Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to Advanced English lessons with Harry.
And in this particular class, we're going to look at the conditional tenses.
Quite a lot of the viewers and listeners have asked me to look at and come up with some
helpful tips in relation to the conditionals.
Because they are tricky, and they do find them difficult.
Now, in fact, I do have a grammar course which goes through these conditionals in much more
context, much more detail.
So check out the link below if you want to look at that particular grammar course.
So we're going to give you an overview here, some helpful hints and tips as to how you
use them, and how you recognise them.
And remember, what we're trying to do is to help you to improve your knowledge of the
English language to help you to have better conversations, better business English, and
better conversational style, English, how you can communicate much, much better.
So we look at phrasal verbs, all sorts of expressions, and then this particular lesson,
we're looking at some grammar points relating to those conditional tenses.
Okay, so let's get started I'm going to go through there are four in particular, okay,
the zero, one, two, and three, so four particular conditionals.
Zero conditional, conditional one, condition two, and conditional three.
So I'll explain them to you in a little bit of detail.
But as I said, remember, there is a grammar course that you can get access to.
Okay, so let's start with zero conditional.
So when we're looking at zero conditional, it's the first of the four conditionals.
And usually, zero conditional is talking about something that is factual, okay?
It's something that is generally true, and something that doesn't usually change.
So let me give you an example of that.
If or when it snows, the roads, or the footpaths get slippery and are very dangerous.
So that's a fact.
Okay, so if or when, and you can use either them if or when it snows, the footpath gets
slippery, and very dangerous.
So that's an example of zero conditionals.
Something about general truth, you can also say something like, If you boil water under
hunt at 100 degrees, it evaporates it turns into steam.
That's a general truth.
So if you boil water at 100 degrees, it evaporates and turns into steam.
So a good example, again, of our zero conditional.
Okay, so let's look then at conditional one, or the first conditional.
So when we're talking about the first conditional, we're talking about something real in present
time, okay.
And it's probably the easiest one and the one that we use most frequently.
So we use it with what we call an IF clause that's really important, we'll have two clauses
in these conditionals.
The first clause will be the if clause.
And the second clause is often referred to as the main clause.
And that's where we will see the word will.
So when we use the first conditional will always see if and will, but not together,
they have to be in separate clauses.
So the first clause if with the present simple, and then the main clause or the second clause,
which will contain will, okay, so for example, if I see him, I will tell him, you said hello,
if I see him, I will tell him you said hello.
So that's if plus the simple present if I see him, and then the main clause or the second
clause, I will tell him, you said hello.
So, if and will now you can also turn those around, and you can say, I will tell him you
set a low.
If I see him, there's no no difference in that at all.
You can put the if clause first.
Or you can put the if clause second, you can put the main clause first or the main clause
second.
It doesn't matter so long as and this is really, really important.
You separate if and will always keep if unwilling, separate.
Okay, so let's look then at the second conditional.
Now, when we get on to the second and third conditional, they're getting a little bit
more complicated, okay, so you just have to take your time to understand them.
But if you understand the basic rules, it makes them a lot easier.
So let's start with the second conditional.
Okay, so when we're talking about the second conditional, it's about unreal things in the
present.
So something that's unlikely it might, but it's unlikely to happen.
So this is our second conditional, the basic rule of it is that it's an unreal situation
in the present.
Okay?
And when we talk about it, we are using if, and would and here's the difference between
the first and the second conditional.
In the first conditional we used if and will, because it's about real situations.
And in the second condition, conditional, it's unreal situations, and therefore, we're
using if, and wood, but the main rule still applies if in one clause would in another
clause that never together, okay, so, if in the first clause would in the second, or again,
you can reverse them would in the first clause, and then if, in the second, okay, so it's
if and here we use the past tense, so if plus the past simple, okay, and then would with
the bare infinitive of the verb, so let me give you an example.
If I were you, I would go to the doctor, if I were you, I would go to the doctor, so you're
not feeling very well, you're talking to your friend.
And he or she tells you, if I were you, I would go to the doctor.
So he's given you or she's given you some advice.
So here we have if plus the past simple if I were you, and then the main clause, I would
go and that's that bare infinitive, I would go to the doctor.
Now, we're using 'were' instead of 'was' because when we talk about that second conditional.
The verb to be always is were not was.
So if I were you, I would go to the doctor.
Or reverse it, I would go to the doctor, if I were you.
So the meaning is exactly the same.
It doesn't matter which clause you put first, which clause you put second, so long as if,
and words are in different clauses really, really important.
If I were taller, I would be a basketball player.
Okay, I'm not going to be any taller than I am now.
So it's virtually impossible.
It's an unreal situation.
And therefore we're using that second conditional.
And if it's a second conditional, you have to have if, and you have to have what does
not will, it must be wood.
And occasionally, it can be could or might, yeah, okay, so if in one clause with the past
simple, and then the main clause, or the second clause would awkward.
Okay.
So that's this second conditional.
And it's about unreal presents situations, but we express it by using the past tenses.
So it sounds a little bit complicated.
But when you work through it, you'll understand.
So as I used in my example, if I were you, I would do this.
If I were younger, I would be a film star.
So it's all about advice or situations, perhaps, unreal, and therefore unlikely to happen.
And that's why we use that second conditional.
Okay, let's
take a look at the third conditional.
So we've looked at zero, we've looked at first, and second.
And now finally, we're going to look at the third conditional.
If you do like this particular lesson, then please remember to like the video and subscribe
to the channel, because it really, really helps.
So here, when we're talking about the third conditional, it's about unreal situations
again, but unreal situations in the past, and this is the difference between the second
and the third conditional.
The second conditional was unreal situations now.
And the third conditional is unreal situations in the past.
So it's either something that happened in the past or didn't happen in the past.
Now, the basic rule is, again, we need if and we use if with past perfect or could be
past perfect, continuous.
And then the main clause again, we have to use wood, and we use the perfect bare infinitive.
So let me give you an example.
If I hadn't driven my car so fast, I wouldn't have crashed it.
If I hadn't driven my car so fast.
I wouldn't have crashed it.
So if followed by the as perfect if I hadn't driven Okay, past perfect if I hadn't driven
my car so fast, and then the next clause, I wouldn't have and here's our perfect wouldn't
have crashed.
So present perfect, I wouldn't have crashed it or my car.
Okay, so my sentences, if I hadn't driven my car so fast, I wouldn't have crashed it.
And this is an example of the third conditional, it's unreal, because what actually happened
was I did drive my car too quickly.
And I did crash it.
But if I hadn't, and this is the unreal past situation, if I hadn't driven the car so fast,
I wouldn't have crashed it.
And again, like all the other conditional tenses that we've looked at, we have to keep
the if, and would in separate clauses.
And again, it doesn't matter which one you have first if, as the first clause, then the
main clause second, or the main clause first and the if clause second, so long as if, and
would do not appear in the same clause.
If I had known you were sick, I would have called you, if I had known you were sick,
I would have called you.
So I didn't know you were sick, and I didn't call you.
That's the facts.
But you were sick, and it's too late now, because you're better.
And I didn't call you so it's something unreal in the past, if I had known, and so we've
got that if plus the past perfect.
If I had known you were sick, I would have called you.
Or I would have visited visited you.
Okay, so it's that present perfect with would.
Okay, so really good examples of the third conditional.
So zero conditional is about something that is a general truth.
The first conditional is about the real present.
The second conditional is about unreal present.
And then the third conditional and this is the big difference is about on real past.
Okay, so something general truth, something that happens now, zero conditional, something
that's going to happen real in the present, either now or immediately in the future, will
be the first conditional, if I see him, I will tell him you set a low.
So that's a real situation.
The second conditional is unreal present, if I were you, but I'm not if I were you,
I would go to the doctor.
And we're using the past tense to describe that.
And then finally, with the third conditional on real past, something that did happen in
the past, or something that didn't happen in the past, you can't change it.
But so you use this if and would, if I had known you were sick, I would have called you.
If I had known I needed money, I would have stopped at the ATM machine.
So the fact is, you didn't and you didn't know you needed money, you didn't stop at
the the ATM machine, and therefore you couldn't go to the cinema or go somewhere else.
Okay, so all really, really good examples of that third conditioner.
Okay, so you need to practice zero, not so important, but just to know it, but the most
important first, second, third conditions and try to practice making sure that you leave
those clauses separate if and will to separate clauses.
If and would two separate clauses.
Change them around if you like would and if, will and if, it doesn't matter, it won't change
the meaning the meaning will exactly the same but never ever never ever put if and will
or if and would in the same clause.
So when you check it and check your answers against any tests that you're doing, make
sure the separate Okay, make sure if it's the first conditional if and will if it's
the second conditional and you're talking about an unreal present, if I were okay and
then if it's the third conditional that you have to use, make sure you're using if with
that past perfect you have to see it if the past perfect and would with the present perfect
and if you follow those basic rules and do some practice, you will be able to understand
those conditionals much much easier and as I said before that I've got a grammar course
that goes into these in much more detail, please check out the link below.
If you have any questions come back to me on www.englishlessonviaskype.com.
Always happy to hear from you and always happy to include your suggestions as this one was
a suggestion from some of our listeners and our readers okay thanks for listening thanks
for joining me join me again soon