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English has two kinds of conditionals, the real and the unreal. They express two different states in your mind: uncertainty whether something is true (the real conditional) and certainty that something is completely untrue and hypothetical (the unreal conditional). In this post we’re going to look at the real conditional, but we’ll define both types first.  

If-Clauses + Result Clauses

A conditional sentence typically has two clauses. The first is usually introduced by if, and it expresses the condition. Unsurprisingly, it’s called the if-clause.

• If it’s sunny…
• If I lived in France…
• If it rains tomorrow…

The second clause may be introduced by then, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s called the result clause, because it expresses the result of the condition in the if-clause.

• If it’s sunny, then we’ll go to the beach.
• If I lived in France, I would speak French.
• If it rains tomorrow, then we’ll have to cancel the game.

The Meaning of the Real Conditional

The real conditional expresses a situation where you’re not sure of certain conditions. For example, imagine that you’ve got two friends who are on vacation in Mexico. You don’t know what the weather is like there, and you don’t know what your friends are doing. You’re unsure of all of that, but you’re taking a guess about what they might be doing depending on the weather.

• If it’s sunny, my friends are on the beach in Cancún.
• If it’s raining, my friends are probably relaxing at the hotel.

Notice that the real conditional basically just involves putting if in front of the condition that you’re unsure of.

• statement: It’s sunny today.
  real conditional: If it’s sunny today, the park is probably full.
• statement: She got home really late last night.
  real conditional: If she got home really late last night, she’s probably still sleeping right now.

You can also use if in sentences that look like real conditionals, but they’re actually just statements of general fact. These are not the same thing as real conditionals, even if they look very similar.

• If I have time, I cook dinner. (Whenever I have time, I cook dinner.)
• If you drive in the rain, you have to be extra careful. (When you drive in the rain, you have to be extra careful.)
• If you break it, you buy it. (Whenever customers break something in the store, they have to pay for it.)

The Meaning of the Unreal Conditional

We won’t spend too much time on the real conditional in this post. (But you can read much more about it here.) We’ll only define it so that you can tell the difference between the two, since that difference affects the grammar that you’ll use. The unreal conditional expresses a situation that you know is untrue, false, or hypothetical. For example, imagine that you’re home in Minneapolis, where it’s cloudy and cold, and you’re dreaming about a vacation in sunny and warm Cancún.

• If I were in Cancún right now, I would be lying on the beach in the sun.
  (I’m not in Cancún right now, and I’m not lying on the beach.)
• If I were on the beach right now, I would be much happier.
  (I’m not on the beach, and I’m not very happy.)

Notice that the verbs change in both the if-clause and the result clause of unreal conditionals, unlike real conditionals.

• Indicative Statement: I am in Cancún.
  Unreal Conditional If: If I were in Cancún…
• Indicative Statement: I am not lying on the beach.
  Unreal Conditional Result: I would be lying on the beach.

So, to compare general if statements and both types of conditionals, we have:

• If it rains, everyone stays inside.
  (General if: Whenever it rains, everyone stays inside in general.)
• If it’s raining right now, no one is swimming.
  (Real conditional: I don’t know whether it’s raining or not, and I don’t know whether anyone is swimming.)
• If it were raining right now, no one would be swimming.
  (Unreal conditional: I know that it is not raining, and that people are swimming. I’m talking about a hypothetical situation.
• If John’s new girlfriend is from Mexico, she speaks Spanish.
  (Real conditional: I’m not sure where she’s from, or whether she speaks Spanish or not.)
• If John’s new girlfriend were from Mexico, she would speak Spanish.
  (Unreal conditional: I know that she’s from somewhere other than Mexico, and that she doesn’t speak Spanish.)

Tenses in the Real Conditional

Real Conditional sentences can have a variety of tenses in both the if-clause and the result clause. Here are examples with the simple present, the present progressive, the simple past, and the present perfect.

• If John isn’t home now, he’s probably still at work.
• If my parents are eating dinner, they’re definitely not watching TV, because they never watch TV while they eat.
• If it snowed last night, they plowed the roads before I left the house, because the roads were clear.
• If Sarah has already spoken to Bill, then he’s already told her the news.

Of course, real conditionals don’t have to have the same tense in both clauses.

• If they’ve already eaten, they aren’t hungry now.
• If Mary left the office at 6pm, she must be stuck in traffic since she isn’t home yet.
• If the kids haven’t gone to bed already, they’re going to be tired tomorrow.

The only thing to keep in mind is that you can’t have a future tense in the if-clause of a real conditional. Use a present tense instead. For example, don’t say if he will go…, say if he goes. Don’t say if they will be leaving, say if they are leaving.

• If it rains this weekend, we’ll have to cancel the game.
• If everyone gets here on time, we can start eating by 7pm.
• If Bob has finished all his work by Friday, he’ll be able to relax this weekend.

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