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I was told that when it comes to 0 conditional we can use modals,past simple and continuous and present perfect. Is that right or we can create 0 conditionals with different tenses too?

1 If I can play I can win

2 If I'm playing I'm winning

3 If I play I'm winning

4 If I have played I have won

I made these sentences according to what I was told. Are they correct or I need some special excptions to use them

Adam
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  • They're all syntactically valid. Which one you should use depends on exactly what meaning you want to convey. Obviously it requires a very unlikely context for #4 to make sense, since normally we'd expect a speaker to know whether he's played or not. But for all we know, that's exactly what you wanted it to mean. – FumbleFingers Mar 11 '24 at 16:10
  • I named past simple, continuous, present perfect and modals. That's it or there are more ways to make this conditional like using present perfect continuous? Please if there's more name them. – Adam Mar 11 '24 at 16:24
  • Do they have pretty much the same meaning or for instance 1 shows always 2 right now 3 and 4 I don't know what haha? – Adam Mar 11 '24 at 16:26
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    No! They all have completely different meanings! If you think they all mean the same thing, please explain exactly what you think that meaning is (using lots of words, so we can all understand you). That will make it easier for us to explain how they're actually different. Don't use technical terms like "past simple, continuous, present perfect and modals". Just express your intended meaning in words you understand exactly. – FumbleFingers Mar 11 '24 at 16:34
  • 1 means that something happens always 2 that something is happening now. When it comes to 3 and 4 I don't know please explain – Adam Mar 11 '24 at 16:40
  • No. #1 specifically means if I have the possibility* of playing, I will also have the possibility of winning* (with the strong implication that I may not be able to play at all). #2 would usually mean *whenever I play, I win* (no implication of how often I play, or whether I'm currently playing). #3 are very unusual, and frankly I don't see the point in trying to explain possible contexts and meanings that you'll probably never need to use, and which won't teach you anything useful about English anyway. Learn what *can* means, and forget about #3 & #4. – FumbleFingers Mar 11 '24 at 17:59
  • Note that we don't know in #1 whether the reason speaker may *not* have the possibility of playing is because he might not be "match fit" (perhaps he's been injured), OR because he's not allowed to play (perhaps he's not eligible to enter the competition), OR there may be some other reason why his ability to play is in doubt. – FumbleFingers Mar 11 '24 at 18:03
  • Thank you very much. – Adam Mar 11 '24 at 18:23
  • "If or after I have drunk I don't drivr or I'm not driving".Now I think it's quite natural and understsnble? Do you agree? Would you say that both versions provided by me are correct? – Adam Mar 11 '24 at 21:07
  • "If/when I've been drinking I don't drive" (here, the present tense indicates habit). "I've been drinking tonight, so I'm not driving" (here, the 'continuous tense' indicates the speaker's plan not to drive). – Kate Bunting Mar 12 '24 at 08:53
  • @Kate Bunting. Why then my 2 example( If I'm playing I'm winning) refers to all times no only to at the moment? – Adam Mar 12 '24 at 11:34
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    The present continuous does not always refer to a plan for the future, as you should know. In this particular context, it is the only way that "I'm not driving" makes any sense. As Seattle Guy says, you are wasting time putting different tenses together and trying to make them mean something. – Kate Bunting Mar 12 '24 at 11:57
  • @Kate Bunting. Are there some rules? I mean I know basic ones but what about when you natives mix everything up – Adam Mar 12 '24 at 12:36
  • I don't know how to answer that. What do you mean by "we native [speakers] mixing things up"? – Kate Bunting Mar 12 '24 at 12:42
  • @Kate Bunting.I don't get it why this example is fine (If I'm playing I'm winning). Since present continuous is used for present actions I'd say (If I play I win) – Adam Mar 12 '24 at 13:13
  • Nobody told you it was 'fine'. FumbleFingers said "#2 would usually mean whenever I play, I win (no implication of how often I play, or whether I'm currently playing)." I take that to mean "If it was used, that would be the most likely meaning" - but it's not at all a likely thing for anyone to say. You are just inventing unidiomatic sentences and asking people to work out what they could possibly mean. – Kate Bunting Mar 12 '24 at 15:13
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Kate Bunting Mar 13 '24 at 09:04

1 Answers1

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There is an (almost) unlimited combination of possibilities. To provide a ridiculous example: "If I were to have said then that I had played, then I would also have said then that I had won", etc.

But as others have commented, all of these examples are simply demonstrating differences in the perspective of the narrator vs the point in time as related to the (apparently) congruent concepts of playing and winning.

Seattle guy
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