19. CONDITIONALS
CONDITIONAL 1 | If I get the new job, I will move house. |
CONDITIONAL 2 | If I got a new job, I would move house. |
CONDITIONAL 3 | If I had got the job, I would have moved house. |
USAGE :
The first conditional (present + will) is used to describe situations which are possible or probable.
The second conditional (past + would) is used to describe situations which are hypothetical or improbable.
The third conditional (past perfect + would have) is used to describe situations which could have happened differently in the past.
EXAMPLES :
If I have any more questions I’ll call you.
If I didn’t have a car I just wouldn’t be able to do my job.
I would not have disturbed you if I had known you were on holiday.
If it rains this weekend we’ll have to cancel the picnic.
If our internal communication had been better perhaps we would have anticipated this problem earlier.
If I worked in the US for six months my English would be fluent!