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Languages · 04 / 06

Conditionals: hypothesis and consequence

High school foundations · Worked example and 4 exercises with solutions, at your pace.

Need a foundation?English tenses: meaning before triggersReading comprehension: overview to evidence
UnderstandSee an exampleGuided exercise3 progressive challenges

The principle, simply

Conditional sentences connect a condition and consequence. A usual future possibility uses if + present and will + base verb. A more remote hypothesis often uses if + past and would + base verb. Forms express stance rather than merely time; other modals add possibility or obligation.

THE PICTURE TO REMEMBERConditionals: hypothesis and consequence
  1. 01Hypothesis type
  2. 02Condition
  3. 03Consequence
  4. 04Contextual nuance

WORKED EXAMPLE

From principle to reasoning

If I revise, I will improve expresses a future possibility. If I had more time, I would practise is more remote; had need not describe chronological past.

Solve a problem in this subject

  1. Understand the task

    Identify audience, purpose and register. Read for overall meaning before finding evidence for each comprehension answer.

  2. Prepare simple ideas

    Use keywords and an outline. A clear sentence you control is better than a complex construction you do not understand.

  3. Produce and check

    Check tense, agreement, pronouns and connectors. Infer unfamiliar words from context, then verify in a reliable dictionary.

  4. Recall and reuse

    Close notes and paraphrase aloud. Turn corrections into question-answer cards and use expressions in new sentences.

YOUR TURN

01 · Try before checking

Complete: If she studies, she ___ pass.

One hint

Use the usual future consequence form.

Reveal and understand the solution

Will completes this model, without guaranteeing real success.

Compare method, conditions and answer; identify the exact part to revisit.

IMPROVE THROUGH PRACTICE

Three additional challenges with solutions

Start with the first challenge. Write your method before opening a hint; use the solution to find the first step that needs work.

Reflect after practising
02 · Recognise and understandLink to this exercise

Complete: If it rains tomorrow, we ___ (stay) inside.

A hint to get started

A possible future condition uses present tense after if.

Step-by-step solution
  1. If it rains uses present tense.
  2. The main clause takes will stay.
  3. Avoid if it will rain in this standard construction.

Which step did you miss? Retry without help, then explain why the method works.

03 · Apply the methodLink to this exercise

Complete: If I ___ (have) more time, I would learn Japanese.

A hint to get started

Would signals a hypothetical present situation.

Step-by-step solution
  1. If I had more time.
  2. I would learn Japanese.
  3. Past-form had marks hypothetical distance, not necessarily past time.

Which step did you miss? Retry without help, then explain why the method works.

04 · Go furtherLink to this exercise

Express regret about “I did not revise, so I failed” using an unreal past condition.

A hint to get started

Combine past perfect and would have + participle.

Step-by-step solution
  1. If I had revised, I would have passed.
  2. The speaker imagines an alternative past.
  3. This assumes a causal link in context; it does not prove revision would guarantee success.

Which step did you miss? Retry without help, then explain why the method works.

The trap to avoid

Ordinary future-condition if clauses use present, though special willingness uses exist.

Without notes, can you…

  • Explain the principle in your own words?
  • Rebuild the diagram and its connections?
  • Solve the exercise and justify the method?

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