Level: beginner
Verbs in time clauses and conditionals usually follow the same patterns as in other clauses but there are some differences when we:
- talk about the future
- make hypotheses.
Talking about the future
In time clauses with words like when, after and until, we often use present tense forms to talk about the future:
I'll come home when I finish work.
You must wait here until your father comes.
They are coming after they have had dinner.
In conditional clauses with words like if, unless, even if, we often use present tense forms to talk about the future:
We won't be able to go out if it is raining.
I will come tomorrow unless I have to look after the children.
Even if Barcelona lose tomorrow, they will still be champions.
We do not normally use will in time clauses and conditional clauses:
I'll come home when I finish work. (NOT
will finish work)
We won't be able to go out if it rains. (NOTwill rain)
It will be nice to see Peter when he gets home. (NOTwill get home)
You must wait here until your father comes. (NOTwill come)
but we can use will if it means want to or be willing to:
I will be very happy if you will come to my party.
We should finish the job early if George will help us.
- Future time and conditional clauses 1
- Future time and conditional clauses 2
Level: intermediate
Making hypotheses
Some conditional clauses are like hypotheses, so we use past tense forms.
We use past tense forms to talk about something that does not happen or is not happening in the present:
He could get a new job if he really tried.
(= He cannot get a job because he has not tried.)
If Jack was playing, they would probably win.
(= Jack is not playing so they will probably not win.)
If I had his address, I could write to him.
(= I do not have his address so I cannot write to him.)
We use past tense forms to talk about something that we believe or know will not happen in the future:
We would go by train if it wasn't so expensive.
(= We will not go by train because it is too expensive.)
I would look after the children for you at the weekend if I was at home.
(= I cannot look after the children because I will not be at home.)
We use past tense forms to make suggestions about what might happen in the future:
If he came tomorrow, we could borrow his car.
If we invited John, Mary would bring Angela.
After I/he/she/it, we can use were instead of was:
If Jack was/were playing, they would probably win.
We would go by train if it wasn't/weren’t so expensive.
I would look after the children for you at the weekend if I was/were at home.
We use the past perfect to talk about something which did not happen in the past:
If you had seen him, you could have spoken to him.
(= You did not see him so you could not speak to him.)
You could have stayed with us if you had come to London.
(= You could not stay with us because you did not come to London.)
If we hadn't spent all our money, we could take a holiday.
(= We have spent all our money so we cannot take a holiday.)
If I had got the job, we would be living in Paris.
(= I did not get the job, so we are not living in Paris.)
If the main clause of a hypothetical conditional is about the present or future, we use a modal:
If I had got the job, we might be living in Paris now.
(= I did not get the job so we are not living in Paris now.)
If you had done your homework, you would know the answer.
(= You did not do your homework so you do not know the answer.)
If the main clause is about the past, we use a modal with have:
If I had seen him, I would have spoken to him.
(= I did not see him so I did not speak to him.)
You could have stayed with us if you had come to London.
(= You could not stay with us because you did not come to London.)
If you had invited me, I might have come.
(= You did not invite me so I did not come.)
- Hypothetical conditionals: present/future 1
- Hypothetical conditionals: present/future 2
- Hypothetical conditionals: past 1
- Hypothetical conditionals: past 2
Hello Risa warysha,
All of the words (if, when and as) are possible in this example, but the meaning changes.
If tells us that you are not sure whether or not the man was working yesterday.
When tells us that you know he was not working, but are not sure whether or not he was ill.
As tells us that you are drawing a conclusion (that he was ill) from the fact that he was not working yesterday.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi gsg238,
The first sentence is actually the correct one :)
In the second sentence, we can't say if you had came because after had, it must be the past participle form of the verb (come = past participle; came = past simple). This is a past perfect structure (see this page for more examples and explanation).
In the third sentence, the subject (you) is needed. It can't be omitted from the if-clause. We also need to add if.
Alternatively, we can use this more formal form without if and with an inversion: You could have stayed with us had you come to London.
Does that make sense?
Best wishes,
Jonathan
Hello Tim,
Yes, that's right. When speaking about the past you could also use the past perfect or the past continuous, and when speaking about the present, the present continuous is also possible, but in these cases they are used in the normal way -- that is, not like the use of the present simple to speak about the future, for example.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Harry de ZHANG,
Both sentences do refer to a hypothetical present time. The difference between the two sentences lies in the modal verb. 'would be living' states that in that hypothetical situation (in which I got the job -- in reality I did not get the job), we are definitely now living in Paris. 'might be living in Paris now' states that in that hypothetical situation, perhaps we are living in Paris and perhaps we are not.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Harry de ZHANG,
I'm glad that helped you!
And thanks for pointing out that error to us -- you are right and I have fixed the error.
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Elo,
The sentence is not about the past. We use the past form to describe a hypothetical present or future which we see as impossible or unlikely. In your sentence, the speaker thinks it unlikely that the other person will tell them what is wrong and so uses a past form (told) to express this.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Elo,
You are quite right - well spotted! We've corrected this mistake in the exercise.
Thanks again,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Elo,
The second sentence is not possible because it puts the result (would have won) before the cause (was playing). You would need to say If Jack had played... for the sentence to be logically coherent.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello magnuslin,
Yes, that's the idea.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi CareBears07,
The first sentence does not read well, I think. It is mixing general statements about hamsters with a specific and particular situation, which is inconsistent. You could argue that there is an implied result clause which is omitted, however:
The second example has a hidden result clause. The full sentence would be as follows:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi CareBears07,
I wouldn't say that there is a conflict with the grammatical rules, or rather I would say that any conflict is only superficial and disappears on closer inspection and consideration.
Language is a tool for expression and communication. Style is as much a part of that as grammar. Where omitting phrases or words causes ambiguity or a lack of clarity it may be problematic (unless the speaker desires ambiguity), but I don't think either of your examples were difficult to understand, even if the underlying grammatical struture was not immediately apparent.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Dean
This sentence is talking about a hypothetical or imaginary situation. This is clear from the use of 'Ideally' and especially from 'would not be' and 'had done'. 'had done' refers to an imagined time when the work is already done, and 'would' refers to a time after that.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Aabida,
It's unusual to use will or would in the if-clause. Generally, a present or past form is used in the if-clause and a modal verb in the main clause. However, it is possible to use a modal verb in the if-clause to give a sense of agreement or acceptance. This can be a way of making the sentence very polite, or else adding emphasis or irritation through sarcastic politeness, depending on the context:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Renate
It could be correct to use the present simple to speak about the future, but it really depends on how specifically you do it. For example, you could say 'We have tickets to visit London Bridge at 10'. In this case, the verb refers to the present (we have the tickets right now), but clearly the sentence is about the future. Or you could say 'We plan to visit St Paul's after lunch' or 'We want to have lunch near Piccadilly Circus' -- again, here the verbs refer to now, but clearly the sentence is about the future.
When you do get to teaching them about other verb forms to speak about the future, be sure to check out our Future plans page, where we've tried to present this as simply and clearly as possible.
Does that help?
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Yerlan,
A hypothetical situation is one which the speaker does not consider a real possibility. It may be impossible or simply extremely unlikely in the speaker's view. You can contrast this with real or likely conditional forms:
Here, the speaker sees the situation (the need) as something real. The speaker thinks that there is a good chance of this situation happening.
Here, the speaker does not expect that the situation will occur, and is giving this information which assuming that it is very unlikely to be needed. The situation is possible but not likely, in the speaker's view.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Dean,
In conditional sentences, the likely/unlikely aspect relates to the condition, not the result. The result may be certain if the conditon is fulfilled, but the condition itself may be extremely unlikely. For example:
Everyone dying in this situation is certain; the sun exploding is, happily, extremely unlikely.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Yerlan,
Would is used in the sentence as the situation described is hypothetical, as you say. Nobody is actually going to a hospital, but they may do so in the future.
If a person were definitely going to visit a hospital then you could use will:
...the things they will need to be able to say when visiting...
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Yerlan
In the first sentence (with 'would have been'), it sounds as if he is thinking about the past, for example, yesterday. I suppose that in some very specific situation, it could be that he is at the party at the time of speaking, but in general if he is at the party now, the second sentence is the one he would use to speak about the present time.
Your question was very clear -- good job explaining it!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Yerlan,
The sentence can be paraphrased as follows:
Right now I won't accept any disagreement.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Yerlan,
The modal verbs will and would can be used in if-clauses when we are talking about a person's willingness to do something. For example:
if you give John describes an event which may or may not happen
if you will give John describes an event which you may or may not agree to; it means something like if you agree to give John or if you are willing to give John.
The use of would is similar. It can be a more polite form or it may imply a little more scepticism on the part of the speaker.
You can read more about this topic here:
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/61299/if-i-go-vs-if-i-will-go-referring-to-the-future/61308#61308
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team