English Language Learners Stack Exchange
English Language Learners Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [conditionals]

Questions concerning conditional grammar in English. A conditional is a sentence, often starting with "if" or "unless", in which one half expresses something which depends on the other half.

Questions concerning conditional grammar in English. A conditional is a sentence, often starting with "if" or "unless", in which one half expresses something which depends on the other half.

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if condition in the past

I want to ask someone that why he didn't tell me something in the past and I want to say the sentence as below: if you knew that yesterday why you didn't tell me yesterday? as I know this is not based on if condition formats and maybe I should…
joe gates
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Conditionals-- "If I was mean to you I'm sorry"

"If I was mean to you I'm sorry" This is a perfectly understandable and natural sentence to my mind. But can you tell me what kind of conditional we're dealing with here? And also: would British English prefer "have been" instead of "was"? One more:…
ASDASD ASDASD
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When you do your homework (tomorrow morning), you can listen to some music

Which conditional is this? When you do your homework, you can listen to some music. It seems to be the zero conditional. Timeless. But can it be the first conditional? When you do your homework (tomorrow morning), you can listen to some…
user1425
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Is this a conditional sentence?

Abby ------- such a successful swimmer now if she hadn't practised so much as a child. won't be wouldn't be wouldn't have been hadn't been I did a test and I chose #3 but #2 turned out to be correct. I don't understand why though. I thought this…
Tomas
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Conditional sentence - If it did, it would have done

Would you please explain in which situation the following structure could be used? What does it imply? 'Both parties would have prepared statements of costs if they thought there was the possibility of an order in their client's favour' The reason I…
Obliviously Ignorant
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Using tenses in conditionals

I've been told that the following examples of conditional sentences are wrong because the tenses don't match the structure of any of the four types: zero, first, second, or third. I'm very confused because I think they are acceptable, and I would…
JJ_Douglas
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Is a conditional sentence in the form of "If + a past tense (simple, perfect, ...)+, there was + something." grammatical?

I know the basic rules and structure of second and third and mixed conditionals. I know that in the main clause of them we should use would, could, or might. But I have come across this sentence in a text which is written by a non-native (but expert…
alireza
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Which conditional rule fits the sentence?

The following is a conditional sentence from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: "His arm has grown long indeed," said Gimli, "if he can draw snow down from the north to trouble us here three hundred leagues away." If I am not mistaken this is present…
Michael Munta
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Conditionals in Past narrative

'Were' irrealis is used for unreal, counter-factual, highly unlikely present or future. And, 'were to' also refers to hypothetical situations and actions (Cambridge Grammar of English by Carter and McCarthy). So from my understanding and what I read…
RADS
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Questions having you have vs you had

when asking the question, someone says you had vs you have. what is the difference between these. What would you do if you had one year free. What will you do if you have one year free.
JN Raju
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Can you use "if" with present perfect, and is it zero conditional?

I'm not quite sure would it be correct to combine these two tenses in the sentence. If so, what type of conditionals is it? Or maybe it doesn't refer to conditional sentences at all? A trip is always something unpredictable and gives you feelings…
Eller
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Different ways of making 0 conditional

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…
Adam
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How to talk about past possibilities?

How do English-speaking people convey uncertainty about past possibilities using if clauses in their writing and speech? For instance, when one is unsure about whether an event occurred in the past, but its likelihood is contingent on another…
vahid vahidi
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Is it possible to use the Present Continuous for the Future in the 1st Conditional?

As I understand grammar, these first two examples are correct when discussing with the 1st Conditional. If I get a pay rise, I will travel to the UK. If I get a pay rise, I am going to travel to the UK. Is it possible for me to use the present…
Alexander Jorgensen
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Conditional Type 2 - If I went to a school in Wales,

I came across this exercise with my young students. An official German school-book in use. Here we exercise the "Conditional type 2" where it says: "If I went to a school in Wales, I would play rugby" Can this be correct? shouldn't it be: "I would…
FrankMK
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