Teaching Conditional Sentences: Methods for making
them easy to understand and teach.
Conditionals can be a
confusing aspect of the English language, both for native and non-native
speakers.
Different languages approach conditionals in
different manners, so EFL lessons that address conditionals will be interpreted
differently by students depending on their native language. This article covers
the concept of conditionals and suggests teaching methods that could be
implemented for your students.
Defining
Conditionals
Conditionals are sentence structures that
explain a particular situation or circumstance and its consequences. If this
happens, then that happens. Conditionals are commonly referred to as "if
sentence structures" because they often contain the word "if."
In my experience, conditional
forms should be introduced to students once they have learned the basics of the
past, present, and future tenses. While there are four conditional forms, five
including the mixed conditionals, it is best to start off with the first
conditional focusing on real situations. To alleviate confusión, it is helpful
to point out parallels in future time clauses:
- I'll
discuss the dinner requirements if he
comes to the reunion.
- We'll
discuss the issue in the afternoon.
This will help students with the
structure of using the if clause
to begin the sentence, in parallel with the same structure for future time clauses.
- If we
finish everything early, we'll go out for dinner.
- When we
visit South America, we like to go to Peru.
Once students have understood
this basic structural similarity, it's easy to continue on with the zero
conditional, as well as the other conditional forms. It is considered best to
introduce all three forms if students are comfortable with tenses, as the
similarities in structure will help them absorb and understand the information.
Here are suggestions for teaching
each conditional form in order.
The Zero Conditional
We can make a zero conditional
sentence by using two present simple verbs (one in the 'if clause' and one in the
'main clause'):
·
If +
present simple, .... present simple.
This
conditional is used when the result will always happen. So, if the sun comes
up, it will be a beautiful day. It's a fact. I'm talking in general, not about
one particular situation. The result of the 'if clause' is always the main clause.
The 'if' in this conditional can
usually be replaced by 'when' without changing the meaning.
For example: If water reaches 100
degrees, it boils. (It is always true, there
can't be a different result sometimes). If I eat fast
food, I get fat and unhealthy.
(This is true only for me,
maybe, not for everyone, but it's still true that I put in weight when eat too much fast food)
Here are
some more examples:
·
If people eat too much, they get fat.
·
If you touch a fire, you get burned.
·
People get hungry if they don't eat.
·
You get water if you mix hydrogen
and oxygen.
·
Snakes bite if they are annoyed
·
If babies are unhappy, they cry  Understanding English Verb Tenses: 28 Downloadable study slides for use in your
The First Conditional
The first conditional has
the present simple after 'if', then
the future simple in the other clause:
·
if + present simple, ... will + infinitive
It's used to talk about things
which might happen in the future. Of course, we can't know what will happen
in the future, but this describes possible things, which could easily occur.
·
If it rains, I won't go to the park.
·
If I study today, I'll go to the party
tonight.
·
If I have enough money, I'll buy some new
shoes.
·
She'll be late if the train is delayed.
·
She'll miss the bus if she doesn't leave soon.
·
If I see her, I'll tell her.
First
vs. Zero Conditional:
The first conditional describes
a particular situation, whereas the zero
conditional describes
what happens in general.
For example (zero conditional): if you sit in the sun, you get burned (here I'm talking about every time a person sits in the sun - the burning is a the natural consequence of the sitting) But (first conditional): if you sit in the sun, you'll get burned (here I'm talking about what will happen today, another day might be different)
First
vs. Second Conditional:
The first conditional describes
things that I think are likely to happen in the future, whereas the second
conditional talks about things that I don't think will really happen. It's
subjective; it depends on my point of view. For example (first conditional): If she studies harder, she'll pass the exam (I think it's possible she will study harder and so she'll pass) But (second conditional): If she studied harder, she would pass the exam (I think that she won't study harder, or it's very unlikely, and so she won't pass) 
The Second Conditional
The second conditional uses the past simple after if, then 'would' and the infinitive:
·
if + past simple, ...would + infinitive
(We can use 'were' instead of
'was' with 'I' and 'he/she/it'. This is mostly done in formal writing).
It has two uses.
First, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be true. Maybe I'm imagining some dream for example.
·
If I won the lottery, I would buy a
big house.(I probably won't win the lottery)
·
If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.
·
She would travel all over the world if she were rich.
·
She would pass the exam if she ever studied.(She
never studies, so this won't happen)
Second, we can use it to talk about something in the present which is impossible, because it's not true. Is that clear? Have a look at the examples:
·
If I had his number, I would call him.
(I don't have his number now, so it's impossible for me to call him).
·
If I were you, I wouldn't go out
with that man.
How is
this different from the first conditional?
This kind of conditional
sentence is different from the first conditional because this is a lot more
unlikely. For example (second conditional): If I had enough money I would buy a house with twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool (I'm probably not going to have this much money, it's just a dream, not very real) But (first conditional): If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes (It's much more likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes) 
The Third Conditional
We make the third conditional
by using the past perfect after 'if' and then 'would have' and
the past participle in the second part of the
sentence:
·
if + past perfect, ...would + have + past participle
It talks about the past. It's
used to describe a situation that didn't happen, and to imagine the result of
this situation.
·
If she had studied, she would have passed the
exam (but, really we know she didn't study and so she didn't pass)
·
If I hadn't eaten so much, I wouldn't have
felt sick (but I did eat a lot, and so I did feel sick).
·
If we had taken a taxi, we wouldn't have
missed the plane
·
She wouldn't have been tired if she had gone to
bed earlier
·
She would have become a teacher if she had
gone to university
·
He would have been on time for the interview if
he had left the house at nine  The Mixed Conditional
Another type
of conditional sentence is that when type 2 and type 3 conditional sentences
are mixed.
How conditional sentences are
mixed
Unreal conditionals (type II +
III) sometimes can be mixed, that is, the time of the if clause is different
from the one of the main clause.
1. Past → Present
·
If I had taken an aspirin,
I wouldn't have a headache now.
2. Past → Future
·
If I had known that you are
going to come by tomorrow, I would be
in then.
3. Present → Past
·
If she had enough money,
she could have done this trip to
Hawaii.
4. Present → Future
·
If I were you, I would be spending my vacation in
Seattle.
5. Future → Past
·
If I weren't flying to
Detroit, I would have planned a
trip to Vancouver.
6. Future → Present
·
If I were taking this exam
next week, I would be high-strung. If I had worked harder at school, I would have a better job now. I would have a better house now if I had earnt more money. If we had looked at Google maps we wouldn't be lost now. We wouldn't be hungry if we had made a sándwich before we left home. If you had caught that plane you would be in Sydney now. You would be ready now if you had written the note on time Anyway, good luck with teaching the conditionals, I hope that my article, in some small way, helps you to both understand, and teach it in a way that makes this confusing structure a little clearer and the teaching easier.       |
Well explained sir,
ReplyDeleteBut always grammar makes me confused.