Conditional clauses are also called if clauses. They express a condition.

There are three types of conditional clauses.

1. Type 1 conditional
2. Type 2 conditional
3. Type 3 conditional

Type 1 conditional

Type 1 conditional is used to talk about a real and possible situation. In type 1 conditional, we use a simple present tense in the if-clause and will/can/may + first form of the verb (v1) in the main clause.

• If you exercise regularly, you will lose weight.
• If he quits smoking, his health will improve.
• If she studies hard, she will get good marks.
• If you start in the morning, you will reach there before noon.

Type 2 conditional

Type 2 conditional is used to talk about imaginary or improbable situations.

In type 2 conditional, we use a simple past in the if-clause and would/could/might + first form of the verb (v1) in the main clause.

• If you exercised regularly, you would lose weight.
• If he quit smoking, his health would improve. (The past simple and past perfect form of quit is quit.)
• If she studied hard, she would get good marks.
• If you started in the morning, you would reach there before noon.

Type 3 conditional

Type 3 conditional is used to talk about purely hypothetical situations. In type 3 conditional, we use a past perfect tense in the if-clause and would /could / might have + past participle in the main clause.

• If you had exercised regularly, you would have lost weight.
• If she had studied hard, she would have got good marks.
• If he had quit smoking, his health would have improved.
• If you had started in the morning, you would have reached there before noon.