Conditional sentences are sentences discussing factual implications or hypothetical situations and their consequences.
Some words used in conditional sentences are “IF” and “WISH”.
I. IF
There are three types of Conditional IF:
Type 1 >>
IF + simple present, present future
It is used for talking about general truths, scientific facts and possibilities in the present or in the future.
Examples:
- If my mother gives me the permission, I will go to the party.
It not yet has the fact.
- If we don’t work hard, we will not get success.
This statement is automatically true.
Type 2 >>
IF + simple past, past future
It is used for talking about unreal situations in the present or in the future.
Example:
If my mother gave me the permission, I would go to the party.
Fact: “I” don’t go to the party.
Type 3 >>
IF + past perfect, future perfect
It is used for talking about unreal situations in the past.
Example:
If my mother had given me the permission, I would have gone to the party.
Fact: “I” didn’t go to the party.
II. WISH
There are three situations of using “Wish” :
>Wanting Change
The verb wish is followed by an ‘unreal’ past tense when we want to talk about situations in the present that we are not happy about but can’t change:
- I wish I had more money (fact: I haven’t).
- We wish we could come to your party (fact: we can’t).
> Regret
When we want to talk about situations in the past that we are not happy about or actions that we regret, we use the verb to wish followed by the past perfect:
- I wish I hadn’t said that (fact: I did).
- He wishes he hadn’t bought the car (fact: he did buy it).
- I wish I had taken that job in New York (fact: I didn’t, so I’m stuck in Bristol).
> Complaint
When we want to talk about situations we are not happy about and where we want someone else to change them, we use wish followed by would + infinitive:
- I wish he would stop smoking. (it means: I don’t like it, I want him to change it).
- I wish you would go away. (it means: I don’t want you here, I want you to take some action).
- I wish you wouldn’t squeeze the toothpaste from the middle! (it means: I want you to change your habits).