Conditional sentences

Conditions or suppositions are often expressed by conditional clauses. The following forms are used to introduce conditional clauses:

If	If it rains, we shall remain at home.
Even if	Even if you run, you won’t be in time for school.
Unless	Don’t go unless I tell you (to go)
In case	In case you go out, please bring some sweets for me.
In the event (of)	In the event (of) the conference being postponed, I’ll let you know.
Provided	We shall proceed provided the weather is fine.
On condition (that)	The Chairman will agree to talk to them on condition (that) the strike is called off at once.
As / so long as	As long as you are healthy, you can run.
Whether ...or	Whether you are rich or poor, I will always remember you.

Conditional sentences – Type 1: Probable (condition possible to fulfill)

                                      

Conditions to be fulfilled	likely outcome
Present tense (If clause)	Future tense (will or Modal + infinitive)  (Main clause)
If she finishes early, (simple present tense)	she will go home.
If he is standing in the rain, (present continuous tense)	he will catch cold.
If she has arrived at the station, (present perfect tense)	she will be here soon.
If he has been travelling all night, (present perfect continuous tense)	he will need rest.
If I can afford it, (can, must)	I will buy it.
If the weather does not clear, (negative)	we will not play.

Imaginary Conditional sentences – Type 2: imaginary situations (condition in theory possible to fulfill)

                                      

Imaginary Conditions	Speculate about imaginary consequences
Unreal Past tense (If clause)	Would + verb, should+ verb (Main clause) Could (ability) might (possibility)
If he was taller, (simple present tense)	he would become a police man.
If he was standing in the rain, (present continuous tense)	he might catch cold.
If I had wings,	I would fly.
If I was/were stronger,	I would run faster.
If I were a bird,	I would fly very high.
If I were you,	I wouldn’t buy that kind of car.
If he were here,	he could help us. (ability)
If he were here,	he might help us. (possibility)
If you were absent,	you ought to / should send in an application.

Purely Imaginary Conditional sentences – Type 3: imaginary situations (condition not possible to fulfill (too late))

Conditions cannot be fulfilled - because past perfect tense (hypothetical conditions)	Purely Imaginary Conditional
Past Perfect	would + have + past participle
If I had worked harder at school,	I would have got a better job.
If I had won the match,	I would have been happy.
If I had lived in the Stone Age,	I would have been a hunter.
If he were to hear of your success, Or Should he hear of your success,	he would be happy.
Were he to hear of your success,	he would be happy.
Had you seen her,	you could have met her.

Replacing if by unless, but for, otherwise, provided, suppose

1.     If + negative                             = unless + affirmative

2.     But for                                     = if it were not for
                                                    = if it hadn’t been for

3.     Otherwise                                = if it does not happen
                                                    = if it did not happen
                                                    = if it had not happened

4.     Provided(that)                         = if + order

5.     Suppose / supposing (that)      = what if?

If he does not hurry, he won’t catch the train.

Unless he hurries, he won’t catch the train.

If he does not apologise, we will refuse to speak to him.

Unless he apologise, we will refuse to speak to him.

If there was no rain, we would have come earlier.

But for the rain, we would have come earlier.

If it were not for his help, I would have suffered.

But for his help, I would have suffered.

If you don’t work hard, you won’t succeed.

Work hard, otherwise you won’t succeed.

If you had not worked hard, you would not have succeeded.

You had worked hard, otherwise you would not have succeeded.

If you had not worked hard, you would not have succeeded.

You had worked hard, otherwise you would not have succeeded.

If you finish your work by this evening, you can have an off tomorrow.

Provided (that) you finish your work by this evening, you can have an off tomorrow.

If we miss the train, what shall we do?

Suppose / supposing (that) we miss the train, what shall we do?

She can go for picnic.

She gets better.

If she gets better, she can only go for picnic.

Unless she gets better she cannot go for picnic.

She should get better otherwise she cannot go for picnic.

Supposing that she gets better she can go for picnic

You must apply now. If not, your application will be rejected.

If you do not apply now your application will be rejected.

Unless you apply now, your application will be rejected.

You must apply now, otherwise you application will be rejected.

Supposing that you apply now, your application will not be rejected.

You will succeed. You must work hard.

If you work hard you will succeed.

Unless you work hard you will not succeed.

You must work hard otherwise you will not succeed.

Supposing that you work hard, you will succeed.

He apologises. He will be set free.

If he apoligises he will be set free.

Unless he apoligises he will not set free.

He must apoligise otherwise he will not set free.

Supposing that he apologises he will be set free.

Direct speech Vs. Indirect speech (An outlook)

Direct speech Vs. Indirect speech

(An outlook)

Direct speech:

Quoting the exact words of the speaker is called “The Direct Speech”.

Mani said, “I am writing a letter now”.

Indirect speech

Reporting of what a speaker said without quoting his exact words is called ‘Indirect Speech’.

Mani said that he was writing a letter then.

Rules for changing Direct speech into Indirect Speech

Rule 1: (dialogue verb)

          If the reporting verb [(dialogue verb) or (introductory verb)] is in the present tense, or future tense, the tense of the verb in the reported speech is not changed.(e.g., say, will say)

Suman says, “I eat a mango”. (D.S.)
Suman says that he eats a mango”. (I.S.)

Rule 2: (tense)

          If the reporting verb [(dialogue verb) or (introductory verb)]  is in the past tense, the tense of the verb in the reported speech is changed into one of the forms of the past tense.

1. Present Tense in the Direct becomes past tense.
Johnsi said, “I write a letter”. (D.S)
Johnsi said that she wrote a letter. (I.S)

2. Past Tense in the direct becomes past perfect.
Amar said, “I brought a pen yesterday”. (D.S)
Amar said that she had bought a pen the day before. (I.S)

3. Present Continuous in the direct becomes past continuous.
John said, “I am going to church”. (D.S)
John said that he was going to church. (I.S)

4. Past Continuous in the direct becomes past perfect continuous.
Sachin said, “I was playing cricket”. (D.S)
Sachin said that he had been playing cricket. (I.S)

5. Present Perfect in the direct becomes past perfect.
Kamal said, “I have done my homework”. (D.S)
Kamal said that he had done his homework. (I.S)

6. Present Perfect Continuous in the direct becomes past perfect continuous.
He said, “I have been reading a novel”. (D.S)
He said that he had been reading a novel. (I.S)

7. ‘Will’ and ‘Shall’ are changed to ‘would’.
He said, “I will go to London tomorrow”. (D.S)
He said that he would go to London the next day. (I.S)

May	Might
Can	Could
Must	Had to (or) must

Johnsi said, “I must go now”. (D.S)
Johnsi said that she must (or) had to go then. (I.S)

Exceptional cases:

1.     If the reported speech expresses some universal truth or habitual fact, the tense of the verb in the reported speech is not changed into the corresponding past tense form.

The teacher said, “The sun rises in the East”. (D.S)
The teacher said that the sun rises in the East. (I.S)

Rule 3: (pronouns)

          Pronouns and possessive adjectives or the first and second persons in direct speech are changed into third person in indirect speech.

I, you (singular)		he, she
My, your (singular)		his, her
We, you (plural)		they
Our, your (plural)		their

         

          Exceptional cases:

1.     The nouns or pronouns in vocative case are turned into objects in the indirect speech.

Direct : The nurse said, “Renu, you should take your medicine.”

Indirect : the nurse told Renu that she should take her medicine.

2.     If the pronoun he or she stands for different persons, then the names of the person referred to are inserted in brackets after the pronouns. Besides, nouns could be used instead of pronouns whenever possible.

Direct : Nidhi said to Nisha, “I like your dress.”

Indirect : Nidhi told Nisha that she (Nidhi) liked her (Nisha’s) dress.

Rule 4 (adverbs)

          In the reported speech, the words expressing nearness of time or place are changed into words showing distance.

Now		then
This		that
Here		there
These		those
Hence		thence
Hither		thither
Thus		so
Ago		before
Come		go
Today		that day
Yesterday		the previous day (or) the day before
Tonight		that night
Last night		the previous night
Tomorrow		the next day (or) the following day
Last week		the week before (or) the previous week
Next month		a month after

1. I asked the policeman the way to the hospital.

          “Could you please tell me the way to the hospital”, I asked the policeman

2. Meera said to me, “Please do not forget to prig your passport tomorrow.”

I was requested by Meera not to forget to bring my passport the next day.

3. “You can go now, Simi,” he said.

He told Simi that she could go them.

4. She said to us, “Let us go through the syllabus.”

She suggested that we should go through the syllabus.

5. “Do not drive rashly in the city,” he said to her.

He wanted her not to drive rashly in the city.

6. “This is how you make a pot,” the potter said to us.

The potter explained to us how to make a pot.

7. “Don’t play on the road,” the teacher said to the children.

The teacher forbade the children from playing on the road.

8. He said to me, “What a pity, you missed our function!”

He exclaimed and regretted that I missed their function.

9. “If you need help, contact the travel agent,” I advised the tourists.

The tourists were advised to contact the travel agent if needed.

10. He said, “I have not done that.”

He denied having done that.

11. She said, “Shall I close the door, madam?”

She asked madam’s permission to close the door.

12. The teacher said to me, “I have never seen such a clover boy like you.”

The teacher told me that he had never seen such a clever boy like me.

13. “May I have a glass of water?” he said.

He asked if he could have a glass of water.

14. “If you don’t come out, we will break open the door,” the police threatened.

The police threatened them that if they did not come out, they would break open the door.

Direct speech Vs. Indirect speech Interrogative sentences:

Direct speech Vs. Indirect speech

Interrogative sentences:

Interrogative Sentence (Questions)
Rules :

·         Remove the quotation marks and question mark in the interrogative sentence.

·         Use ‘if’ or ‘whether’ if the sentence inside the quotation marks begins with a helping verb (Auxiliary verb).

·         Use the given interrogative word (what, when, where, why, who, whom, whose, which, now etc.) if it does not begin with the helping verb.

·         Don‘t use ‘that’

·         Changing the reporting verb (say, said) into ‘ask’ or ‘enquire’ in its correct tense.

·         Omit helping verb like ‘do, does, did’. But don’t omit them when they are with ‘not’.

Auxiliary questions should begin with:

if / whether

Direct Speech	My friend said, “Are they coming with us?”
Indirect Speech	My friend asked me whether they were coming with us.
Direct Speech	I said, “Were they angry with you?”
Indirect Speech	I asked him whether they had been angry with him.
Direct Speech	Sarah said to her mother, “Can the milk man bring milk in this heavy rain?”
Indirect Speech	Sarah asked her mother if the milkman could bring milk in that heavy rain.

Do / Does / Did Questions:

When using;
do, does (present tense) - the main verb converts
into the past (does / do go - went)
did (past tense) - the main verb converts
into past perfect. (did go - had gone)

Direct Speech	“Does David study late at night?” said Sonia.
Indirect Speech	Sonia asked me whether David studied late at night.
Direct Speech	Jems said, “Do college students use cellphones?”
Indirect Speech	Jems asked me whether college students used cellphones.

The question form will change into a statement form:

“Is he here?”

Whether he was there

W/h Questions:

These questions begin with a question word (Who, What, When, Why, Where, How, How long ...). While changing such a question into reported form we do not use any conjunction. We simply invert the word order (Verb + Subject is changed into Subject + Verb). Do not use if/whether in W/h Questions.

Verb + Subject	She said to me, “What do you want?”
Subject + Verb	She asked me what I wanted.

Direct Speech	My neighbour said, “When did the men catch the stray dogs”
Indirect Speech	My neighbour asked me when the men had caught the stray dogs.
Direct Speech	My friend said, “Which colour will you choose?”
Indirect Speech	My friend asked me which colour I would choose.
Direct Speech	Father said to mother, “Why was Angelina crying when she returned from school?”
Indirect Speech	Father asked mother why Angelina had been crying when she had returned from school.

Verbal Questions:

These are questions beginning with a verb. (Are you ready? Is it true?)
Here we use the conjunction ‘if’ or ‘whether’. The word order is changed as mentioned earlier.

Verb + Subject	She said to me, “Is Tom at home?”
Subject + Verb	She asked me if Tom was at home.

1. “Won’t you help me to caary this box?” said I to my friend. (D.S.)
I asked my friend if he would not help me to carry that box. (I.S.)

2. Mohan said to Stalin, “Why did not you attend the meeting yesterday”? (D.S.)
Mohan asked Stalin why he had not attended the meeting the day before. (I.S.)

3. “How often do you go to the theatre?” said David to John. (D.S.)
David asked John how often he went to the theatre. (I.S.)

4. Mohamed said to Sultan, “Do you like mangoes?” (D.S.)
Mohamed asked Sultan if he liked mangoes. (I.S.)