Условные предложения или придаточные предложения условия (Conditionals) – это сложноподчиненные предложения, состоящие из главного предложения (Main clause) и придаточного условия (if-clause), которое часто вводится союзом if. Условные предложения в английском языке используются для описания осуществимых или неосуществимых ситуаций и бывают четырех типов.
Zero Conditionals (general truth)
Условные предложения данного типа всегда являются 100% истиной, они часто описывают законы природы, общеизвестные истины/факты.
| If -clause | Main clause |
|---|---|
| Present Indefinite | Present Indefinite |
- If temperature is zero, water freezes.
- If you heat water, it boils.
First Conditionals (real possibility)
Выражают реальные, возможные ситуации в настоящем или будущем. Вероятность, что действие произойдет, очень велика.
| If -clause | Main clause |
|---|---|
| Present Simple | Future Simple + infinitive without to |
- If it rains, I will not go to the park.
- If I see Mary, I will tell her.
- If the taxi doesn’t come soon, I’ll drive you myself.
Second Conditionals (imagine situations)
Выражают действия, совершение которых в определенных ситуациях в настоящем и будущем оказывается нереальным. Вероятность, что действие произойдет, равна нулю.
| If -clause | Main clause |
|---|---|
| Past Simple | modal verb with future-in-the-past meaning (should/would/might/could) + infinitive without to |
- If I had a lot of money, I would travel round the world.
- If I were you, I would drive more carefully in the rain.
- If you decided to take the exam, you would have to register by 31 March.
Third Conditionals (lost chances)
Выражают воображаемые ситуации, относящиеся к прошлому. Вероятность, что действие произойдет, равна нулю.
| If -clause | Main clause |
|---|---|
| Past Perfect | would (could, should, might) have + past participle |
- If I wouldn’t drink so much, I wouldn’t have got a fine.
- If the weather had been nice 2 days ago, I would have gone to the beach.
- If I had gone to Egypt, I could have learned Arabic.
- If I had played better, I would have won.
- It would have been easier if George had brought his own car.
- If the dog hadn’t barked, we wouldn’t have known there was someone in the garden.
Summary
| true | likely/possible | less likely/less possible | impossible |
|---|---|---|---|
| zero | first | second | third |
| If it snows, we get our skis out. (We do this every time it snows.) | If she gets the job, we’ll celebrate. (It is possible or likely she will get the job.) | If we had more students, we would run the course. (It is less likely or unlikely that we will get more students.) | If the rent had been lower, I would have taken the flat. (The rent was not low enough.) |