her if she WANTS me to?
What CAN she DO if she doesn't call? (Interchanged parts in ? form)
SECOND TYPE
IF

(PRESENT SITUATION),
S + PAST SIMPLE, S

(PRESENT SITUATION)
+ WOULD/WOULD NOT/WOULDN'T +
SHOULD/SHOULD NOT/SHOULDN'T
COULD/COULD NOT/COULDN'T
MIGHT/ MIGHT NOT/MIGHTN'T

VERB

CONCEPT: MORE HYPOTHETICAL THAN THE FIRST TYPE AND LESS LIKELY TO HAPPEN
EX. IF I WERE a rich man I WOULD GIVE money to the poor = (I am not a rich man)
IF I HAD a lot of money I SHOULD GIVE money to the poor = (I don't have a lot of money)
Positions of the condition (if part) and the consequence interchanged:
She WOULD LAUGH a lot if I MADE a joke = ( I don't usually make jokes)
He MIGHT NOT SEE me if I told him the truth = (I don't want to tell him the truth)
QUESTION FORM: If you WERE a rich man WOULD you GIVE money to the poor?
What WOULD you DO if you were a rich man?
WOULD you marry someone even if you DIDN'T LOVE him or her?
(Interchanged positions in - and ? form)
IMPORTANT:
You cannot say IF I WOULD or COULD or CAN or WILL, etc... unless these are used as MODAL
(AUXILIARY) VERBS for the principal verb in the IF part
EX. If I CAN AFFORD it, I WILL buy it
If I WOULD BE the president of this company soon, I SHOULD CALL for a meeting at once.
It WOULD BE nice if he WOULD CALL me. (Interchanged parts)
Wouldn't it be awkward if you COULDN'T TELL her the truth? (Interchanged parts in and ? form)

THIRD TYPE HYPOTHETICAL PAST

(PAST SITUATION)
IF + S PAST PERFECT ,
(HAD + VERB)

(PAST SITUATION)
S + WOULD +
COULD
MIGHT
SHOULD

HAVE

+ VERB

CONCEPT: something that happened or did not happen in the past

EXAMPLES:
If I HAD BEEN in her situation that time I WOULD HAVE SIGNED the contract = (she didn't sign the
contract or the contract wasn't signed because it wasn't me who would sign it)
If my friend HAD COME to the party she WOULD HAVE MET him = (she didn't come to the party so she
did not meet him)
She COULD HAVE CALLED the police. = (but, she didn't do it) (Removal of the IF part on a given
context)
SPECULATION:
She MIGHT HAVE CALLED the police before the burglar was able to break into her house. = (someone
called the police and they came in time.) (Used when you are speculating based on a given context. The
IF part being deduced in the context and can be removed)
Your friend MUST HAVE DIALED the wrong phone number. = (Your friend probably dialed the wrong
number.) (The IF part removed)
INTERCHANGED POSITIONS:
I COULD HAVE GOTTEN the right answer if she HAD GIVEN me a clue = (I didn't get the right
answer because she didn't give me any clue).
I COULDN'T'VE GOTTEN the right answer if she HADN'T GIVEN me a clue. (I did get the right
answer because she helped me by giving me a clue.) (Interchanged parts in contracted and form but
the meaning is +)
QUESTION FORM:
What WOULD you HAVE DONE if you HADN'T HAD the map to go there? = (I wonder and I want an
answer)
I wonder WHAT SHE WOULD HAVE DONE if she HADN'T HAD the map. (Implied question form)
MIGHT She HAVE CALLED the police before the burglar was able to break into her house? = COULD she
HAVE CALLED the police...? )
IMPORTANT:
MIGHT HAVE CALLED and COULD HAVE CALLED mean the same in this context and in question
form, BUT not MUST HAVE CALLED which is practically not used in question forms.
NOTE:
All in all, we use a lot of feeling, speaker's intention and knowledge of the degree of modal verbs--should,
could, might, would--in order to express the third conditional form.

-amadap-