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Search concise B2 First grammar, vocabulary, functional phrases and exam strategy — without leaving the course to hunt through past lessons.
Practise thisOpen cloze — grammar words under pressureKey word transformations — 10 extra itemsCommon errors — spot and fixExtra Practice
What it is
Sentences that link a condition to a result. The tense pair you choose shows how real or how distant from reality the situation is.
Form
| Type | Pattern | Model sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero | If + present simple, present simple | If you heat ice, it melts. |
| First | If + present simple, will/may/might/can + V | If it rains, we'll take the car. |
| Second | If + past simple, would/could/might + V | If I lived nearer, I'd walk to work. |
| Third | If + past perfect, would/could/might have + V3 | If she had asked, I would have helped. |
| Mixed | If + past perfect, would + V (now) | If I had taken that job, I'd be in Berlin now. |
Negatives and questions follow the tense in each clause: If you hadn't left … / What would you do if …?
Use it when
- General truths and rules → zero.
- Realistic future possibilities → first.
- Imaginary or unlikely present/future → second.
- Regrets about the past → third.
- A past condition with a present result → mixed.
Examples
- If you press this button, the machine restarts.
- If the flight is delayed, I'll text you.
- If I were you, I'd say nothing.
- If we hadn't booked early, we wouldn't have got seats.
Watch out
If it will rain, we'll stay in.
If it rains, we'll stay in.
No will in the if-clause of a first conditional.
If I would have known, I'd have called.
If I had known, I'd have called.
The third conditional if-clause uses the past perfect.
- unless = if not
- Comma only when the if-clause comes first.
Remember
One step back in tense = one step away from reality.
Quick check
- 1.If I ___ (be) taller, I'd play basketball.
- 2.She ___ (pass) if she had revised.