The use of the conditional implies that one action in a sentence depends on the other. Conditional sentences are also known as “if clauses”. Keep in mind that there is no conditional verb tense in English as there is in other languages. There are four types of conditional sentences and the use of one type over the other reflects the probability of the dependent action happening.
Type | Condition | Result |
---|---|---|
0 | present simple | present simple |
1 | present simple | future simple ("will) |
2 | past simple | “would” + verb (infinitive) |
3 | past perfect | “would have” + past participle |