Conditional Sentences / If-Clauses Type I, II und III

Conditional Sentences are also known as Conditional Clauses or If Clauses. They are used to express that the action in the main clause (without if) can only take place if a certain condition (in the clause with if) is fulfilled. There are three types of Conditional Sentences.

Conditional Sentence Type 1

It is possible and also very likely that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form: if + Simple Present, will-Future

Example: If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.

Conditional Sentence Type 2

→ It is possible but very unlikely, that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form: if + Simple Past, Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)

Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

Conditional Sentence Type 3

→ It is impossible that the condition will be fulfilled because it refers to the past.

Form: if + Past Perfect, Conditional II (= would + have + Past Participle)

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

The past perfect progressive puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action taking place before a certain time in the past.

Form

• A: He had been talking.
• N: He had not been talking.
• Q: Had he been talking?

Use

• action taking place before a certain time in the past
• sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple
• puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action

signal words

• for, since, the whole day, all day

Past Perfect Simple

The past perfect simple expresses an action taking place before a certain time in the past.

Form of Past Perfect Simple

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ed

Signal Words

• already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day (with reference to the past, not the present)
• If-Satz Typ III (If I had talked, …)