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CONDITIONAL
TENSE
A conditional tense has two clauses
1.
if-clause
2. Main clause
E.g. If he comes I will tell you.
The
if-clause is: If he comes
The main clause is: I will tell you
Note
that any of the two clauses can be used to start the sentence.
I will
tell you if he comes.
There are three types of conditional
tenses.
1. If + present + future
That is: If + present +
(will/shall + infinitive)
If rain comes I will stay in doors.
We use
this tense for ordinary cases when there is a fair chance that the action
we are talking about will take place.
If he comes to town, I will give
him the news.
2. If + past + conditional
If + past +
(would/could/should + infinitive)
If he became chief, I would support
him.
We use this tense for imaginary cases or when the action we are
talking about is very unlikely to happen.
If fire caught this hall many
people would die.
It means it is unlikely that the house will catch
fire or we are simply imagining what would be the result of the house
catching fire.
If he gave us a negative reply, we would report the
matter to the police.
Isha: What would be the result if the earth
stopped rotating?
Sorie: I think parts of the world would remain dark
for ever.
If I were in Shenge, I would become a fisherman.
He would
buy a car if he found a big diamond
If I were he, I would buy the
watch.
What would you do if you received twenty million leones.
I'd
build myself a house if I won twenty million leones. People would admire
me.
If I didn't want to write the letter, I wouldn't buy an
envelop.
3. If + past perfect + conditional perfect
i.e. If +
(had + past participle) + (would have + past participle)
In this
sentence the if-clause contains the past perfect tense and the main clause
contains a conditional perfect (would have)
If he had given the sign, I
would have gone. We use this tense when there are two actions in the
sentence with one depending on the other. But, since the first did not
happen, the second also didn't occur. In the sentence above it is very
clear that he didn't give the sign and so I didn't go.
If you had given
me the book, I would have studied.
If Amie had come, I would have
known..
I would have helped him if he had done well.
Answer
these questions:
1��.alive, the quarrel would have been settled
immediately.
A. had my father been B. were my father to be C. If my
father were to be D. my father having been
2. If it.... cloudy, those
tomatoes will be ripe tomorrow.
A. wasn't B. won't be C. isn't D.
wouldn't be
3. Her brother ....the message wrong if you entrusted it
with him.
A. will get B. would get
C. would have got D. is going to
get
4. If I....him to, he would have done it.
A. had told B. told
C. should have told D. were to tell
5. The film....shown last week,
if the projector hadn't broken down.
A. would have been B. would be
C. had been D. were to have been
6. Won't he go if his brother
.....?
A. shan't B. didn't C. wouldn't D. doesn't
7. If I were you
I�..that.
A. I shall not B. am not doing
C. would not do D. I will
not do that
8. If I went to the party tomorrow night in my old dress,
everyone��at me.
A. will stare B. will be staring
C. would stare D.
shall be staring
9.If Mina had had the time, she�.read the letter
before signing it.
A. should B. had C. will D. would have
If I gave
you ten thousand naira, what�with it.
A. will you do B. would you do
C. would you have done D. will you be doing
10. If Musa became
President of the association, workers�..prosper.
A. will B. would have C. will have D.
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