Exercise 1
Choose the best option.
a If I didn’t/don’t have to work, I’d spend all my time travelling.
b We wouldn’t have been/won’t be late if you hadn’t forgotten your tie.
c If you took/take more exercise, you’d feel better.
d I’d lend/’ll lend you some money if I had any.
e If I am/were you, I’d laugh about it.
f If you win/won the lottery, would you tell me?
g If I win/won the lottery, I’d share it with you,
h I wouldn’t have been/wasn’t angry if you hadn’t told me about it.
i If the captain saw/had seen the iceberg, he wouldn’t have hit it.
j I’d babysit for you if I don’t/didn’t have a meeting.
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
a If Lindsay ………………….. (stop) smoking, she’d feel better.
b I’d go round and apologize at once if I ………………….. (be) you.
e If I hadn’t go ne to the party, I ………………….. (not / meet) you.
d We wouldn’t have met Jeff if Simon ………………….. (not / invite) us to the party.
e If Billy weren’t so good-looking, I ………………….. (not / fancy) him.
f What ………………….. you ………………….. (say) if you’d been at the meeting?
g If she ………………….. (work) harder, she’d get better marks.
h I ………………….. (not / know) about that book if you hadn’t recommended it.
i If Guy ………………….. (take) more exercise, he’d be thinner.
j If the train hadn’t been delayed, we ………………….. (not / miss) the lecture.
Exercise 3
Match the two halves of each sentence.
|
a If you’d thought about it, b Steve would be lonely c If the guard hadn’t fallen asleep, d If I were a bird, e What would you do f They’d have been upset g How would he have felt h If I had more energy, i If you loved her, j I’d take an aspirin |
1 you’d call her straightaway. 2 if we hadn’t got the tickets. 3 if he’d been there? 4 you wouldn’t have said it. 5 if you were me? 6 I’d enter the marathon. 7 if he didn’t have his dog. 8 I’d emigrate every winter. 9 the car wouldn’t have been stolen. 10 if I were you. |
Exercise 4
Rewrite these statements as conditional sentences.
a Life isn’t easy. I haven’t got any money.
…………………..
b Eat more fruit. That’s my advice.
…………………..
c Barbara revised. She passed the exam.
…………………..
d We were late. You lost your keys.
…………………..
e You never email me so I don’t email you.
…………………..
Answers
Read the note to find out why.
1
a didn’t -> A, E
b wouldn’t have been -> D, F
c took -> A, E
d ‘d lend -> A, E
e were -> C
f won -> B, E
g won -> B, E
h wouldn’t have been -> D, F
i had seen -> D, F
j didn’t -> A, E
2
a stopped -> E
b were -> C
c wouldn’t have met -> F
d hadn’t invited -> F
e wouldn’t fancy -> E
f would … have said -> F
g worked -> E
h wouldn’t have known -> F
i took -> E
j wouldn’t have missed -> F
3
a 4 b 7 c 9 d 8 e 5
f 2 g 3 h 6 i 1 j 10
4
a Life would be easy if I had some money.
b If I were you, I’d eat more fruit.
c If Barbara hadn’t revised, she wouldn’t have passed the exam.
d We wouldn’t have been late if you hadn’t lost your keys.
e If you emailed me, I’d email you.
Notes
A
Use second conditional sentences when you’re thinking about present situations.
B
Use second conditional sentences when you’re thinking about future situations.
C
Use second conditional sentences with If I were you to give advice.
D
Use third conditional sentences to talk about things that have already happened in the past.
E
Use the past tense in the if clause of second conditional sentences and would/wouldn’t in the other clause.
F
Use the past perfect in the if clause of third conditional sentences and would/wouldn’t have in the other clause.
Review
Second and third conditionals
Second conditional
– You can use second conditional sentences to talk about unreal situations in the present. You use the past tense in the if clause and would/wouldn’t in the other clause.
If I didn’t have to work, I’d lie on the beach all day. (But I have to work, so I can’t.)
If we had lots of time, we’d travel. (But we haven’t, so we don’t.)
– You can also use second conditional sentences to talk about unlikely events in the future.
If I won the lottery, I’d share it with you.
(But I probably won’t win it, so I won’t share it with you.)
If I saw a ghost, I’d speak to it.
(But I’m not very likely to see a ghost, so I won’t speak to one.)
– You can use second conditional sentences with If I were you to give advice.
If I were you, I’d see a doctor. I wouldn’t forget Jo’s birthday if I were you.
Third conditional
– You use third conditional sentences to talk about things that have already happened in the past and their consequences. You use the past perfect in the if clause and would/wouldn’t have in the other clause.
If we hadn’t smashed the car up. we wouldn’t have got into trouble.
(But we did smash the car up and we did get into trouble.)
If I’d told you, you’d have been furious with me.
(So I didn’t tell you and you weren’t furious.)
– The if clause often comes first in conditional sentences. However, you can reverse the two clauses without changing the meaning.
If James didn’t have such a good sense of humour, I wouldn’t like him as much. =
I wouldn’t like James as much if he didn’t have such a good sense of humour.
– When the if clause comes first, you put a comma between the two clauses. You don’t need one if it comes second. Note, however, that native speakers often leave the comma out. You may see examples of this in newspapers and magazines, and on the internet.
If it rained, I’d stay at home. I’d stay at home if it rained.
