How to Use the Conditional in English Perfect English Grammar
hi everybody welcome back to our weekly
live stream my name is Alisha and today
we are going to talk about conditionals
in English
today’s topic is first second and third
conditional statements so I hope that
this is going to be a good lesson for
intermediate learners in particular as
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so please do that okay so as I said if
you are just joining today’s lesson
today we are going to talk about 1st 2nd
and 3rd conditionals first second and
third conditional statements in today’s
lesson I’m going to focus on making
statements I’m not going to focus so
much on questions I’m going to talk
about how we make these conditionals I’m
going to talk about when to use them and
I’m going to show a lot of example
sentences so I hope that you get lots of
practice with these grammar points for
today let’s take a quick look at our
lesson flow for today our lesson boards
for today look like this so if you want
to take a screenshot of today’s lesson
you will see this a few times so I’m
going to talk about the first
conditional first then second
conditional and then third conditional
so this will be today’s lesson flow okay
so with that let’s get started
all right Facebook hey Facebook I see
you I just I just loaded Facebook up now
fantastic I will say hi to you on
hi there Mary Chris 10 Suraj hello
thanks everybody for joining us
okay let’s get to Part 1 the first
conditional let us discuss the earth´s
conditional let me get my marker here
okay first conditional then let’s start
so what is the first conditional first I
want to look at how we make this
conditional there are two parts to all
of the conditional sentences I’m going
to talk about today I’m going to speak a
little bit more slowly to for this part
of the lesson so there are two parts to
all of the condition
statements for today there is what’s
called the if clause this is the part of
the sentence that has the word if yeah
so the if Clause finishes with this
comma this is called the if clause then
there’s this part here the main clause
this part is the part that’s after
that’s like outside the if clause so
we’re going to talk about if clauses and
main clauses today kind of this part 1
and part 2 of these sentences you can
change the order of these you can use
the if clause first or the main clause
first depending on what you want to
focus on in your sentence so let’s look
at the first conditional what does this
look like to make the first conditional
we use if plus our subject so like if
you were if I or if he and so on and
then we use a simple present tense verb
so simple present verb means we use a
simple present tense verb or a simple
present tense verb phrase in this part
right here in the main clause for the
first conditional we have a subject this
does not have to match this subject does
not always match this subject and then
to make a basic like just just start for
today’s lesson to make a basic statement
we use will or won’t
so remember won’t is will not plus the
infinitive form of a verb again the
infinitive form is just the dictionary
form so there’s no change to this verb
just the basic form the kind you find in
the dictionary so what do we use the
first conditional for mmm this is in
blue here we use the first conditional
to talk about a possible future
situation so there’s something that has
a chance of happening we use the first
conditional to describe that and it’s
something that has a pretty good chance
of happening as well so let’s look at
some examples of this and let’s break
down what’s happening in each
these example sentences first if I have
time this weekend I will go to the park
so this is a very basic one in this
sentence here’s my if clause if I have
time this weekend so that’s this part of
the sentence it has if in the sentence
we know it’s the if clause then this
part I will go to the park that’s the
main clause it has this will part so my
verb in the if clause is half this is a
simple present tense verb in my main
Clause I use will and infinitive verb go
so if I have time this weekend I will go
to the park so at native speed this
sounds like if I have time this weekend
I’ll go to the park if I have time this
weekend I’ll go to the park so this I
will gets reduced like we shortened this
we make it shorter so now I will but
aisle aisle five time this weekend I’ll
go to the bar so again this expresses a
possible future situation so this
sentence is expressing there’s a chance
of time this weekend and in that case
this will be my action if I have time
this weekend I’ll go to the party okay
hey Monday one of our YouTube members
welcome if I have it maybe if I have a
chance instead of if I get a chance
usually we say if I have a chance that’s
the verb we use there okay let’s go to
the next one
if she arrives early we’ll get coffee if
she arrives early we’ll get coffee so in
this case my sentence is she or sorry my
subject is she if she arrives
so arrives is the simple present form of
the verb arrived we have s here because
the subject is matching this subject she
arrives so we need to add this S here if
she arrives early , so here’s my if qua
we’ll get coffee we’ll get coffee
so here I’ve reduced we will two wheel
hmm
if she arrives early we’ll get coffee so
get it sounds like we will go together
and buy it okay
let’s look at some negative ones then
and then I’ll show you how you can level
this up because this is the most basic
form of conditional so let’s look at a
negative one this one if he doesn’t come
to the meeting we won’t discuss our new
idea again if he doesn’t come to the
meeting we won’t discuss our new idea so
here this follows the same pattern as I
introduced up here the difference is
just that it’s negative if he doesn’t
come does not if he does not come to the
meeting here’s my if clause if he
doesn’t come to the meeting we won’t
discuss our new idea we won’t discuss
our new idea so we are not going to do
something if this is the case so this is
helpful as well hmm so you can use this
to talk about you know various plans for
the near future
especially okay let at the final part of
this board and then I’ll come to your
questions so if you have questions start
typing them now okay next one you’ll
notice a change in this one if you can’t
finish your dessert I’ll finish it or
you if you can’t finish your dessert
I’ll finish it for you this might be a
good example set it does for many of you
so if you can’t finish your dessert
means if you cannot eat all of your
dessert I will finish it I will eat the
remaining parts of your dessert for you
so in other words I want to eat your
dessert that’s kind of like a funny way
of saying this so if you can’t finish
your dessert I’ll finish it for you here
again we have this negative if you
cannot if you cannot finish your dessert
mm-hmm I will finish it for you so in
the first conditional we can use these
can and can’t expressions in this clause
the the if clause and in the main clause
so I want to look at this level up point
here at the bottom so to level up this
if conditional the first this is a first
conditional this will would be different
depending on the conditional to level
this up you can use can and can’t or
should and shouldn’t or command instead
of will or won’t
so remember will or won’t I said this is
like a basic to make a very basic main
Clause you can use these expressions in
your main Clause to for example if I
finish work on time I can join you for
dinner I can join you for dinner
so what’s the difference here like for
example if I finish work on time I will
join you for dinner versus I can join
you for dinner like mmm the difference
is can expresses possibility if I finish
work on time it’s possible to join you
for dinner will is like 100% I’m going
to join you for dinner that’s the
difference here can expresses
possibility will expresses like yes I’m
going to do that thing that’s the
difference here okay some of your
questions now on YouTube I will go to
youtube first David arugula says how do
we use if is not an article how do we
use if in the middle of sentences so
when you see if mmm this when you see
this like in the middle of a sentence
it’s because these two clauses have been
swapped
so swapped means they changed the
so for example I will go to the park if
I have time this weekend so you can
reverse the order here or like I’ll
finish your dessert for you if you can’t
finish it so when you switch the order
the if appears in the middle of the
sentence okay some of your exam I don’t
see questions on Facebook but I see all
of you saying hello hello Dennis English
Journal says if I get enough money this
month I will have my kitchen redecorated
very nice learn electrician says if he
comes we won’t go to the market yes
grammatically correct grammatically
correct yes whoo-hoo as if you can’t
finish your dessert I am glad to finish
it for you yeah or I would be happy to
finish it for you it sounds natural okay
Arkadia says if we don’t do anything the
environment will be devastated very soon
very nice very nice good job Byron Byron
has a great question do we need to put a
comma hmm
so if if if you have the if clause first
okay so for me I hope I put a comma and
if this gets a little bit more a little
bit more advanced but like if a clause
that starts with if is a conditional
like a conditional and some people feel
you should always put a comma after like
an introductory like clause which is
this I feel it sounds most natural to
put a comma here but you may find people
who do not so for me I would say yes it
sounds natural that feels like the best
rhythm is to put a comma here because
we’re introducing something and without
this part of the sentence this part of
the sentence doesn’t make much sense
this part of the sentence can’t be by
itself it needs this part of the
sentence so putting a comma here is
important if however you use the main
clause first an if clause second you
don’t need to use a comma for example I
will go to the park if I have
time this weekend no comma so if your if
clause is first put the comma after the
if clause that’s my that would be my
answer okay I think I answered some of
the questions that are in the chat now
okay what’s a comma a comma a comma is
this thing right here it’s this thing I
can’t type in the chat Oh actually I
can’t I can’t escape in this chat here
all in the YouTube chat I’ll put a comma
that’s what a comb is sort of comma is
it marks pauses kind of it speech okay I
need to go to the next part Elizabeth on
Facebook you need a bigger board yes I
know usually I have a bigger board but I
am broadcasting from home again because
of you know the world situation so okay
let’s take a quick break and then we’ll
go to the next part ah real quick
question Miguel on Facebook says hi
Alicia can I use could sometimes I’m
going to talk about that in this case no
with first conditional the answer is no
but other conditionals yes
all right break quick break if you
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alright if you’re just joining today’s
lesson is about first second and third
conditional statements first second
third conditional statements if you’re
just joining please make sure to like
and share the video so that other people
can find today’s lesson that would be
super awesome okay I will show you again
today’s lesson boards so that you can
see what’s going on I just talked about
first conditional this guy now I’m going
to talk about second conditional what is
the second conditional when do we use
how do we make it and today last I’m
going to talk about third condition okay
so let’s continue on to part deux
Thursday okay
part two second conditional on we go
okay second conditional look at this
this looks very familiar right I’ve made
these boards look very similar to each
other so second conditional first let’s
look at how we make second conditional
this is very slippery today okay
second condition of we make second
conditional in like we make all
conditionals in very similar ways but we
have to be careful of our verb tenses
when we make a second conditional
sentence we have same pattern here
if plus our subject I’ll slow down again
if plus our subject and then simple past
verb simple password so remember when we
talked about the first conditional we
use a simple present tense verb yeah
here we’re going to use simple past
tense simple past tense verb important
point then in our main Clause again we
have our subject but instead of will or
won’t we use would or wouldn’t plus our
infinitive verb so at this point and
this point to begin to begin these two
points our keys for the second
conditional so when do we use second
conditional why should we care we use
second conditional to talk about a
future situation with a low chance of
happening a very low chance of happening
that means very low possibility so this
is used when we kind of just want to
imagine something but when we don’t
really think it’s going to happen so
let’s look at some examples of this hey
chat chat moderator can you look at that
if I won the lottery I would buy a boat
if I won the lottery
I would buy about what’s the lottery
lottery is a game you can play you buy a
ticket in most cases or something and if
your ticket the numbers on your ticket
match the contest numbers you win a lot
of money so if I won the lottery I would
buy a boat this one is the simple past
form of the verb win so if I won the
lottery I would buy a boat you cannot
use will here will it’s incorrect if I
won the lottery I will buy a boat that
is incorrect and that’s a mistake I see
lots and lots of learners make please
use wood here we cannot use will or
won’t okay let’s continue to the next
example of sentence but please don’t
flood the chat please if you want if you
have a question yeah thanks chat
moderator ok if I had a problem at work
I would speak to my manager if I had a
problem at work I would speak to my
manager so had is the past form of the
verb have followed by I would speak to
my manager so again we’re saying there’s
a low chance I will have a problem at
work but if I did if I had a problem at
work this would be my action so we use
would instead of will because we use
would and wouldn’t to talk about unreal
situations yeah so we cannot again we
cannot use will speak in this case it
has to be would speak because it’s an
unreal condition an unreal situation ok
can we use the progressive form of a
verb in a conditional can you give me an
example because yes yeah give you
example let’s go to the next one if she
lost her job she would find a new one if
she lost her job she would find a new
one so again low chance situation losing
her job
then she would find a new one so this
would be the action in this very low
chance situation okay some of your
examples are coming in now if I Monday
boo says if I were you I wouldn’t turn
down the offer but if I won the lottery
I would I would so many of you are using
will here it’s incorrect to use will in
the second conditional please use would
I would come visit you dis conditionally
use if well when we’re making a
condition generally yeah so for today’s
lesson we’re gonna look at using if if I
had money I would be happier says yeah
seen good example okay Nestor says which
conditional is the most common it’s hard
to say because we have different uses
for these different conditionals so that
it’s not like one is the most common it
kind of depends I would say personally I
probably use first conditional more
second conditional is used to give
advice which is the next topic so maybe
a little bit more off more than our
second second would be second
conditional okay on Facebook some
examples if she had finished her
homework we would have watched the TV if
she if she finished homework we would
watch TV mmm
I’m not sure what that’s trying to say
if we if she had finished that might be
better for the third conditional which
we’re going to talk about later I can’t
see okay I’m gonna go on to the next one
because time is going quick I mentioned
this just now used to give advice this
is one of the most common ways that the
second conditional is used for advice if
I were you and yes I will answer the if
I were if I was questioned in a moment
if I were you ill if I were you or if I
was you native speakers use both right
it’s frustrating how do you know the
correct answer is were and yes that
means many natives speak
make mistakes with this when you’re
using this pattern when you’re using
this if I were you when you’re talking
about this unreal situation clearly I am
NOT you right it’s not a real situation
in that case use worth work if you want
to talk about like a past possible
situation for example when you talk to
your neighbor and you had a party the
night before and you see your neighbor
you’re like oh my gosh if I was noisy
last night I apologize so that means
there was a possibility of something in
the past in that case use was in this
case use work please use work I know
many native speakers you if I was you
technically incorrect
is it a big deal No if you forget are
you in trouble no but if you remember
okay so please use work please work okay
that’s the answer to that
let’s oh and again I would exercise
three times a week this is the big point
I want to review I really want you to
remember please do not use will in your
main class here same thing here
I’ve used a negative if I were you I
wouldn’t so would not eat so much junk
food are you I would not eat so much
junk food so we’re suggesting something
not to do these are advice expressions
already to level up the basic form so I
introduced would and wouldn’t here at
the beginning of this yeah to level this
up you can use could or couldn’t to
express possibility instead of would or
wouldn’t so that means here instead of
using would or wouldn’t you can use
could or couldn’t hear again this
changes the nuance from something you
100% want to do to something that is
just
Cybil for example if I won the lottery I
could buy a boat so what’s the
difference i could buy a boat
I would buy boat I could buy a boat just
means it’s possible in that situation it
would be it’s possible to buy a boat if
I said I would buy a boat it’s like
definitely 100% that would be my plan
this is the difference okay
I’ll stop there oh my gosh I’m taking so
much time today I have to finish very
very quickly all right I see lots of
your examples if you were here I would
be delighted very nice if I were you I
would study hard on the YouTube chat
good Xavier on Facebook says if I was
young I could like to learn English
quickly in that case no communication
problem to be super correct if I were
young or like if I were younger baby I
could learn English quickly that were a
point if I won the lottery I would buy a
big houses tram very nice very nice okay
if I were you I wouldn’t go there good
if I were you I would play sports useth
maybe who says on Facebook I would play
sports mmm okay let’s go to the last
part quickly if you have missed it today
I’m talking about conditionals we’re
gonna talk about the third conditional
now everybody’s favorite we’re gonna
talk about the last part if you have not
please make sure to like and share this
lesson so other learners can find
today’s topic that would be super cool
let’s go on to the last part because I
am running out of time as always
bah bahs swathi on Facebook can it would
be be used as it would be yes absolutely
I’m going to talk a little bit about
reductions in this part too
okay on to part three third conditional
if plus subject is very familiar here
right so we have the same pattern again
if subject but here we have a past
perfect verb expression past perfect so
like that means we’re gonna use have
plus the past participle form of a verb
so if you don’t know what past perfect
is you can check a couple lessons I have
a lesson on the YouTube channel actually
I’ll put a link in if you’re watching on
Facebook please check the youtube
description I will put a link to a past
perfect lesson so you can understand
this point so if + subject + past
perfect verb goes here then in your main
class subject plus would or wouldn’t +
have + past participle so this is really
past perfect this is really past perfect
but just so you can see so past
participle is a verb form that we need
to study and memorize so when do we use
the third conditional third conditional
alright a past situation did not happen
but we want to imagine the results we
want to imagine the outcome so this is
kind of this we have to think a little
bit about these so let’s look at several
examples now first if I had missed my
bus this morning I would have been late
for work so what is happening here if I
had missed my bus this morning I’d have
been late for work that’s what it sounds
like at native speed if I had missed my
bus this morning this means I did not
miss my bus I was okay but if I had in
that case I would have been late for
work so this sentence shows the outcome
of this unreal situation so outcome
means the result if I had missed my bus
this morning I would have been late for
work but I was not so it was okay but we
want to express that potential outcome
for some reason let’s look at another
example
if he hadn’t so hadn’t means had not if
he hadn’t called me I wouldn’t have
known about the project updates this
means he did he called me but if he
hadn’t I would not have known about the
project updates hmm next one if you
hadn’t helped me steady I probably would
have failed the test if you hadn’t
helped me steady I probably would have
failed the test at native speak this
means you did help me study but if you
didn’t if you hadn’t helped me study I
probably would have failed so I used
probably here because it levels up like
the potential of the situation mm-hmm if
I had studied more I would have gotten
better grades very nice yes actually
that’s a that’s a very similar one to my
example sentence here your questions
learn with attrition can you give me an
example of the root of the progressive
in it can do have an example sentence
that we can talk about let’s see if I
had watched your channel before I would
have been perfect at English great
Hassan says can I use second conditional
instead of third conditional it depends
on what you want to say so a key with
root like choosing is is the idea here
with 2nd Cano sorry fits first second
conditional with second conditional we
use it in blue here to talk about a
future situation with a low chance of
happening and we use it to give advice
third conditional though we use to talk
about a past situation that did not
happen
so you can’t replace the two of them ok
onward how do we level up the third
conditional in this one you can use
could have or couldn’t have to express
possibility instead of would have or
wouldn’t have for example if my flight
had arrived on time I could have joined
you for dinner
so could have reduces to could’ve I
could have joined you for dinner a
native speaker would say this sentence
my flight had arrived on time I could
have joined you for dinner so this could
have reduces to coulda coulda then
someone said earlier if I studied harder
this I think it was Hassan had a
question about this if I had studied
harder this I’d if I studied harder I
could have passed or I could have passed
the test so we can use could and
couldn’t in the main clause a big
takeaway for today is that you need to
make sure you use those could and would
and will and won’t in your main Clause
not in the if clause all right wow that
was a lot I will show all of the lesson
boards now so if you would like to take
a screenshot please get ready I will
show you everything we talked about in
today’s lesson first second and third
conditional for today and how we make
them I’ll put a couple of reference
links in the in the YouTube description
if you’re watching on Facebook and you
want to get a couple I’ll take it away
now if you if you’re watching on
Facebook and you want to get a couple of
reference links after the live stream
ends I’ll add a couple links to the
description like for about past perfect
or if you want to review these points a
little bit more please give me a few
minutes after the livestream ends I will
add that there I have to finish oh my
gosh that was a lot of information I’m
super late so I will say that’s all okay
that’s all and I will introduce next
week’s lesson topic the next lesson will
be this time next week June third can
you believe it is already June oh my
gosh 10 p.m. eastern standard time that
is Wednesday I am going to talk about
simple past tense versus present perfect
because you asked me about this all the
time and it’s a good topic to review
when should I use simple past when
should I use present perfect what is the
difference we will cover this next week
so please join me if you have time next
week please join me for next week’s live
lesson about this topic I have
to finish there cuz I’m very late today
so thank you very much to everyone for
joining again this week we really really
appreciate it thank you for liking and
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