English has four conditional structures: the zero, first, second and third. In this post we look at some common problems that students of English have with the structure of conditional sentences.
First of all, here is a quick reminder of what conditional sentences are:
- We use a conditional sentence to say that one event depends on another event, i.e. that something can only happen if something else happens first.
- Conditionals sentences have two parts, which I will call the if-clause and the main clause.
- The main clause depends on the if-clause.
Here are the most common mistakes when it comes to structure:
The zero conditional
In the zero conditional, both clauses are in the present tense. A common mistake is to use ‘will’ in the main clause:
| If people eat too much, |
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| If people eat too much, they get fat. |  |
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| Water boils when |
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| Water boils when it reaches 100°C. |
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The first conditional
In the first conditional, we use the present simple in the if-clause and ‘will’ in the main clause. A very common error is to put ‘will’ in the if-clause:
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| If you study more, your English will get better. |
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| If |
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| If I see Peter, I’ll ask him. |
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The second conditional
This is used for hypothetical or improbable situations. We use the past simple in the if-clause and ‘would’ in the main clause.
Learners often make the mistake of putting ‘would’ in the if-clause. In fact, this is one of the most common grammatical mistakes made by non-native speakers: I have heard Scandinavian and Dutch people who speak excellent English make this error repeatedly.
| If |
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| If you studied more, your English would get better. |
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| If |
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| If I had more time, I would take up golf. |
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The third conditional
This is the most difficult conditional to master, probably as there are more auxiliary verbs to remember and the structure is therefore quite long. Again, ‘would’ should not be used in the if-clause:
| If |
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| If you had studied more, your English would have improved. |
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Another thing worth mentioning about the third conditional is the number of times native English speakers make mistakes with its construction. These examples show us how some people incorrectly insert ‘have’ into the if-clause:
| If |
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| If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have done it. (‘d = had) |
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There are, of course, other errors which are common when learners use conditional sentences. I have only outlined the most frequent mistakes concerning structure.
If you are learning English, feel free to add a comment below and tell us if and how conditional sentences cause you problems.
You can see more examples of conditional sentences in our grammar section here. Learners can test themselves in our practice exercises here.
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