Conditional Sentences

The meaning of
Conditional Sentences
 Conditionals

Factual Future Imaginative

(predictive) (Subjunctive)
1. Timeless
1. Strong 1. Hypothetical
Generic
condition and Present
Habitual result
Future
2. Time-bound
2. Degrees of
Implicit weakened 2. Counterfactual
inference condition or Present
Explicit result
inference Past
 Factual Conditional Sentences
Generic Factual Conditionals

Relationships that are true and unchanging

If oil is mixed with water, it floats.

If you boil water, it vaporizes.

Normally take a simple present tense in both

clauses.

Especially frequent in scientific writing.

 Factual Conditional Sentences
Habitual Factual Conditionals

Relationship based on habit;

Past or present relationships that are habitually
true.

If I wash the dishes, Sally dries them.

If Nancy said, Jump! Bob jumped.

Both clauses usually have the same tense

Frequent in conversation.
 Factual Conditional Sentences
Implicit inference conditionals

Specific time-bound relationships.

Much wider range of verb tenses.

If smog can be licked in L.A., it can be licked anywhere.

If the radicals havent made the government more
responsive, they have wasted their time.
If there was a happy man in the world that night, it was
John Tunney.

Both clauses usually have the same tense

When(ever) cannot substitute for if.
 Factual Conditional Sentences
Explicit inference conditionals

Specific time-bound relationships.

Marked with modals.

If he was there, he must have seen the painting.

Usually makes use of must or should.

When(ever) cannot substitute for if.
 Future Conditional Sentences
Strong Condition or Result

Future plans or contingencies;

Normal pattern is simple present tense in the if
clause and some explicit indication of future
time in the result clause.

If it rains, Ill stay home.

If you finish your vegetables, Im going to buy you an
ice cream cone.
If Steve comes to class, he will get the answers to the
quiz.
 Future Conditional Sentences
Degrees of Weakened Conditional or Result

Prediction scale Result Clause:

will, be going to = certain (strong result)

should = probable
may = possible (stronger than might)
might = possible (weaker than may)

To weaken the condition clause:

should; happens to; should happen to

Imaginative Conditional Sentences
Hypothetical Conditionals

Express what the speaker perceives to be unlikely

yet possible events or states in the if clause;
Can refer to the future as well as the present

If Joe had the time, he would go to Mexico. (Present)

If Joe were to have the time, he would go to Mexico.
(Future)

The if clause is not strongly negated.

Imaginative Conditional Sentences
Hypothetical Conditionals

The negative quality of the if clause can be even

further weakened so that the possibility of the result
occurring becomes stronger:

If Joe should have the time, he would go to Mexico.

If Joe happened to have the time, he would go...
If Joe should happen to have the time, he would go...
Imaginative Conditional Sentences
Hypothetical Conditionals

Sometimes, the difference between using a future

conditional and a hypothetical conditional is a
matter of speaker choice:

If it rains, Ill stay home. (Future)

If it were to rain, I would stay home. (Hypothetical)
Imaginative Conditional Sentences
Counterfactual Conditionals

Express impossible events or states in the if clause

Reference to the present or past

If my grandfather were alive today, he would experience a

very different world. (Present)
If my grandfather had been alive in 1996, he would have
been 100 years old. (Past)

The if clause is strongly negated.