Prime Time 4, Coursebook

Unit 1 3 Conditional 1 and 2 We use the first conditional to talk about a situation that will possibly happen. Form: conditional clause main clause if + present simple will (’ll)/can/may + base form If we try hard, we can win the guessing game! I think we can do it! I will (I’ll) pick the fridge if I have to do a presentation next week. We use the second conditional to talk about an unreal situation or a situation that probably won’t happen. Form: conditional clause main clause if + past simple would (’d)/could/might + base form If I were/was an inventor, I would (’d) invent a robot that does my homework. But I’m not an inventor. His parents would (’d) buy him the newest smartphone if he got an A in five subjects. But he’s such a bad student! We use the zero conditional to talk about results that always happen. Form: conditional clause main clause if + present simple present simple If you work with radioactive material for too long, you get sick. Conditional 3 We use the third conditional to talk about an imagined event and its results in the past . We use it to talk about an unreal situation in the past, something that can’t be changed because it’s too late. Form: conditional clause main clause if + past perfect would (’d)/could/might + have + last form If nobody had invented the internet, I wouldn’t have e-mailed my penfriend this morning. à The internet was invented, so the situation is unreal. I was able to e-mail my penfriend – and I did! Marie Curie wouldn’t have become sick if she had known about the dangers of radioactivity. à She did become sick and she did not know about these dangers. Clauses to say what would be different in the present We can talk about imagined events in the past and their unreal results in the present . Form: conditional clause main clause if + past perfect would/could/might + base form If Marie Curie hadn’t isolated radium, we couldn’t produce radon. If the duster socks had been produced , the floor in my room would always be shiny. G20 " p. 105 G21 " p. 106 144 Grammar one hundred and forty-four Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv