First Conditional: real possibility

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the
future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen.
For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are
some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

IF condition result

present simple WILL + base verb

If it rains I will stay at home.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and
you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future
condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing
about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here
are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and
[result IF condition]?):

IF condition result

present simple WILL + base verb

If I see Mary I will tell her.

If Tara is free tomorrow he will invite her.

If they do not pass their exam their teacher will be sad.

If it rains tomorrow will you stay at home?

If it rains tomorrow what will you do?

result IF condition

WILL + base verb present simple

I will tell Mary if I see her.

He will invite Tara if she is free tomorrow.

Their teacher will be sad if they do not pass their exam.

Will you stay at home if it rains tomorrow?

What will you do if it rains tomorrow?

Second Conditional: unreal possibility or
dream
The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are
thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not
a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is
it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the
future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still
possible.

IF condition result

past simple WOULD + base verb

If I won the lottery I would buy a car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the
future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing
about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will
happen.

Here are some more examples:

IF condition result

past simple WOULD + base verb

If I married Mary I would be happy.

If Ram became rich she would marry him.

If it snowed next July would you be surprised?

If it snowed next July what would you do?

result IF condition

WOULD + base verb past simple

I would be happy if I married Mary.

She would marry Ram if he became rich.

Would you be surprised if it snowed next July?

What would you do if it snowed next July?

Third Conditional: no possibility

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we
talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is
no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility
of the dream coming true.

Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(

condition result

Past Perfect WOULD HAVE + Past Participle

If I had won the lottery I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the
condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We
use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE +
past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third
conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If
you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF condition result

past perfect WOULD HAVE + past participle

If I had seen Mary I would have told her.

If Tara had been free yesterday I would have invited her.

If they had not passed their exam their teacher would have been sad.

If it had rained yesterday would you have stayed at home?

If it had rained yesterday what would you have done?

result IF condition
WOULD HAVE + past participle past perfect

I would have told Mary if I had seen her.

I would have invited Tara if she had been free yesterday.

Their teacher would have been sad if they had not passed their exam.

Would you have stayed at home if it had rained yesterday?

What would you have done if it had rained yesterday?

Zero Conditional: certainty

We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a
scientific fact.

Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes
water). You would be surprised if it did not.

IF condition result

present simple present simple

If you heat ice it melts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the
condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the
present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the
condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about
the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.

We can also use when instead of if, for example: When I get up late I miss my bus.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF condition result

present simple present simple

If I miss the 8 o'clock bus I am late for work.

If I am late for work my boss gets angry.

If people don't eat they get hungry.

If you heat ice does it melt?

 result IF condition

present simple present simple

I am late for work if I miss the 8 o'clock bus.

My boss gets angry if I am late for work.

People get hungry if they don't eat.

Does ice melt if you heat it?

Practice:

1 What would you do if it_________ on your wedding day?

2 If she comes I__________ call you.

3 If I eat peanut butter I_________ sick.

4 What will you do if you_________ the history exam?

5 If they had not_______ the car I would have driven you.

6 If it snows________ still drive to the coast?

7 He would have_________ with you if you had asked him.

8 If I won a million dollars I _________my own airplane.

9 If I forget her birthday Andrea________upset.

1 Jacob will pick you up at school if it_________ .

0

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs: Explanation

Transitive verbs: An action verb is transitive if it directs action toward someone or

something named in the same sentence. The word that receives the action of a transitive

verb is called the object of the verb.

- The camera took clear pictures. (object: pictures)

- Irene baked cookies for the bake sale. (object: cookies)

Intransitive verbs: An action verb is intransitive if it does not direct action toward

someone or something named in the same sentence. Intransitive verbs do not have

objects.
- The hurricane blew over the mainland.

- Sandy smiled happily.

Which is it?: To determine if a verb in a given sentence is transitive or intransitive, ask

Whom? or What? after the verb. If there is an answer in the sentence, the verb is

transitive. If no answer can be found, the verb is intransitive. Some verbs may be

transitive in one sentence and intransitive in another, but there are some verbs which are

always one or the other. A good dictionary will tell you if a verb can be either or if it is

always one or the other (the usual abbreviation is v.i. for intransitive verb and v.t. for

transitive verb).

- Robert polished his shoes.

o Polished what? → his shoes → transitive

- I called my sister yesterday.

o Called whom? my → sister→ transitive

- Linda waited for the bus.

o Waited what? Waited whom? → no answer → intransitive

- I wrote that letter.

o Wrote what? → letter → transitive

- She wrote quickly.

o Wrote what? → no answer → intransitive

Warning! Notice that the definitions of transitive and intransitive verbs above refer to

“action verbs” that do or do not direct action. You can answer “What” questions after “to

be” and “to become”. However, these verbs are ALWAYS intransitive. They are linking,

not action verbs. Linking verbs are never transitive. Other linking verbs include look,

sound, smell, feel, taste appear, seem, become, grow, turn, prove, remain.

Warning! some transitive verbs can have their objects left out of the sentence when the

meaning is clear from the context.

- He has smoked since he was 10. (understood: cigarettes)

- She plays beautifully. (understood: the piano)

Other verbs like this include answer, ask, cook, dance, drink, eat, fail, phone, read, sing,
wash, win, write.

Transitive vs Intransitive Verbs (Important for June 30 topic, Adjectival Phrases) 2 of 2

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs: Exercises

Transitive vs. Intransitive Exercise: Determine if the verbs in the following sentences are

transitive or intransitive. If transitive, indicate the object of the verb.

1. The birdcage swung from a golden chain.

2. Margaret angrily crumpled her letter in her fist.

3. Someone answered that question.

4. He shuddered with fright during the scary part of the movie.

5. The rats chewed their way into the old house.

6. Acorns drop from the trees every fall.

7. Charlie combed his hair nervously before the dance.

8. We bought paper napkins for the picnic.

9. Zelda smiled at the thought of a parade in the snow.

10. Fish and potatoes sizzled in the pan.

Bauer, Mary Beth, Lawrence Biener, Linda Capo, et al. Grammar and Composition. Level 3.
Englewood Cliffs,

New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1982. 32-4.

Tricky Transitives Exercise: The objects in these idiomatic phrases can be left out

because the expressions are normally used in contexts in which it is clear what is meant.

What objects are missing?

1. You wash and I’ll dry. 4. Who scored?

2. Are you ready to order? 5. It’s your turn to deal.

3. Do you drink? 6. I’ll weed and you can water.

Hewings, Martin. Advanced Grammar in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
72-3.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs: Answers

Transitive vs. Intransitive Exercise:

For the transitive sentences, the verb is bold, the object underlined.

1. The birdcage swung from a golden chain. INTRANSITIVE

2. Margaret angrily crumpled her letter in her fist. TRANSITIVE

3. Someone answered that question. TRANSITIVE

4. He shuddered with fright during the scary part of the movie. INTRANSITIVE

5. The rats chewed their way into the old house. TRANSITIVE

6. Acorns drop from the trees every fall. INTRANSITIVE

7. Charlie combed his hair nervously before the dance. TRANSITIVE

8. We bought paper napkins for the picnic. TRANSITIVE

9. Zelda smiled at the thought of a parade in the snow. INTRANSITIVE

10. Fish and potatoes sizzled in the pan. INTRANSITIVE

Tricky Transitives Exercise:

1. You wash and I’ll dry. → the dishes

2. Are you ready to order? → your meal (in a restaurant)

3. Do you drink? → alcohol

4. Who scored? → the goals

5. It’s your turn to deal. → the cards

6. I’ll weed and you can water. → the garden

direct speech vs indirect speech

El Estilo indirecto o Reported speech es una estructura que se emplea cuando queremos
decir o hacer mención sobre algo que alguien ha dicho previamente.

Direct speech Reported speech

(estilo directo) (estilo indirecto)
"I always drink coffee". She She said that she always drank
said. coffee.
"Yo siempre bebo café." Ella dijo. Ella dijo que ella siempre bebía café.

Para hacer mención sobre lo que alguien ha dicho usamos verbos como explain, promise,
say, tell, suggest... Aunque los más utilizados son say y tell.

No es necesario cambiar el tiempo del verbo si el verbo de la oración principal está en

presente. En el ejemplo anterior podríamos decir: She said that she always drink coffee.

Para introducir lo que ha dicho, usamos that aunque muchas veces se puede omitir esta
palabra.
Al convertir una oración de "Direct Speech" a "Reported Speech" tenemos en cuenta que el
verbo principal retrocede un tiempo verbal.

Tabla de cambios que sufre el verbo:

Direct speech Reported speech

present simple past simple
I am happy He said he was happy
I sleep He said he slept
past continuos
present continuos
He said he was feeling
I am feeling happy
happy
I am sleeping
He said he was sleeping
past simple past perfect
I was happy He said he had been happy
I slept He said he had slept
present perfect past perfect
I have been happy He said he had been happy
I have slept He said he had slept
past perfect continuos
present perfect continuos He said he had been feeling
I have been feeling happy happy
I have been sleeping He said he had been
sleeping
future simple conditional
I will be happy He said he would be happy
I will sleep He said he would sleep
simple conditional perfect
future perfect
He said he would have been
I will have been happy
happy
I will have sleep
He said he would have slept

Verbos modales

Direct speech Reported speech

CAN COULD
I can sleep He said he could sleep
MAY MIGHT
I may sleep He said he might sleep
WILL WOULD
I will sleep He said he would sleep
MUST HAD TO
I must sleep He said he had to sleep
 Cambios que pueden sufrir algunas partículas de lugar y tiempo:

now at that moment, then

tonight that night
today that day
last night the night before
this morning that morning
this week that week
next week the following week
next year the year after
here there

Reported Speech: questions

En las oraciones interrogativas usamos el mismo orden gramatical: el sujeto va después del
verbo pero no es necesario usar el auxiliar "do" o "did".

Direct speech Reported speech

"Where do Susan and Ann He asked me where Susan and
work? " Ann worked.
"¿Dónde trabajan Susan y Ann?" Él me preguntó dónde trabajaban Mary y Tom.

According to each sentence choose the proper reported speech option.

Tom said, 'I want to visit my friends this weekend.'

A. Tom said he wants to visit his friends that weekend.

B. Tom said he wanted to visit his friends that weekend.

C. Tom said he wanted to visit his friends this weekend.

Jerry said, 'I'm studying English a lot at the moment.'

A. Jerry said he was studying English a lot at that moment.

B. Jerry said he was studying English a lot at the moment.

C. Jerry said I was studying English a lot at that moment.

They said, 'We've lived here for a long time.'

A. They said they have lived there for a long time.

B. They said they lived here for a long time.

C. They said they had lived there for a long time.

He asked me, 'Have you finished reading the newspaper?'

A. He asked me if had I finished reading the newspaper.

B. He asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper.

C. He asked me if I finished reading the newspaper.

'I get up every morning at seven o'clock.', Peter said.

A. Peter said he got up every morning at seven o'clock.

B. Peter said I got up every morning at seven o'clock.

C. Peter said he had got up every morning at seven o'clock.

Susan reassured me, 'I can come tonight.'

A. Susan told me I could come that night.

B. Susan told me she could come that night.

C. Susan told me she could come tomorrow evening.

She said, 'I really wish I had bought that new car.'

A. She told me she really wished she bought that new car.

B. She told me she really had wished she had bought that new car.

C. She told me she really wished she had bought that new car.

Jack said, 'He must be guilty!'

A. Jack said he must have been guilty.

B. Jack said he must have be guilty.

C. Jack said he must has been guilty.

1. How to Recognize Active and Passive Sentences

1. Find the subject (the main character of the sentence).

2. Find the main verb (the action that the sentence identifies).
3. Examine the relationship between the subject and main verb.
o Does the subject perform the action of the main verb? (If so, the
sentence is active.)
o Does the subject sit there while something else -- named or unnamed
-- performs an action on it? (If so, the sentence is passive.)
o Can't tell? If the main verb is a linking verb ("is," "was," "are," "seems
(to be)," "becomes" etc.), then the verb functions like an equals sign;
there is no action involved -- it merely describes a state of being.

2. Basic Examples
I love you.

1. subject: "I"
2. action: "loving"
3. relationship: The subject ("I") is the one performing the action
("loving").

The sentence is active.

You are loved by me.

1. subject: "you"
2. action: "loving"
3. relationship: The subject ("You") sits passively while the action
("loving") is performed by somebody else ("me").

This sentence is passive.

3. Difference between Passive Voice and Past Tense

Many people confuse the passive voice with the past tense. The most common passive
constructions also happen to be past tense (e.g. "I've been framed"), but "voice" has to do with
who, while "tense" has to do with when.

Active Voice Passive Voice

I was (have been) taught [by

Past someone];
I taught; I learned.
Tense It was (has been) learned [by
someone].

I am [being] taught [by

Present someone];
I teach; I learn.
Tense It is [being] learned [by
someone].

Future I will teach; I will I will be taught [by someone];

 Tense learn. It will be learned [by someone].

4. Imperatives: Active Commands

A command (or "imperative") is a kind of active sentence, in which "you" (the one being
addressed) are being ordered to perform the action. (If you refuse to obey, the sentence is still
active.)

• Get to work on time.

• Insert tab A into slot B.
• Take me to your leader.
• Ladies and gentlement, let us consider, for a moment, the effect of the rafting
sequences on our understanding of the rest of the novel.

5. Sloppy Passive Constructions

Because passive sentences do not need to identify the performer of an action, they can lead to
sloppy or misleading statements (especially in technical writing). Compare how clear and direct
these passive sentences become, when they are rephrased as imperative sentences

To drain the tank, the grill should be removed, or the storage

compartment can be flooded.

Because they do not specify the actors, the passive verbs ("should be removed"
and "can be flooded") contribute to the confusing structure of this sentence.

Does the sentence

1) offer two different ways to drain the tank ("you may either remove the grill or
flood the compartment")?

...or does it

2) warn of an undesirable causal result ("if you drain the tank without removing
the grill, the result will be that the storage compartment is flooded")?
Revision 1:

Drain the tank in one of the following ways:

• remove the grill

• flood the storage compartment

Revision 2:

1) Remove the grill.

2) Drain the tank.

Warning: If you fail to remove the grill first, you may flood the
storage compartment (which is where you are standing right now).
6. Linking Verbs: Neither Active nor Passive

When the verb performs the function of an equals sign, the verb is said to be a linking verb.
Linking verbs describe no action -- they merely state an existing condition or relationship; hence,
they are neither passive nor active.

Subjec
Description
t =

The
is blue.
door

The
was closed.
door

the first day of the rest of

This could be
my life.

might have
She very nice.
been

7. The Passive Voice Is not Wrong

Passive verbs are not automatically wrong. When used rarely and deliberately, the
passive voice serves an important purpose.

• When you wish to downplay the action:

Mistakes will be made, and lives will be lost; the sad truth is learned anew by each
generation.

• When you wish to downplay the actor:

Three grams of reagent 'A' were added to a beaker of 10% saline solution.

(In the scientific world, the actions of a researcher are ideally not supposed to affect the
outcome of an experiment; the experiment is supposed to be the same no matter who
carries it out. I will leave it to you and your chemistry professor to figure out whether that's
actually true, but in the meantime, don't use excessive passive verbs simply to avoid
using "I" in a science paper.)

• When the actor is unknown:

The victim was approached from behind and hit over the head with a salami.

8. Tricky Examples
Punctuality seems important.

1. subject: the phrase "punctuality"

2. action: "being" ("seems" is short for "seems to be")
3. relationship: The subject does nothing at all; the verb "is" functions
 as an equals sign: "punctuality = important".

This sentence describes a state of being (neither active nor passive).

(If you replace the single word "punctuality" with the phrase "Getting to work on time"
or "The sum total of the knowledge of tribes of prehistoric America collected by amateur
archeologists during the latter half of the nineteenth century," the grammar of the
sentence does not change.)
Remember to brush your teeth.

1. subject: (You) This is an order; the subject is the person being

ordered.
2. action: "remember" (not "brushing")
3. relationship: The subject is supposed to do the remembering.
Whether the subject actually obeys the command is irrelevant to the
grammar of the sentence.

This sentence gives an order. Active.

(It may be grammatically possible to give an order with a passive verb, such as a
Shakespearean curse like "Be damned!" But most commands you encounter will be
active.)

Passive and active voice practice:

1. Active : They take the child to school by car.

Passive : The child is taken to school by car.

2. Active : I saw two armed men in front of the jewellery shop.

Passive : Two armed men were seen in front of the jewellery shop.

3. Active : The reporter is announcing the results on the radio right now.
Passive : The results are being announced on the radio right now.

4. Active : Emma had done the housework before the guests arrived.
Passive : The housework had been done before the guests arrived.

5. Active : The doctor was treating the patient when the ambulance arrived.
Passive : The patient was being treated when the ambulance arrived.

6. Active : The ambulance will take the patient to the nearest hospital.
Passive : The patient will be taken (by ambulance) to the nearest hospital.

7. Active : The teacher had announced the results to the students.

Passive : The results had been announced to the students.

8. Active : Tom will have calculated the cost before the end of the day.
Passive : The cost will have been calculated before the end of the day.