Hello!
In this video we're looking at mixed conditionals. We've already looked at, in earlier videos,
at "I'll go if you go" and "I would go if you went" and "I'd have gone if you had gone".
But now we have some new variations - instructions, descriptions and some mixing of different
time frames.
Hope you enjoy it!
We're looking at mixed conditionals and before we do that let's just go back and look at
the three, here they are, that we looked at before in three other videos. First of all
"I'll go if you go", which is future possibility, I'll just write "possible" there, it's a real
possibility. Then "I would go if you went", which is imaginary, I'll write "imaginary",
imaginary. And then, finally, "I'd have gone if you had gone" which is the impossible one
set in the past but it's impossible because it didn't happen.
Now I want to look at some variations, I've got three I want to look at on the left. First
of all 'instructions', I'll write "instructions" there and this is where we use the "if" followed
by a present tense and an imperative. I'd just like to grab one and pull it in, there
it is, that's it: "If it boils, turn the gas down" or "if he calls, let me know" or the
other way round "tell me, if you don't feel well".
Right, let's move on to the next one now. The next one are 'common events' in present
time. Once again I'll grab one and drag it in, there we go: "if you're tired, you need
to rest" or another one "if it rains, we stay at home" or a scientific one which it's often
used for "if you heat water at sea level, it boils at one hundred degrees centigrade"
or if you like "if you heat water at 350 metres above sea level, it boils at ninety-nine degrees
centigrade", I think that's right!
Now the last one, I'll just write 'present perfect' there, we introduce the present perfect
and once again I'll grab another sentence and drag it in. "If you have finished" (which
seems to be past present) I'll look at your work". And of course, we could also do that
as an instruction so I'll drag in another option there "if you have finished, hand in
your paper".
Let's move on, I've got three more ways of mixing up conditionals. First of all 'imaginary',
I'll just write "again" there, and I'll drag in two more sentences from the right, here
we go. "I would go if you should go" or "I would go if you were to go" - two more formal
ways of expressing imaginary conditionals.
Now the next one, 'common events', I'll just write 'common events' but this time in the
past. And here's an example, which I'll drag in, let me get it in the right place, that's
it, okay: "if it was fine, we usually had lunch out". Or another one "we wore overcoats,
if it was cold" or "we used to take them in by car, if they were late".
And finally, the last group I want to put out is when we get a time shift from past
to present. That's when the sentence starts in the past and changes to the present, I'll
just drag in an example here, get it in the right place...that's ok, good. "If I had worked
harder(then), I would be ok now". "If you had saved your money, you would be able to
buy a new laptop now".
Now, just to finish let's have a look at what Polly thinks about all this. Here she is and
what's she got to say? She's got to say: "well perfect...if only".
I've given three basic ways of using conditionals; possible, imaginary and impossible and I've
given half a dozen variations but the truth is that the way we use conditionals depends
on meaning more than grammar and any combination of tenses if alright, if it makes good sense.
Now I'd like to move on to a little test.