Verb Tense In

8/6/2019 Verb Tense In

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English

IF CLAUSE


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Verb Tense in "If" Clauses

W

hat this handout is ab

out

There are many different ways to express "conditional" or "hypothetical"

meaning in English. One of them is to use the word "if" in the clause that

expresses the condition. For example, "If it rains, we'll cancel the picnic. If it

doesn't rain, we won't." This handout explains how different verb tenses

indicate different meanings when you are speaking hypothetically and should

help you choose the right verb tense for the meaning you want to convey.

Using this handout

Most explanations of the conditional don't use one consistent example, so it's

difficult to see how different verb tenses convey different meanings. This

handout uses the same basic activity in each example (sticking your fingers into

the fire) to show how the situation influences the choice of verb tense. The

critical factor is the *likelihood* of the situation being real. Pay attention to the

situation described before each example and notice how the verb changes as thesituation becomes more and more likely.

Zero conditional: "Real condition"

This conditional deals with "real" conditions. We don't call it "real" because it

has already happened: we call it real because it *always* happens this way. We

use this to describe a condition with an absolutely predictable result, in otherwords, to state a fact.

y If you stick your fingers in the fire, they get burned. (facthappensevery time)

When the situation is completely likely, use present tense in both clauses.


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First conditional: "Unreal, but likely"

This conditional deals with "unreal, but likely" situations in the present or

future. We call it "unreal" because situation we are describing hasn't happenedyet, and "likely" because we can easily imagine it happening. We use the first

conditional to describe these situations.

For example, a 3 year old child is reaching toward the fire. She hasn't put her

fingers into the fire yet, but we know that small children don't understand fire,

so we can easily imagine her touching it. We would say:

y If you stick your fingers into the fire, you will burn yourself. (Same ideaas above, but rather than stating a general fact, you are talking about a

specific incident.)

y If you stick your fingers into the fire, you will be crying all day.Notice that the verb "stick" is in the present tense. Using the present tense verb

shows two things:

1. it hasn't happened yet (it's unreal)2. you believe it could happen (it's likely)

Also notice that the main clause verbs (will burn, will be crying) can be in

simple form or-ingform. It depends on whether you want to emphasize a

single moment in time (simple form) or the an extended period of time (-

ingform). In either case, use will + verb in the main clause.

When the situation is unreal, but likely, use present tense in the conditional

clause and will + verb in the main clause.

Second conditional: "Unreal and

unlikely"

This conditional deals with situations in the present and future that are both

unreal and unlikely. The situation we are describing hasn't happened yet, and

we really can't imagine it happening very easily, except in a freak accident or a

moment of great stupidity.


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For example, a 25 year old is joking about reaching into the fire. He hasn't put

his fingers into the fire yet, and we don't think he's serious about doing it, but

we want to warn him about the consequences just in case. We would say:

y If you stuck your fingers into the fire, you would need medical attention.y If you stuck your fingers into the fire, you would be screaming in pain

all day.

Notice that the verb "stuck" is in the past tense. Using the past tense verb shows

two things:

1. it hasn't happened yet (it's unreal)2. you don't really believe it will happen (it's unlikely)

Also notice that the main clause verbs (would need, would be screaming) can

be in simple form or-ingform. It depends on whether you want to emphasize a

single moment in time (simple form) or the an extended period of time (-ingform). In either case, use would + verb in the main clause.

When the situation is unreal and unlikely, use past tense in the conditional

clause and would + verb in the main clause.

Third conditional: "Unreal condition"

This conditional deals with situations in the *past* that are unrealthey didn'thappen. We can still imagine what the consequences would have been.

For example, the 25 year old was joking about reaching into the fire, but he

didn't actually do it. We would say:

y If you had stuck your hand into the fire, you would have needed medicalattention.

y If you had stuck your hand into the fire, you would have been screamingin pain.

In the next two examples, the 25 year old actually did stick his hand into the

fire. The "unreal" situation is the opposite:

y If you hadn't stuck your hand into the fire, you wouldn't have spent theevening in the emergency room.

y If you hadn't stuck your hand into the fire, you wouldn't have blistered itso badly.


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When the situation is unreal and in the past, use past perfect (had + -ed) in

the conditional clause and would have + verb in the main clause.

Mixing timereferences

In the examples of the third conditional (unreal and in the past), both the

conditional clause and the main clause refer to past time: If you had done this

in the past, you would have experienced this in the past.

It is also possible to mix time referencesto talk about a condition in the past

and the consequences in the present. For example:

y If you had stuck your fingers into the fire last night, you would be in alot of pain right now.

y If you hadn't stuck your fingers into the fire last night, you wouldn't bewearing bandages today.


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QUESTION

1. If you go out with your friends tonight, I (watch) ____________ thefootball match on TV.

2. I (earn) ____________ a lot of money if I get that job.3. If she (hurry/not) ______________, we (miss) _____________ the bus.4. If he (try) ________ harder, he (reach) ____________ his goals.5. I (buy) ____________ these shoes if they (fit) __________.6. It (surprise/not) ______________________ me if he (know/not)

______________ the answer.

7. If we (listen) _____________ to the radio, we (hear) ______________the news.

8. If you (switch) ____________ on the lights, you (fall/not)_______________ over the chair.

9. She (come) ___________________to our party if she (be/not)_______________ on holiday.

10.If I ______ stronger, I'd help you carry the piano.11.If we'd seen you, we ________________12.If we ____________ him tomorrow, we'll say hello.13.He would have repaired the car himself if he __________ the tools.14.If you drop the vase, it ____________.15.If I hadn't studied, I ___________________________________ the

exam.

16.I wouldn't go to school by bus if I _____ a driving licence.17.If she ______________ him every day, she'd be lovesick.18.I _____________ to London if I don't get a cheap flight.19.We'd be stupid if we ______ him about our secret.20.If she _____________ the bus, she ___________________ on time.


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Answer Question :

1. If you go out with your friends tonight, I will watch the football matchon TV.

2. I will earn a lot of money if I get that job.3. If she does not hurry, we will miss he bus.4. If he tried harder, he would reach his goals.5. I would buy these shoes if they fitted6. It would not surprise me if he did not know the answer.7. If we had listened to the radio, we would have heard the news.8. If you had switched on the lights, you would not have fallen over the

chair.

9. She would have come to our party if she had not been on holiday.10.If I were stronger, I'd help you carry the piano.11.If we'd seen you, we would have stopped.12.If we meet him tomorrow, we'll say hello.13.He would have repaired the car himself if he had had the tools.14.If you drop the vase, it will break.15.If I hadn't studied, I would not have passed the exam.16.I wouldn't go to school by bus if I had a driving licence.17.If she didn't see him every day, she'd be lovesick.18.I won't travel to London if I don't get a cheap flight.19.We'd be stupid if we told him about our secret.20.If she had taken the bus, she would not have arrived on time.

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Verb Tense In