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For my students to reach my top level, they must demonstrate a control of three conditional forms.
The third is really not a conditional.
A block in learning these conditional forms is a student’s tendency to try to translate.
Conditionals often have logical operators like ‘if’ or ‘when’ in them.
The English conditional technique does not translate well.
A first conditional tells us the speaker believes it is very possible.
If I go to Paris, I will buy you a post-card.
Very possible, since I bought plane tickets, have hotel reservations.
In the first part, I used the base present form ‘go’; not ‘will go,’ the future form.
Even though my example is for the future.
In the second part, we see the modal ‘will.’ Other modals are possible depending on context.
We must jump immediately to second conditional to appreciate the magic.
Example.
If I won the lottery, I would buy a Porsche.
Winning a lottery is not probable.
Almost the opposite of first conditional.
In the first clause I use a past form of ‘win’; ‘won’.
This is something in the future! Difficult to translate, no?
In the second part we usually find an O-U-L-D type of modal.
‘Would’ is very common.
To indicate a speaker’s opinion of the relative possibility, we can use a present form to say,
‘I believe it is very possible,’ and a past conjugation to say,
‘It’s not so possible.’ But wait!
In my examples, ‘go’ is the present verb, and ‘won’ is the past verb.
‘Would’ is not the past conjugation of ‘will.’ ‘Could’ is not the past of ‘can.’
‘Should’ is not the past of ‘shall.’ Surprise.
Modals have no conjugation forms, other than negative, would not, must not and similar.
The ‘ould’s’ indicate remote possibility.
Not a past action.
The third conditional is not a conditional.
It is a fact, therefore, in Mr Murray’s English it is true.
For something ‘always true,’ we use present simple.
Example. If she reads in bed, she sleeps better.
Every time.
Always true.
Because it is not a conditional, it is not called the ‘third conditional,’ but, ‘zero conditional.’