Conditional Tutorial

There are two kinds of conditional sentences in English: real and unreal. Real conditional describes real-life situations. Unreal conditional describes unreal, imaginary situations. Although conditional forms might seem abstract at first, they are actually very useful and are commonly used in daily conversation. This conditional tutorial provides the descriptions and conditional exercises you need to master each and every form.

How to use this tutorial:

1. Read the conditional forms you want to learn. (If you use the older expressions conditional 0, 1, 2, and 3, click here.)

2. Do the conditional exercises below. Each exercise has links to the conditional forms covered. And don't miss our Conditional Final Test.

3. Also look at our Conditional Chart for an overview of real and unreal conditional forms.

Conditional Exercises

EXERCISE	TOPICS COVERED
Conditional Exercise 1	"If" vs. "When"
Conditional Exercise 2	Present Unreal Conditional
Conditional Exercise 3	Present Real Conditional and Present Unreal Conditional
Conditional Exercise 4	Past Unreal Conditional
Conditional Exercise 5	Past Real Conditional and Past Unreal Conditional
Conditional Exercise 6	Present Unreal Conditional and Past Unreal Conditional
Conditional Exercise 7	Future Real Conditional
Conditional Exercise 8	Future Real Conditional and Future Unreal Conditional
Conditional Exercise 9	Continuous Conditional Forms
Conditional Exercise 10	Mixed Conditionals
Conditional Exercise 11	"Were to" in Past, Present and Future
Conditional Final Test	All Conditional Forms

What are Conditional 0, 1, 2, and 3?

Some teachers and text books continue to use the older expressions conditional 0, 1, 2, and 3 to refer to four of the six conditional forms described in this tutorial. For English learners using these terms, here are links to the corresponding sections.

Present Real Conditional	Present Unreal Conditional
If I have time, I study English. Sometimes I have time.	If I had time, I would study English. I don't have time.
Past Real Conditional	Past Unreal Conditional
If I had time, I studied English. Sometimes I had time.	If I had had time, I would have studied English. I didn't have time.
Future Real Conditional	Future Unreal Conditional
If I have time, I will study English. If I have time, I am going to study English. I don't know if I will have time or not. Other forms possible.	If I had time, I would study English. I won't have time. Other forms possible.