EL 321 Communicative

Business English 2

BY DR PIMSIRI TAYLOR
 Conditional clauses (if clauses)

Conditional sentences are sentences discussing factual implications or hypothetical situations and their
consequences. Languages use a variety of conditional constructions and verb forms to form these kinds
of sentences.

Type If clause Result clause Usage note

Factu 1. IF Present Present 1. ‘Then’ is used

al IfSimple,
it is midnight in the UK, itSimple
is 7 am in to emphasise the
Prese Thailand. result.
nt
2.IfIFyouPresent (then)
don’t like Emma, then don’t talk to
2. ‘If’ can be
Simple,
her. Imperative replaced by
‘when’ or
If the demand goes up, we can increase the
‘whenever’ to talk
IF Present
3.price. (then) S + about general
Simple, Modals truth, habits, and
 Conditional clauses (if clauses)

Type If clause Result Usage note

clause
Factu 1. IF Present Future 1. ‘Unless’ refers
al Simple, Simple
If Harry doesn’t show up, we will have to
find someone to fill in.
to ‘if… not’. Thus,
Futur an ‘if clause’
e beginning with
Unless W&B offers a better deal, we will
2.discuss
Unless Present
the same Future
issue with Taylor and Sons. unless should be
Simple, Simple affirmative.

If they decide to do business with us, we 2. ‘Unless’ is often

3.can
IF expand
Present our business to aSwider
+ Modals
range used to state a
Simple,
of customers.
negative condition.
 Conditional clauses (if clauses)

Type If clause Result Usage note

clause
Unre 1. IF Past Simple, S + would + 1. Always use
al base form of ‘were’ with all
Prese If I were you, I would apologise
verbfor what I did.
subjects.
nt 2. IF Past Simple,
S + Modals 2. ‘If I were you’
(might/coul is often used to
If we had more budget, we could arrange a trip
to Europe. d) give advice.
3. S + (could/would) Wish +
Past
Aidan Simple
wishes he had more money now.
 Conditional clauses (if clauses)

Type If clause Result clause Usage note

Unre 1. IF Past Perfect, S + would 1. Past unreal
al have + past conditionals are
Past participle
If I had known about the cancellation, I would often used to
have stayed home yesterday. express regret or
2. IF Past Perfect, sadness in the
S + Modals past.
(might
If he had arrived on time last night, he
could have told her about have/could
the wedding.
have)

3.I wish Wish

S +I had + Past
studied Perfect
hard last year.
 Conditional clauses (if clauses)

Mixed conditionals
 Sometimes conditional sentences are mixed,
which means that the time in the "if" clause is not the
same as the time in the main clause. The following
types of mixed conditionals are possible:

• If you hadn't taken so long getting ready, we'd be there by now.

• If we liked fish, we would have eaten the salmon.

Past/present - present/past
 Conditional clauses (if clauses)

Mixed conditionals
 Sometimes conditional sentences are mixed,
which means that the time in the "if" clause is not the
same as the time in the main clause. The following
types of mixed conditionals are possible:

• If I had saved a bit more, I'd be going to Australia with them next
month.

• If I didn't have to work this evening, I would have gone with

them to the restaurant.

Past/future - future/past
 Conditional clauses (if clauses)

 1. If he had dropped the vase, it ________ (break).

 2. If you have to do the washing up, I ______ (help) you.
 3. If I ______ (talk) to Debbie about it last night, I ______
(not be) so sorry now.
 4. We ______ (give) you a lift if you didn’t have your motorbike
with you.
 5. If you ________ (listen) to me, the accident wouldn’t have
happened.
 6. If Sarah ______ (not, get) tickets for us, we'll stay at home.
 7. They'd go by train if there ____ (be) a strike at the airport.
 8. She _____ (get) angry if you don't stop laughing.
 9. He __________ (not buy) the coke if he hadn't been thirsty.
 10. If I liked red, I _________ (buy) that red shirt yesterday.