Introduction

Conditionals: an introduction

What are conditionals in English grammar? Sometimes we call them 'if clauses'.
They describe the result of something that:

- might happen (in the present or future) or

- might have happened but didn't (in the past).
They are made using different English verb tenses.

There are four kinds:

• The Zero Conditional
  (if + present simple, ... present simple)
  If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.

• The First Conditional
  (if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)
  If it rains tomorrow, we'll go to the cinema.

• The Second Conditional
  (if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)
  If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.

• The Third Conditional
  (if + past perfect, ... would + have + past participle)
  If I had gone to bed early, I would have caught the train.

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