Real and Unreal Conditionals

Present and Future Real Conditionals

• Present and Future Real Conditionals are used to talk about what you normally do in real-life situations.

• Cause-effect: if-clause introduces a possible event (it may or not happens) The main clause presents the result.

• Certainty: Factual conditionals.

• They have a dependent if-clause and the main clause.

• When if-clause is first, it is followed by a comma.

If I'm on time, I walk to work.

• If the main clause is first, there is no comma. The meaning is the same.

I walk to work if I'm on time.

• Both can be negative or only one.

• The verb in if-clause is in the present even if it has a future meaning.

If you go tomorrow, call me.

If you are going tomorrow, call me.

Conditional Summary Chart.

Present Unreal Conditionals

• It is used to talk about what you would do in imaginary situations.

If I had time, I would study Hebrew.

(I don´t have time)

• It uses were for all the subjects. And could, should, might or would in the main clause.

If I were you, I would apologize.

(I'm not you)

Wishes

• It is used when we think of something that we want but probably will not happen.

I wish I knew Tom Cruise.

• It uses the past tense verb in the clause after wish. Be verb always uses were.

She wishes she were the President of the United States.

Personal opinion: I think that conditionals can be confusing for ESL learners because we have to understand the structures used to express situations that may or may not happen, and we have to remember many details too.

Links

Present/Future Real Conditionals Exercises

Future Real or Unreal Conditionals Practice and Lesson

Wishes Practice