There are three basic conditionals that we use very often. There are some more conditionals that we do not use so often. In this lesson, we will look first at the three basic conditionals:

الجمل الشرطية

The 1st Conditional (real possibility)

الحالة الأولى

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the Present Simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + Base Verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the 1st Conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (remember the two basic structures, IF Condition Result/Result IF Condition?):

The 2nd Conditional (unreal possibility/dream)

الحالة الثانية

The 2nd Conditional is like the 1st Conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the Past Simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + Base Verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the 2nd Conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen.

Here are some more examples::

The 3rd Conditional (no possibility)

الحالة الثالثة

The 1st and 2nd Conditionals are talking about the future. With the 3rd Conditional we are talking about the past. We are talking about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The 3rd Conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.

Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you lost! :(

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the Past Perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + Past Participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the 3rd Conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible.

Here are some more examples:

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