Conditional mood in English

The conditional mood (English) does not reflect thereal facts, as desired or supposed. It can also express a demand, doubt, or condition, with the implementation of which the possibility of realizing certain events is connected.

The use and formation of such forms in the English language is more complex than in the Russian language, in which only a particle "would" be used before the main verb.

Often this inclination is confused with the subjunctive,However, they are different in meaning of the phenomenon. Conditional mood (in English Conditional Mood), unlike the subjunctive, is used to refer to such actions that have not occurred or do not occur, because there are no necessary conditions for this or they are unrealistic in this situation, unrealistic. The subjunctive denotes unrealized conditions and expresses merely wishes or regrets.

There are two temporary forms of conditional mood: past and present.

The conditional mood of the present tense Conditional Present is formed using the auxiliary forms would / should and the infinitive of the main verb without "to". In other words, in form this inclination is identical to Future-in-the-Past.

Example: We would work. - We would work. In this case, the action expressed by the verb can occur in the present tense or the future. Example: But for the bad weather we would work outdoors. "If it were not for bad weather, we would work on the street."

Conditional inclination of the past time Conditional Past expresses an action that under certain conditions could take place in the past, but did not take place because of the absence of these conditions. Formed by should have and would have the main verb in the third form (identical to Future Perfect-in-the-Past).

Example: She would have purchased a dress was the store was closed. - She would have bought a dress if the store had not been closed

As a rule, conditional inclination is used incomplex sentences conditional sentences, less common in simple. In the subordinate complex sentence is called the condition, and in the main - the effect (result) is expressed. Both these parts can relate to the present, and to the past or the future. Most often parts of a complex sentence are linked by a union if (if). Separate the comma of the sentence only if the subordinate is facing the main.

There are three types of conditional sentences. They express different degrees of probability of the facts described. The choice of the type of sentence is determined by the speaker's attitude to what is being said.

A type I - developments the real

If such proposals deal with real events, then the conditional mood is not used, it is quite successfully replaced by the indicative one.

Example: If I have more money, I will by an expensive car. "If I have more money, I'll buy an expensive car."

Grammatically, the main sentence uses time Simple future, and in the subordinate - the simple present - Present Simple.

The first type can also express unlikely events, the reality of which is much lower than in the previous case.

Example: If I should have more money, I will purchase a car. - If I had more money, I would have bought a car. (It is understood that money at this time is not enough to buy a car, but they can be saved up and performed as desired).

The main sentence uses Future Simple, in the subordinate - should + infinitive.

A type II - unlikely, almost real events

The speaker does not consider what he reports as a real event, but simply suggests what could happen under a particular set of circumstances.

Example: If he had money, he would purchase a car. - If he suddenly had enough money, he would have bought a car. (There was no money to buy, but if a random inheritance had fallen on his head, one could have bought a car.)

In the main part used would be + an infinitive, in the subordinate - Past Simple.

A type III - Absolutely, absolutely unreal events

Expresses wishes (often regret) regarding the past, in which nothing can be changed.

Example: If he had had money, he would have purchase a car 2 years ago. "If he had money then, he would have bought a car two years ago." (But did not buy, because there was no money).

In the main sentence, the + would be a perfect infinitive, in the subordinate - forms that have verbs (English) in time Past Perfect.