168 GRAMMAR REVISITED Conditional clauses Cause and effect If you talk about cause and effect/things that are always true, you use: If/When + present simple present simple If you heat metal, it expands. If you add three and three, you get six. Real situations If you talk about real and possible situations in the future, you use: If + present simple will future If you go to school in the wrong shoes, Mr Shelldale will send you home. I’ll have a big party if I pass my exams. Imaginary/Unreal situations If you talk about impossible things in the present or unlikely situations in the future, you use: If + past simple would/could/might + verb (Were is often used in the if clause instead of was.) If I won the lottery, I’d buy a really fast computer. If I were Whitehall’s headteacher, I’d abolish school uniforms. Imaginary situations in the past If you talk about things that didn’t happen in the past and their imaginary consequences, you use: If + past perfect simple would/could/might have + past participle If Greg had worked a bit harder, he would have got better grades. If you had phoned me, I could have told you about the test. Note: In contrast to German, in English you don’t use if + will/would in the same clause: Wenn ich ihren Namen kennen würde, … If I knew her name, … not If I would know her name, … Modal verbs The verbs can, could, may, might, must, will, would, shall, should and ought to are all modal auxiliary verbs. Modal verbs have no infinitives and, apart from can (could) and will (would), no past or future forms. You can use modal verbs to talk about the following things: Ability Permission Lizzie can write really funny blog posts. Why couldn’t you finish the test? Be able to is used for future and some past ability. Will you be able to come to my party on Saturday? Can/Could/May/Might I ask you a favour? – Of course you can/may. You can all leave half an hour early today. Can is the most common way of asking for and giving permission. Could and may are more polite, might is very formal. Possibility We could/may/might visit Adam in the States next summer. (= it is not certain) You can easily get lost in an American high school building. (= it is possible in general) Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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