Conditional sentences
There are three types of conditional sentences.
type condition
I condition possible to fulfll
condition in theory possible to
II
fulfll
condition not possible to fulfll
III
(too late)
The Form
type if-clause main clause
Simple will-future or (Modal +
I
Present infnitive)
II Simple Past would + infnitive *
would + have + past
III Past Perfect
participle *
If-clause at the beginning
type if clause main clause
I If I study, I will pass the exam.
II If I studied, I would pass the exam.
III If I had studied, I would have passed the exam.
If-clause at the end
type main clause if-clause
I I will pass the exam if I study.
II I would pass the exam if I studied.
III I would have passed the exam if I had studied.
Modal verbs
* We can substitute could or might for would (should, may or must are
sometimes possible, too).
I would pass the exam.
I could pass the exam.
I might pass the exam.
, I may pass the exam.
I should pass the exam.
I must pass the exam
1. Auxiliaries, Modals and Main verbs
be, have and do can be auxiliaries and main verbs. They have grammatical
functions and are used for forming tenses, questions, the passive, etc.
Modals are can, could, may, might, must, ought,
to, shall, should, will, would and need (need can also be a main verb).
2. What to keep in mind when using modals
Explanation Sample sentences
The sun rises in the east. - A
Do not use modals for things which
modal can't be used in this
happen defnitely.
sentence.
They have no -s in the 3rd person
He can play football.
singular.
Questions are
Can he speak Spanish?
formed without do/does/did.
It follows a main verb in its infnitive. They must read the book.
There are no past He was allowed to watch the
forms (except could and would). flm.
When you use the past participle you tell
about things which did not happen in the You should have told me.
past.
Chapter 12 Finding your own voice / the passive
1. I had to investigate further
It ________________. (necessary)
2. I would prefer to have a shorter working week and fewer redundancies
even if that means lower take-home pay.
It ____________________________. (preferable)
Inversion used to give emphasis
1. A storm of such intensity had not struck the town since 2005. (not since)
Not since 2005 had a storm of such intensity struck the town.
2. The town was so badly afected by the storm that many residents were
forced to live in temporary shelters.
So badly was the town afected by the storm that many residents...
Research book
Chapter 3 Choosing the right source material
Online encyclopedias Anyone can write for these. The information is not peer-
(Wikipedia) reviewed, so it may be biased or inaccurate. Useful for a
quick overview.
Newspapers (The The information is up-to-date but may have been hastily
Times) researched. Not considered academically credible.
Academic Journals Rate highly in terms of academic credibility and up-to-date
There are three types of conditional sentences.
type condition
I condition possible to fulfll
condition in theory possible to
II
fulfll
condition not possible to fulfll
III
(too late)
The Form
type if-clause main clause
Simple will-future or (Modal +
I
Present infnitive)
II Simple Past would + infnitive *
would + have + past
III Past Perfect
participle *
If-clause at the beginning
type if clause main clause
I If I study, I will pass the exam.
II If I studied, I would pass the exam.
III If I had studied, I would have passed the exam.
If-clause at the end
type main clause if-clause
I I will pass the exam if I study.
II I would pass the exam if I studied.
III I would have passed the exam if I had studied.
Modal verbs
* We can substitute could or might for would (should, may or must are
sometimes possible, too).
I would pass the exam.
I could pass the exam.
I might pass the exam.
, I may pass the exam.
I should pass the exam.
I must pass the exam
1. Auxiliaries, Modals and Main verbs
be, have and do can be auxiliaries and main verbs. They have grammatical
functions and are used for forming tenses, questions, the passive, etc.
Modals are can, could, may, might, must, ought,
to, shall, should, will, would and need (need can also be a main verb).
2. What to keep in mind when using modals
Explanation Sample sentences
The sun rises in the east. - A
Do not use modals for things which
modal can't be used in this
happen defnitely.
sentence.
They have no -s in the 3rd person
He can play football.
singular.
Questions are
Can he speak Spanish?
formed without do/does/did.
It follows a main verb in its infnitive. They must read the book.
There are no past He was allowed to watch the
forms (except could and would). flm.
When you use the past participle you tell
about things which did not happen in the You should have told me.
past.
Chapter 12 Finding your own voice / the passive
1. I had to investigate further
It ________________. (necessary)
2. I would prefer to have a shorter working week and fewer redundancies
even if that means lower take-home pay.
It ____________________________. (preferable)
Inversion used to give emphasis
1. A storm of such intensity had not struck the town since 2005. (not since)
Not since 2005 had a storm of such intensity struck the town.
2. The town was so badly afected by the storm that many residents were
forced to live in temporary shelters.
So badly was the town afected by the storm that many residents...
Research book
Chapter 3 Choosing the right source material
Online encyclopedias Anyone can write for these. The information is not peer-
(Wikipedia) reviewed, so it may be biased or inaccurate. Useful for a
quick overview.
Newspapers (The The information is up-to-date but may have been hastily
Times) researched. Not considered academically credible.
Academic Journals Rate highly in terms of academic credibility and up-to-date
