Conditionals – Zero to Mixed

📘 Rule Summary

Conditionals are sentences with two parts: a condition (if-clause) and a result (main clause). They express real or imaginary situations and their possible outcomes, across present, past, and future.

📝 Examples

Zero: If you heat water, it boils.

First: If it rains, we’ll cancel the trip.

Second: If I had a car, I would drive to work.

Third: If I had studied, I would have passed.

Mixed: If I had studied, I would be confident now.

📖 Explanation

🧠 Day 22: Conditionals – If You Learn This, You Win

🧪 Conditional sentences are powerful tools to express logic, dreams, regrets, and possibilities.

🌱 Level 1 – Beginner: What are Conditionals?

🔹 Definition:

A conditional sentence describes a situation and its consequence:

If + condition, then + result.

There are five types of conditionals:

Zero – facts
First – possible future
Second – unlikely present
Third – past regrets
Mixed – past condition + present result

🔸 Zero Conditional (facts, habits, scientific truths)

Structure	If + present simple, present simple
Example	If you mix red and blue, you get purple.

🔁 Always true. No imagination.

🔸 First Conditional (real future possibility)

Structure	If + present simple, will + verb
Example	If it rains, we’ll stay inside.

🧠 Used for real situations in the future.

🌿 Level 2 – Intermediate: Imagination & Regrets

🔸 Second Conditional (unreal present/future)

Structure	If + past simple, would + verb
Example	If I were rich, I would travel the world.

🧠 Imagine present that’s not real.

“If I had superpowers, I’d fly.”

Note: ✅ “were” is correct for all subjects in formal writing.

🔸 Third Conditional (past regret)

Structure	If + had + past participle, would have + past participle
Example	If I had studied, I would have passed.

🧠 Regret + can’t change the past.

🔸 Mixed Conditional (past + present)

Structure	If + had + V3, would + base verb
Example	If I had exercised, I would feel better now.

🔁 Past condition, present result.

📘 Real-Life Mini Story – A Missed Flight

“If I had woken up earlier, I wouldn’t have missed my flight.
Now, I would be enjoying my vacation in Bali.
If I hadn’t snoozed the alarm, things would have been different.”

🧠 The speaker uses third and mixed conditionals to reflect past mistakes and present disappointment.

🎯 Common Mistakes in Conditionals

❌ Incorrect	✅ Correct	Why
If it will rain, we will cancel.	If it rains, we will cancel.	Never use “will” in the if-clause
If I was you, I would quit.	If I were you, I would quit.	“Were” is correct for unreal
If I studied, I would passed.	If I studied, I would pass.	Main clause = base verb
If he would work hard, he’d pass.	If he worked hard, he’d pass.	Only use “would” once
If I had meet him, I would have told.	If I had met him, I would have told.	Third = had + V3

🔁 Quick Summary Table

Type	If-Clause	Main Clause	Use
Zero	Present Simple	Present Simple	General truths/facts
First	Present Simple	Will + base verb	Real future possibilities
Second	Past Simple	Would + base verb	Unreal present/future
Third	Past Perfect	Would have + V3	Regret about the past
Mixed	Past Perfect	Would + base verb	Past condition → present result

🔧 Practice Time

Transform the sentence using the correct conditional:

I don’t have money. I can’t buy the phone.
→ If I had money, I would buy the phone.
I didn’t study. I failed the test.
→ If I had studied, I would have passed the test.
I go to bed late. I feel tired.
→ If I went to bed earlier, I wouldn’t feel tired.
You heat ice. It melts.
→ If you heat ice, it melts.
I hadn’t eaten junk food. I’d be healthy now.
→ If I hadn’t eaten junk food, I would be healthy now.

🔍 Tips to Master Conditionals

Start with Zero and First — they’re based on real-life logic.
Practice Second and Third with imagination and regret situations.
Mixed conditionals require understanding two different time zones.