The if-conditional: types 1, 2 and 3

🔊 The teacher reads for you

« If he wants to be an artist, he'll have to decide what sort of artist he wants to be. » « If he went to an Art School, there'd be no guarantee he could get a good job afterwards. » « I'd have been an actor if my parents had let me. » In one conversation, the headmaster and Mr Harris use three different ifs: one for a real possibility, one for an imagined situation, one for a past that can no longer change. You already know the if-conditional; this lesson makes sure you can use its three types — and unless. So which tenses go with which if?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

بناء الجملة الشرطية من النوع الأوّل ⁦If + present simple, … will + infinitive⁩ لشرط ممكن
بناء النوع الثاني ⁦If + past simple, … would + infinitive⁩ لوضع متخيَّل مخالف للواقع، مع ⁦were⁩
بناء النوع الثالث ⁦If + past perfect, … would have + past participle⁩ لماضٍ لم يقع
التعبير عن التحذير بـ ⁦unless⁩ بمعنى ⁦if … not⁩

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الحاضر البسيط والماضي البسيط والماضي التامّ
التصريف الثالث للفعل ⁦(past participle)⁩
الأفعال الناقصة ⁦will, would, could⁩

1. Three types of if-conditional

للجملة الشرطية ثلاثة أنواع، والأزمنة تحدّد درجة واقعية الشرط: ممكن في المستقبل، أو متخيَّل مخالف للحاضر، أو ماضٍ لم يقع.

An if-sentence has two clauses: the condition (the if-clause) and the result (the main clause). The tenses tell how real the condition is. Type 1 — a real possibility: if + present simple, … will + infinitive. « If he wants to be an artist, he'll have to decide what sort of artist he wants to be. » When you talk about the future, do not put will in the if-clause: use the present simple. Type 2 — an imagined, unreal situation: if + past simple, … would + infinitive. « If I were still at school, I would work harder for my exams. » (But I'm no longer at school.) After if, were is used instead of was; was is possible in informal spoken English. Type 3 — an unreal past, a past that cannot change: if + past perfect, … would have + past participle. « I wouldn't have been a teacher myself if I'd had my way. » (He did become a teacher.)

Four if-sentences from the conversation

1. If he went to an Art School, there'd be no guarantee he could get a good job afterwards. 2. He wouldn't be a teacher even if it were the last job on earth. 3. I wouldn't have been a teacher myself if I'd had my way. 4. If he wants to be an artist, he'll have to decide what sort of artist he wants to be.

The three types

Type	If-clause	Main clause	It expresses
1	if + present simple	will + infinitive	a real possibility
2	if + past simple (were)	would + infinitive	an imagined, unreal situation
3	if + past perfect	would have + past participle	an unreal past

The if-clause can come first or second: the tenses stay the same.

Task 1 — Arrange sentences 1-4 according to their conditional type.

صنّف الجمل الأربع بحسب نوع الشرط.

Type 1: sentence 4 — wants (present simple) … 'll have (will).
Type 2: sentences 1 and 2 — went, were (past simple) … 'd be, wouldn't be (would).
Type 3: sentence 3 — 'd had (past perfect) … wouldn't have been (would have + past participle).

Task 2 — Explain what each conditional type expresses in these sentences.

بيّن ما يعبّر عنه كلّ نوع في هذه الجمل.

Type 1 (sentence 4): William may really want to be an artist — a real possibility, so the result is real too. Type 2 (sentences 1 and 2): imagined situations. William has not gone to an Art School; and teaching is not « the last job on earth ». Type 3 (sentence 3): a past that did not happen. The headmaster did not have his way — he became a teacher — and nothing can change it now.

2. From situations to if-sentences

اقرأ كلّ وضعية واسأل: هل تتحدّث عن مستقبل ممكن، أم عن حاضر غير واقع، أم عن ماضٍ لم يقع؟ ثمّ اختر نوع الشرط.

Consider situations A-G and write sentences with if.

A. I am not tall and strong enough to be a policeman or a firefighter. B. He didn't get the required marks to go on a training course to be a doctor. So he took a course in computer science. C. Work hard, and you will succeed. D. Get your Baccalauréat and I will offer you a motorcycle. E. She failed her Baccalauréat because she had not worked hard. F. Farida is jobless. She regrets not having taken into account the job market at the time of her registration at university. G. You must study harder, otherwise you won't pass your Baccalauréat with distinction.

Task 3 — the if-sentences, and the type of each

الجمل الشرطية، ونوع كلّ واحدة.

A. If I were tall and strong enough, I would be a policeman or a firefighter. — type 2: I am not.
B. If he had got the required marks, he would have gone on a training course to be a doctor. — type 3: he did not get them.
C. If you work hard, you will succeed. — type 1.
D. If you get your Baccalauréat, I will offer you a motorcycle. — type 1.
E. If she had worked hard, she wouldn't have failed her Baccalauréat. — type 3.
F. If Farida had taken the job market into account when she registered at university, she would have found a job. — type 3: a regret about the past.
G. If you don't study harder, you won't pass your Baccalauréat with distinction. — type 1, a warning.

Notice that the if-sentence says the opposite of reality in types 2 and 3: « I am not tall » becomes « If I were tall »; « she had not worked hard » becomes « If she had worked hard ».

3. A warning: unless = if … not

⁦unless⁩ تعني ⁦except if⁩ أو ⁦if … not⁩، وتُستعمل كثيرا في التحذير، بأزمنة النوع الأوّل: الحاضر البسيط بعدها و ⁦will⁩ في جملة الجواب.

Unless means except if or if … not, and introduces a condition. We often use it in warnings: « You'll fail unless you work harder. » (= You must work harder, otherwise you will fail.) The tenses are those of type 1: will in the main clause, the present simple after unless — never will after unless. « We'll be late unless we hurry » = « We'll be late if we don't hurry. » Unless cannot replace if … not when the condition is unreal: « Karim would be our best student if he weren't so lazy. »

Task 4 — « Unless you let him make his own choice, he will reproach you for any of his study failures later. » A. What tenses come before and after unless? B. Which can replace unless: except if · if + not · even if · only if? C. What does unless express: a promise, a wish or a warning?

ما الزمن قبل ⁦unless⁩ وبعدها؟ وما الذي يحلّ محلّها؟ وعلامَ تدلّ؟

A. After unless, the present simple (let); in the main clause, the will-future (will reproach).
B. except if and if + not: « If you don't let him make his own choice, he will reproach you… »
C. A warning: the headmaster tells Mr Harris what will happen if he does not change his attitude.

Rewrite the sentences using unless. Make the necessary changes.

A. You must study more or you won't pass your Baccalauréat. B. You must listen carefully or you won't know what to do in your exam. C. We must hurry or we'll miss the school bus. D. She must get more information or she won't complete her project.

Task 5 — the answers

الإجابات: ⁦must … or⁩ تصير ⁦unless⁩ متبوعة بالحاضر البسيط.

A. Unless you study more, you won't pass your Baccalauréat.
B. Unless you listen carefully, you won't know what to do in your exam.
C. Unless we hurry, we'll miss the school bus.
D. Unless she gets more information, she won't complete her project.

« must … or … » becomes « unless + present simple, … will »: the obligation disappears, the warning stays.

Do this alone, out loud. Imagine you were William. In four sentences, tell what you would do and say to convince your parents. Use the second type: « If I were William, I would … ». Then check each sentence: past simple (were) after if, would in the other clause.

تخيّل وحدك أنّك مكان وليام، وقل في أربع جمل ما كنت ستفعله وتقوله لإقناع والديك، مستعملا النوع الثاني.

A model answer

If I were William, I would explain to my parents what sort of artist I want to be. I would tell them that I could take an art course at a Technical College. If they let me choose, I would work very hard to succeed. And if I failed, I would never reproach them.

In the exam, conditionals are tested by rewriting and by verbs in brackets: « Work hard, and you will succeed » becomes « If you work hard, you will succeed »; « She failed because she had not worked hard » becomes « If she had worked hard, she wouldn't have failed ». Have three things ready: ① type 1: if + present simple, … will; ② type 2: if + past simple (were), … would; ③ type 3: if + past perfect, … would have + past participle — and unless = if … not, with the tenses of type 1. The frequent mistake is will in the if-clause: never « if you will work », « unless you will work ».

What I keep — Type 1, a real possibility: if + present simple, … will (If he wants to be an artist, he'll have to decide). Type 2, an imagined situation: if + past simple, … would (If I were still at school, I would work harder). Type 3, an unreal past: if + past perfect, … would have + past participle (I wouldn't have been a teacher if I'd had my way). Unless means if … not: it takes the tenses of type 1 and often gives a warning.

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