IF CLAUSE (conditional tenses)
Conditional Sentences are also known as
Conditional Clauses or If Clauses. They are used to express that the action in
the main clause (without if) can only take
place if a certain condition (in the clause with if)
is fulfilled. There are three types of Conditional Sentences.
IF Clause
Type 1
Form
if + Simple Present, will-Future
Example:
If I find her
address, I will send her an invitation.
The
main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't
use a comma.
Example: I will send her an invitation if I find her address.
Note:
Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Simple Present und will-Future on how to form negative
sentences.
Example: If I don’t see him this afternoon, I will phone him in
the evening.
Use
Conditional Sentences Type I refer to the future. An action
in the future will only happen if a certain condition is fulfilled by that
time. We don't know for sure whether the condition actually will be fulfilled
or not, but the conditions seems rather realistic – so we think it is
likely to happen.
Example: If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.
I
want to send an invitation to a friend. I just have to find her address. I am
quite sure, however, that I will find it.
Example: If John has the money, he will buy a Ferrari.
I
know John very well and I know that he earns a lot of money and that he loves
Ferraris. So I think it is very likely that sooner or later he will have the
money to buy a Ferrari.
IF
Clause Type 2
Form
if + Simple Past, main
clause with Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)
Example: If I found
her address, I would send her an invitation.
The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case,
don't use a comma.
Example: I would send her an invitation if I found her address.
Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See
Simple Past
und
Conditional
I on how to form negative sentences.
Example: If I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t stay here.
Were instead of WasIn
IF Clauses Type
II, we usually use ‚were‘ – even if the pronoun is I, he, she or it –.
Example: If I were you, I would not do this.
Use
Conditional Sentences Type II refer to situations in the present. An action
could happen if the present situation were different. I don't really expect the
situation to change, however. I just imagine
„what would happen if …“
Example: If I found her address, I would send her an
invitation.
I would like to send an invitation to a friend. I have looked
everywhere for her address, but I cannot find it. So now I think it is rather
unlikely that I will eventually find her address.
Example: If John had the money, he would buy a Ferrari.
I know John very well and I know that he doesn't have
much money, but he loves Ferraris. He would like to own a Ferrari (in his
dreams). But I think it is very unlikely that he will have the money to buy one
in the near future.
IF Clause Type 3
Form
if + Past Perfect, main clause with
Conditional II
Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her
an invitation.
The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case,
don't use a comma.
Example: I would have sent her an invitation if I had found her address.
Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See
Past Perfect and Conditional II
on how
to form negative sentences.
Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.
Use
Conditional Sentences Type III refer to situations in the past. An action
could have happened in the past if a certain condition had been fulfilled.
Things were different then, however. We just imagine, what would have happened
if the situation had been fulfilled.
Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her
an invitation.
Sometime in the past, I wanted to send an invitation to a
friend. I didn't find her address, however. So in the end I didn't send her an
invitation.
Example: If John had had the money, he would have bought a
Ferrari.
I knew John very well and I know that he never had
much money, but he loved Ferraris. He would have loved to own a Ferrari, but he
never had the money to buy one.
Sumber :
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences/type-1
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences/type-2
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences/type-3
