1) If + subject + verb in present simple (comma) / subject + verb in present simple.
If you heat ice, it melts.
or,
2) Subject + verb in present simple / if + subject + verb in present simple.
Ice melts if you heat it.
The zero conditional is often used for (scientific) facts. There is no idea of something happening in the future:
If you heat magnesium, it burns with a white flame.
It is also used for discussing something that happens habitually:
If you leave the door open, the cat comes in.
If I sleep too much in the afternoon, I get a headache.
If I go jogging; I always feel better later.
1) If + subject + verb in present simple* (comma) / subject + will, can, may, might, must, going to + infinitive.
(*If + subject + can / must / going to, is also possible, eg. "If I can go out tonight, I will go to the cinema".)
If I go out tonight, I will go to the cinema.
or,
2) Subject + will, can, may, might, must, going to + infinitive / if + subject + verb in present simple.
I will go to the cinema if I go out tonight.
The first conditional is used to talk about a future situation we think will very probably happen. With reference to the example above, I think we will go out tonight and so I'll go to the cinema. More examples:
If I get that job, I'll buy a new car. (I think I'll get the job.)
If we leave now, we'll be at the beach before lunchtime. (I'm quite certain.)
Sometimes we are so certain that something will happen, we use the first conditional as a warning:
You'll get a cold if you go out without your coat! (I'm warning you.)
She'll break that glass if she doesn't walk slowly. (a warning)
1) If + subject + verb in past simple (comma) / subject + would, could, should, might + infinitive.
If I went out tonight, I would go to the cinema.
or,
2) Subject + would, could, should, might + infinitive / if + subject + verb in past simple.
I would go to the cinema if I went out this evening.
The second conditional is like the first conditional because it can also talks about a future event. However, when we use the second conditional, we think the future event is improbable or the situation may be unreal. In the example above, I would go to the cinema if I went out but I do not think I will go out - perhaps because I am ill or have a lot of work.
For this reason this conditional is used to talk about our dreams, hopes and wishes:
If I won the lottery, I would buy a yacht.
If I could fly, I'd escape from here today.
If you were more intelligent, you would pass your exams.
The past tense in the "if" clause is not really a past as nothing has happened yet; it is a past subjunctive. We do not have a subjunctive form in English so we use the past simple structure.
In the second conditional, it is common to also see the "were" form for first and third person singular although "was" is also grammatically correct - "was" being more colloquial:
If I were a rich man, I'd build a big house in the country.
1) If + subject + had + past participle (comma) / subject + would, could, should, might + have + past participle.
If I had gone out last night, I would have gone to the cinema.
or,
2) Subject + would, could, should, might + have + past participle / if + subject + had + past participle.
I would have gone to the cinema if I had gone out last night.
The third conditional talks about past events that did not happen the way we expected, desired or they are a hypothetical past. With reference to the above example, it talks about an intention in the past but the real past was different; I did not go out and so I did not go to the cinema. More examples:
If I had studied harder, I would have passed my exams. (But I did not study hard.)
We wouldn't have had an accident if we had driven more slowly. (But we did not drive slowly.)
I might have got that job if I had worn a more elegant suit. (But I did not wear a more elegant suit.)
Wish and if only phrases in present tense are similar to the second conditional structure. These words express something that isn't true at the moment but we want it to be so.
If only I had a bigger car. I could take the whole family.
I wish I were/was richer. I would buy a new house.
When wish and if only are used in this way, they take a tense that is 'more in the past'. Note these situations in present simple.
I'm not very tall.
I don't get many emails from Mary.
You have a car that is expensive to run.
We would wish saying (if only has an identical use):
I wish I was/were taller.
I wish I got more emails from Mary.
I wish you had a more economical car.
Now these situations in present continuous:
It's snowing outside.
I'm going to work tomorrow.
With wish we would say:
I wish it wasn't/weren't snowing.
I wish I wasn't/weren't going to work.
He gave Mary a cheap watch for her birthday.
With wish:
He wishes he hadn't given her that watch.
And wish could be in the past too:
Then he wished he hadn't given it to her.
Present perfect:
She's left her job.
She wishes she hadn't left it.
We often use wish and if only with would when we are complaining about somebody's behaviour or insisting that somebody does something. We use this structure to talk about other people and not ourselves.
I wish you wouldn't pick your nose.
I wish you would stop smoking in the house.
I wish you would hurry up and finish the painting.
This use of would is really the past of will, which we also use to complain or insist.
You will pick your nose.
You will smoke in the house.
Will you hurry up and finish the painting. (Not strictly a question but a way to insist.)
With stative verbs (verbs that are more states than actions) such as: live, be, like, prefer, have (possession), verbs of the senses (smell, see, hear, etc.), would is not used with wish.
I wish you didn't live so far away. (not, wouldn't live...)
I wish you liked foreign food more. (not, would like...)
And imagine your partner comes home from the gym one evening smelling terribly. You can't say:
I wish you wouldn't smell so much!
but,
I wish you didn't smell so much!
As smell (verb of the senses) is not an action verb so we can't ask anybody to stop doing it!
Exercises on the conditionals...
Exercises on wish and if only...
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