Conditional Sentences: Types, Rules, and Examples

Conditional sentences are sentences that express a condition and its possible outcome. They typically consist of two clauses:
  1. If Clause: It is the dependent clause that states the condition.
  2. Main Claue: It is the independent clause.

N.B. Conditional sentences can start with the if clause or the main clause, as both orders are correct.

There are four types of condtional sentences.

  1. Zero Conditional
  2. First Conditional
  3. Second Conditional
  4. Third Conditional
General structures of conditional sentences
Conditionals Sturcture Use
Zero Conditional If + Present Simple, + Present Simple. General truths, Scientific facts.
First Conditional If + Present Simple, + Future Simple. Real or possible situations in future.
Second Conditional If + Past Simple, + Would + Base form of verb. Unreal or improbable situations in present or future.
Third Conditional If + Past Perfect, + Would Have + Past Participle. Unreal or improbable situations in past.

Zero Conditional Sentences.

  1. If you mix blue and yellow, you get green.
  2. If it’s a weekday, I go to work.
  3. If you don’t eat, you get hungry.
  4. If you heat water to 100°C, it boils.

First Condtional Sentences

  1. If it rains, I will stay at home.
  2. If you study hard, you will pass the exam.
  3. If I see her, I will say hello.
  4. If they don’t hurry, they will miss the train.

Second Condtional Sentences

  1. If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.
  2. If I were you, I would take the job.
  3. If I had a million dollars, I would travel the world.
  4. If it snowed in the Sahara, it would be a miracle.
  5. If they knew the truth, they would be shocked.

Third Condtional Sentences

  1. If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.
  2. If she had seen the sign, she wouldn’t have parked there.
  3. If we had left earlier, we would have caught the train.
  4. If he hadn’t forgotten his wallet, he would have paid the bill.

Complete the sentences using knowledge of conditionals

  1. We ___ (have) the party on roof terrace if it does not rain.
  2. If I won a lottery, I ___ (bought) luxury items.
  3. I ___ (go) to Sylhet tomorrow if the weather is good.
  4. If you ___ (see) Tarun, will you give him the message?
  5. If he had time, he ___ (called) us.
  6. The match would have been fairer if the referee ___ (make) better calls.
  7. If I had more cash, I ___ (buy) a bigger house.
  8. I ___ (call) you if I need assistance.
  9. Bangladesh cricket team ___ (be) in better form if they had trained harder before the world cup.
  10. They ___ (take) a different route if they had known about the traffic.
  1. We will have the party on roof terrace if it does not rain.
  2. If I won a lottery, I would buy luxury items.
  3. I will go to Sylhet tomorrow if the weather is good.
  4. If you see Tarun, will you give him the message?
  5. If he had time, he would call us.
  6. The match would have been fairer if the referee had made better calls.
  7. If I had more cash, I would buy a bigger house.
  8. I will call you if I need assistance.
  9. Bangladesh cricket team would have been in better form if they had trained harder before the world cup.
  10. They would have taken a different route if they had known about the traffic.