Conditional Sentence

As is typical for many languages, full conditional sentences in English consist of a condition clause or protasis specifying a condition or hypothesis, and a consequence clause or apodosis specifying what follows from that condition. The condition clause is a dependent clause, most commonly headed by the conjunction if, while the consequence is contained in the main clause of the sentence. Either clause may appear first.

Different types of conditional sentences (depending largely on whether they refer to a past, present or future time frame) require the use of particular verb forms (tenses and moods) to express the condition and the consequence. In English language teaching the most common patterns are referred to as first conditional, second conditional and third conditional; there is also a zero conditional and mixed conditional.

Modal Verb

English has the modal verbs can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, and also (depending on classification adopted) ought (to), dare, need, had (better), used (to). These do not add -s for the third-person singular, and they do not form infinitives or participles; the only inflection they undergo is that to a certain extent could, might, should and would function as preterites (past tenses) of can, may, shall and will respectively.

A modal verb can serve as the finite verb introducing a verb catena, as in "he might have been injured then". These generally express some form of modality (possibility, obligation, etc.), although will and would (and sometimes shall and should) can serve – among their other uses – to express future time reference and conditional mood.

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood in English is used to form sentences that do not describe known objective facts, but rather wishes or hypothetical suppositions. These include statements about one's state of mind, such as opinion, belief, purpose, intention, or desire. The subjunctive mood, such as She suggests that he speak English, contrasts with the indicative mood, which is used for statements of fact, such as He speaks English.

In Modern English, the subjunctive form of a verb often looks identical to the indicative form, and thus subjunctives are not a very visible grammatical feature of English. For most verbs, the only distinct subjunctive form is found in the third person singular of the present tense, where the subjunctive lacks the -s ending: It is necessary that he see a doctor (contrasted with the indicative he sees). The verb be, however, has not only a distinct present subjunctive (be, as in I suggest that he be removed) but also a past subjunctive were (as in If he were rich, ...).

These two tenses of the subjunctive have no particular connection in meaning with present and past time. Terminology varies; sometimes what is called the present subjunctive here is referred to simply as the subjunctive, and the form were may be treated just as an alternative irrealis form of was rather than a past subjunctive.

Another case where present-subjunctive forms are distinguished from indicatives is when they are negated: compare I recommend that they not enter the competition (subjunctive) with I hope that they do not enter the competition (indicative).

Past Subjunctive Mood

The only distinct past subjunctive form in English (i.e., form that differs from the corresponding past indicative) is were, which differs when used with a first or third person singular subject (where the indicative form is was). As with the present subjunctive, the name past subjunctive refers to the form of the verb rather than its meaning; it need not (and in fact usually does not) refer to past time. The main use of the past subjunctive form, were, which is also known as the irrealis is in counterfactual if clauses:

• If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee. [Attributed to Lady Astor, speaking to Winston Churchill]

The simple (indicative) past form was is very common in sentences of this type, though the Random House College Dictionary states "Although the [were] subjunctive seems to be disappearing from the speech of many, its proper use is still a mark of the educated speaker." When were is used, an inverted form without if is possible; this is not possible with was.

A common expression involving were is if I were you. The same principles of usage apply to the compound past subjunctive form were to..., which appears in second conditional condition clauses, usually with hypothetical future reference:

• If she were to go... or Were she to go... (equivalent to if she went)

The past subjunctive form may be used similarly to express counterfactual conditions after suppose, as if, as though, unless, imagine etc.

• Suppose that I were there now.
• She looks as though she were going to kill him.
• Try to imagine he were here.
• Try to imagine a tool that** made** that easy for citizens.

There is also the set expression as it were.

The past subjunctive can also be used in some that clauses expressing a wish contrary to fact or unlikely to be fulfilled:

• I wish [that] he were here now.
• If only the door were unlocked.
• I would rather [that] she were released.
• Would that it were true!
• Oh that it were so.

However, the use of the subjunctive with words such as wish is seldom obligatory. The example with would rather can be cast in the present subjunctive, expressing greater confidence that the action is feasible:

• I would rather she be released.

Verb

Verbs constitute one of the main word classes in the English language. Like other types of words in the language, English verbs are not heavily inflected. Most combinations of tense, aspect, mood and voice are expressed periphrastically, using constructions with auxiliary verbs.

Generally, the only inflected forms of an English verb are a third person singular present tense form in -s, a past tense, a past participle (which may be the same as the past tense), and a form ending in -ing that serves as a present participle and gerund. Most verbs inflect in a simple regular fashion, although there are about 200 irregular verbs; the irregularity in nearly all cases concerns the past tense and past participle forms. The copula verb be has a larger number of different inflected forms, and is highly irregular.

A typical English verb may have five different inflected forms:

• The base form or plain form (go, write, climb), which has several uses—as an infinitive, imperative, present subjunctive, and present indicative except in the third-person singular
• The -s form (goes, writes, climbs), used as the present indicative in the third-person singular
• the past tense or preterite (went, wrote, climbed)
• The past participle (gone, written, climbed) – this is identical to the past tense in the case of regular verbs and some irregular ones (here the first two verbs are irregular and the third regular)
• The -ing form (going, writing, climbing), used as a present participle, gerund, and (de)verbal nounThe verb be has a larger number of different forms (am, is, are, was, were, etc.), while the modal verbs have a more limited number of forms.

Some forms of be and of certain other auxiliary verbs also have contracted forms (_ 's_, _ 're_, _ 've_, etc.).

In English, verbs frequently appear in combinations containing one or more auxiliary verbs and a nonfinite form (infinitive or participle) of a main (lexical) verb.

Examples

The first verb in such a combination is the finite verb, the remainder are nonfinite (although constructions in which even the leading verb is nonfinite are also possible – see below). Such combinations are sometimes called compound verbs; more technically they may be called verb catenae, since they are not generally strict grammatical constituents of the clause.

• The dog was barking very loudly.
• My hat has been cleaned.
• Jane does not really like us.

As the last example shows, the words making up these combinations do not always remain consecutive.

Tenses, Aspects and Moods

The means English uses for expressing the three categories of tense (time reference), aspect and mood are somewhat conflated. English has only limited means for expressing these categories through verb conjugation, and tends mostly to express them periphrastically, using the verb combinations mentioned in the previous section. The tenses, aspects and moods that may be identified in English are described below (although the terminology used differs significantly between authors). Note that in common usage, particular tense–aspect–mood combinations such as "present progressive" and "conditional perfect" are often referred to simply as "tenses".

Present

Present tense is used, in principle, to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time (or over a period that includes the present time) and general truths. However the same forms are quite often also used to refer to future circumstances, as in "He's coming tomorrow" (hence this tense is sometimes referred to as present-future or nonpast). For certain grammatical contexts where the present tense is the standard way to refer to the future, e.g., conditional sentences and dependent clauses. It is also possible for the present tense to be used when referring to no particular real time (as when telling a story), or when recounting past events (the historical present, particularly common in headline language). The present perfect intrinsically refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

The present tense has two moods, indicative and subjunctive; when no mood is specified, it is often the indicative that is meant. In a present indicative construction, the finite verb appears in its base form, or in its -s form if its subject is third-person singular. (The verb be has the forms am, is, are, while the modal verbs do not add -s for third-person singular.)

Past

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past, although they also have certain uses in referring to hypothetical situations (as in some conditional sentences, dependent clauses and expressions of wish). They are formed using the finite verb in its preterite (simple past) form.

Certain uses of the past tense may be referred to as subjunctives; however the only distinction in verb conjugation between the past indicative and past subjunctive is the possible use of were in the subjunctive in place of was.

Note also that in certain contexts past events are reported using the present perfect.

Future

English is sometimes described as having a future tense, although since future time is not specifically expressed by verb inflection, some grammarians identify only two tenses (present or present-future, and past). The English "future" usually refers to a periphrastic form involving the auxiliary verb will (or sometimes shall when used with a first-person subject). There also exist other ways of referring to future circumstances, including the going to construction, and the use of present tense forms. For particular grammatical contexts where the present tense substitutes for the future, see conditional sentences and dependent clauses. For discussion and comparison of the various ways of making future reference in English, see going-to future.

For specific uses of future constructions formed with will/shall, see future.

Future-in-the-past

A "future-in-the-past" tense (or form) is sometimes referred to. This takes essentially the same form as the conditional, that is, it is made using the auxiliary would (or sometimes should in the first person).

This form has a future-in-the-past meaning in sentences such as She knew that she would win the game. Here the sentence as a whole refers to some particular past time, but would win refers to a time in the future relative to that past time.

B2 / Upper Intermediate

A CEFR B2 level English language user is considered to be at Upper intermediate level. A B2 level English language user is expected to have the following abilities:

• Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialization.
• Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
• Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
• Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning.
• Can express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
• Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
• Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

In summary, at B2 level, English language users are expected to have a high level of fluency and comprehension, with the ability to understand and produce complex language. They should be able to communicate effectively in a variety of settings, both social and professional. They should be able to use the language flexibly and with a high degree of accuracy.

B2 | Upper Intermediate.

Difficulty: Hard

Hard difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.