STUFF THAT WILL HAPPEN

Real conditionals

What is a real conditional?

Real conditionals are used to talk about something that has a high chance of happening.

My parents will kill me if I don’t pass my classes.The if-clause states something that could

happen.The main clause tells what the result will be.

If I pass all my classes, I will cry from happiness.When the if-clause comes first, we usually add a

comma.

If-clause examples

Present real conditionals talk about facts, things that are generally true, habits, and routines:

If you sneeze with your eyes open, your eyes will pop out of your head.

If students study hard, they get good grades.If you smoke cigarettes, you will smell bad.If you eat at McDonald’s every day, you’ll get fat.

Future real conditionals describe things that can happen in the future and the likely results:

If I win lots of money in the lottery, I will give some to my teacher. If my roommate snores in her sleep tonight, I will kill her.

If you keep putting your duckface pictures on Facebook, your friends will think you are an idiot.

If-clause examples

If the main clause uses simple present verbs: My roommate stinks if he doesn’t shower every day.

will If Alex eats ice cream, he will get diahrrea.

be going to I am going to die if I don’t eat some food soon.

modal (can, could, may, might, etc.) If I don’t find a girlfriend, I will die alone.

subordinators

Subordinators are parts of sentences that explain the main idea more clearly. Here are some common subordinators used with real conditionals:

whenas long asonly ifeven ifunless

when

when is used to talk about general truths and habits in the simple present When the teacher talks, I get sleepy. When my parents give me money, I spend it right

away. When I think about English, I feel so happy.

as long as

as long as is used to say that one thing is needed to make the result come true. As long as you do my homework for me, I won’t learn

anything. As long as I try hard, my family will be happy with the

results. As long as I exercise and watch what I eat, I will stay

healthy.

only if

only if is used to say that one thing must be true for the result to happen. We can be together only if you are rich. I will say hello to him only if he says hello first. She will help me with English only if I help her with

Chemistry.When you use only if at the beginning of a

sentence, reverse the subject and the auxiliary verb (do, have, be, etc.) in the main part of the sentence. Only if I have US$500,000 can I buy that apartment. Only if I get above 90% on my Chinese test can I pass the

class. Only if I drink coffee will I be able to stay awake in class.

even if

even if is used to say that the condition won’t change the result. Even if I study all night, I can’t pass my Calculus test. Even if I were the only boy in school, she still wouldn’t

date me. We won’t be able to make enough money even if we

sold everything.

unless

unless basically means “if something…not”. Unless we all start to take care of the environment,

climate change will get worse. Unless I can wake up earlier, I will never make it to

class on time. Unless the school computers crash, we will get our

grades next week.

Let’s try:

I will come back into our dormitory room _______ my roommate cleans it up first.

I will continue to love her, ________ she doesn’t love me.

______ you stop picking your nose while you are talking to me, I will keep on ignoring you.

I hate it ______ we have to give speeches in class.

I will go to the movies tonight _______ there are not tests tomorrow.

I won’t help you ______ you stop complaining all the time!