Questions tagged [conditional-constructions]
For questions about constructions which associate a hypothetical or imagined 'condition' with a 'consequence' which is inferred to be true if the 'condition' is true OR predicted to occur if the 'condition' occurs. "If John arrives tonight we will have a party."
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Whether using present or past simple in the imaginary past event
I might have thought she __ not able to speak, if I had not heard
her singing.
It's just a made-up sentence, please apologize if it doesn't make sense. Anyway, if only if I have to choose between is ...
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He did something regularly to see if I needed anything. An event of need actually occured?
He checked on me regularly during my stay to see if I needed anything.
I've been confused of if I needed anything.
Actually needing something has occured in the first place?
Which article can make me ...
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Conditional statement
I'm Spanish and I'm doing some exercises to practise for my exams and I have just seen this question:
If I ___ eaten so much food, I wouldn't feel sick now.
The options to fill the gap were: hadn't /...
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Can someone explain this conditional? (Past simple + past perfect)
I've just come across one conditional that I don't quite understand.
If what she said was true, Marilyn had almost certainly left town last night.
I understand that the first part of the sentence is ...
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Conditionals: Main clause in negative
Do the rules on conditional constructions depend in any way on whether the main-clause is in negative?
Here is one example:
We are trying to write-down all the steps, so that if another person
wants ...
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Irregular Conditionals
I saw the following example sentence in this link:
If Gina would explain her situation a little better, I think they'd see where she's coming from.
As seen, both the if- and main clauses use the &...
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Which sentence is correct? The first one or the second one?
Which sentence is correct? The first conditional or the second conditional?
A: If I don't start packing soon, I will miss the flight.
If I didn't start packing soon, I would miss the flight.
B: Relax, ...
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Example of a *real* condition in the past
Consider the following hypothetical example. A friend of mine named Alex passed away last year. I've found a notebook in his room with pictures of lions. This suggests that he was likely interested in ...
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Using the third conditional when the condition is "real"
I've heard the third conditional structure is used when the condition is not real. Here are some examples.
But I think I've come across an example that negates the above rule. Here it is:
If Alex had ...
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If I had time, I should go to the gym" vs "If I had had time, I should have gone to the gym"
(As in conditional sentences)
"If I had time, I should go to the gym."
"If I had had time, I should have gone to the gym."
I am not sure about American English, but I reckon in ...
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Peculiar If Sentence
I'm not sure what is suggested here, can you shed light on this if usage:
The history of efforts to regulate cigarette- and their relative ineffectiveness- demonstrated the power of the industry to ...
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Had better plus present perfect vs 3rd conditional
If I say
You had better have invited him.
I'm referring to the point that the addressed person hasn't been invited yet. I was thinking that I can also say it like this:
It would have been better if ...
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Correct or wrong?: "When I will meet him, I will explain."
Background
I think the present simple is usually used after when if it's like a condition.
E.g.:
I'll call you when I arrive. (correct)
I'll call you when I will arrive. (wrong)
However, on english-...
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The Present Simple is used as a condition. Why not 'will'?
I'm not sure if it's the right word, but I feel like the Present Simple is sometimes used as a 'condition'. For example:
If you do that, this will happen.
I'll call you when I arrive.
Clean your ...
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Can the following sentence (without if) be regarded as a conditional type 2 sentence?
I was wondering if the following question can be regarded a conditional sentence of the 2nd type:
To hear some men talk, you'd think that women belonged to a different
species!
In fact the sentence ...
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Inversion with "to not have"?
I came across this quote and was intrigued by its grammar: "The soul would have no rainbow, had the eyes no tears"
At first glance, "had the eyes no tears" this seems like a type ...
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If I took the test and failed, it would (have) be/been a waste of time
Let’s say I’m talking to a fellow student about whether or not we should take a certain test this semester or the next semester. We haven’t started to study for the test, so thus far no time has been ...
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Can it happen to be an unconventional usage of "would+Perfect Infinitive"?
Of course, there has been a raft of questions and answers about how to use the construction would+Perfect Infinitive but one I have stumbled across on the Internet plunged me into bewilderment.
I have ...
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mixed conditional verb
I know there are 4 types of conditional sentence. zero, one, two, three and mixed conditional; that the mixed conditional has two types:
When the condition refers to the past, but the consequence to ...
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Are the following translations of the sentences using "thought" and "think" correct?
I think that usage of the words "think" and "thought" is the most
difficult in English grammar. Even though I watched several videos
and searched the internet, I am unable to ...
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A question about conditional construction [closed]
My question is about the type of conditional verb in the past(condition and condition's result is about the past).
A: I don’t understand this.
B: If I were you, I would ask your teacher for help.
A:...
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Can I say (have go this through)?
I saw this sentence from my friend's WhatsApp story. He's an English learner like me. This is the sentence by the way:
Had I not been a jerk I would not have been going this through.
I think, there'...
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Comma after a conditional clause in the middle of a sentence
The description of some algorithm (searching in a program-transition graph for a program state with certain properties) finishes with
We return “true” if we find such a state(,) and “false” otherwise....
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present or past tense in conditional sentence?
Look at the following sentence:
The importance of leisure time would be more vivid if we consider / considered that
too much work will result in burnout.
Which one is correct? consider or considered?...
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is "If +past simple + would have+past participle" grammatically wrong?
Is "If I knew French, I would have spoken it" grammatically wrong? cause I think it doesn't fit into the those 4 types of conditionals. the closest one to it maybe the third conditional but ...
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possible current result of possible past event
I want to express a possible result of an action that might have been carried on in past, but I don't have any idea whether the action is done or not. Consider this sentence:
If you'd read the book, ...
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use of which as a conjunction in a conditional clause
Constructing a shelter is a great act. Especially if there is a need
for a shelter in a town, in which case the reward is limitless.
I see something unusual in the word 'which' here. I think there ...
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What does this conditional sentence mean exactly?
The importance of leisure time would become more vivid if we
considered that constant work results in burnout.
What does this sentence mean? Does it mean that:
Currently we do not consider that ...
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I always fail to use the correct conditional construction!
Which one of the following options are correct? I think the second one is correct because it is about past and we need third conditional. Is it right?
Curfews were a big part of my childhood and I ...
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Is using 'should' to omit 'if there is' appropriate?
I'm learning through an English app. It says there, to omit if in this sentence below:
If there is a fire, leave the room.
I can use in case, so, the sentece will be:
In case of fire, leave the ...
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Appropriate clause with 'if'
Which one should I use?
If you could solve this problem, I'll give you a chocolate.
If you solved this problem, I'll give you a chocolate.
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What is the correct tense for the result clause where the conditional clause is in the form "If sb/sth had"?
I came across an article on conditional sentences on Grammarly.com (https://www.grammarly.com/blog/conditional-sentences-was-instead-of-were/) where the two sentences below are given as correct:
If I ...
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Why is 'He won't forget it if he is rich' incorrect?
What I've learned about conditional sentences is when we have will, it must be the first kind of conditional sentences (type I).
But, take a look at this
Who's wrong? The app or I? It's an app called ...
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at the same time as or at the same time when
The sentence:
At the same time as the value of x decreases, the variable y and its absolute value decrease.
Can we use when instead as?
At the same time when the value of x decreases, the variable ...
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You would have got or get?
Is it “get” or “got” ?
For example:
You would have got tired of it.
Or
You would have get tired of it.
Thank you.
user134468
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I'm never going to guess the answer if you don't give me a clue. / I will never guess the answer if you don't give me a clue
From Oxford dictionary I have the first sentence. But from my grammar book is the following quote: "When the future event doesn't depend on the action described in the if-clause, we use be going ...
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Present Perfect or Past Perfect in a conditional sentence. What makes more sense? [closed]
If you hadn't ever fallen out of the sky, I don't know what I would
do now.
If you haven't ever fallen out of the sky, I don't know what I would
do now.
If you never fell out of the sky, I don't know ...
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Can 'were' be used as a conjunction to mean 'if'?
Were it true, he would find himself in trouble.
In the sentence above, is it correct to say that 'were' is a conjunction or acting as such? I have seen writers use this construction to mean this:
If ...
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Have I used conditional structure correctly in the following sentence?
Children should be disciplined to abide by the law from an early age.
Otherwise, it would be tough to teach them the importance of being
law-abiding when they turned to crime and became disobedient.
...
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How to invert 'if there were' (second conditional)
Suppose I want to invert this sentence:
If there were something that could bring you in the past to make a
restartable decision, that would be great.
Is it correct to write like this? :
Were there ...
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How to know if sentence containing would/could is not a conditional sentence
Do we always use could would in conditional sentences?
1.I would love to go there.
2.It could rain.
3.That would be Daniel.
Are all the above sentences 2nd conditionals?
How to distinguish between ...
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what could we see if we . .
Is the following use of "could" compatible with "light"?
What could we see if we light a lantern?
This doesn't seem to fit any of the textbook conditional patterns.
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Which mood should I use in here?
1a) If he not lose the tomorrow's competition, he will be the champion.
1b) If he win the tomorrow's competition, he will be the champion.
2a) If he does not lose the tomorrow's competition, he will ...
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if she studied hard for the exam, she would pass it
My daughter's exam results came out just an hour ago and I don't know her results yet. I don't even know whether she studied hard for the exam. But,
a) I'm sure if she studied hard for the exam, she ...
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Can We Use Conditionals Inside Embedded Questions Inside Participle Phrases?
This question sounds more complex than it is, so I'll provide the piece of writing that made me curious:
These realities differ from the core MCU in both minor and substantial ways, showing what ...
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"If I really wanted to study, I would have attended all classes." Is this sentence correct?
David tells Jack that he (David) don't want to study. If he really wants to study then he would have attended all classes regularly. Is following sentence correct in this situation?
If I really ...
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Usage of conditional constructions
I'm from India where English is not a native language. Generally here we use constructions like "Should you work hard?" and "Had I done it?" in interrogative sense.
But now I find ...
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Usage of UNLESS
What's wrong with this sentence?
Unless we had reduced the price, no one would have bought it.
My teacher said it's wrong and the correct sentence is the following one.
If we hadn't reduced the ...
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The 3rd Conditional. Are these sentences all meaningful and correct?
Let's say you are 20 years of age and a person tells you:
"You would have been a genius, if you could speak 10 languages at 5 years old"
"You would have been a genius, if you had been ...
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Which is correct "Do you know {if/will} linear algebra {will be/be} offered...", "If/will be" or "will/be"?
I feel confused which one of the following is correct?
Do you know if linear algebra will be offered in the following semester?
Do you know will linear algebra be offered in the following semester?
