Conditional Review

We use conditional statements to say that something results as a consequence of another action. And of course, there are various kinds of conditional statements.

The first conditional is used to say that if something happens now, something else will happen later as a result.

For example: If I study hard, I’ll pass the exam.

In these cases, te probability isvery high, athough not 100 percent, because some inconvenience could occur. For example, you could lose your nerves[1], lose the train, etc. However, you can bet[2] on it.

Its construction is: if + present simple, future.

The part of the phrase with if can go first or second:

If I study hard, I’ll pass the exam. = 
I’ll pass the exam if I study hard.

[1] perder el valor, [2] apostar

We use the second conditional to say that if something happened in the past (which really didn’t happen) there would be a different consequence (instead of what’s happening now).

For example: If I studied hard, I would pass the exam.

(But the fact is that you usually do NOT study hard, so you usually fail your exams)

As you can see, the second conditional is the opposite of reality. In these cases, the probability that the opposite will happen is very low. (It’s possible to pass the exam, because you guessed the answers correctly or because you cheated. It’s even possible that you change your way and decide to study, finally.)

Its construction is: if + past simple, would + infinitive.

The part of the phrase with “if” can go first or second:

If I studied hard, I would pass the exam.

= I would pass the exam if I studied hard.

The third conditional is used to say that if a different action was taken in the past, the result would have been different.

For example: If I had studied hard, I would have passed the exam.

(But the fact is that you didn't study, so you failed the exam.)

Like the second conditional, this is the opposite of reality. But unfortunately, you can't change the past. You have no other choice than to accept the past. And that's why this conditional is impossible; the probability is zero.

Its construction is: if + past perfect, would + present perfect.

The part of the phrase with if can go first or last:

If I had studied hard, I would have passed the exam.

= I would have passed the exam if I had studied hard.

The zero conditional is used to say that something always happens as a result of another action.

For example: If I study, I learn.

(This result has been checked several times and it's always true, therefore the probability is 100%)

Its construction is: if + present simple, present simple.

The part of the phrase with if can go first or last: 

If I study, I learn. = I learn if I study.