BA PROG FIRST YEAR SECTION- A NCWEB HANSRAJ COLLEGE

UNIT-4 UNDERSTANDING FICTION

GRAMMAR

Conditional Clause and Main Clause

If I have enough money, I will go to Japan.

conditional clause main clause
I will go to Japan, if I have enough money
main clause conditional clause

First, Second, and Third Conditional

1. First conditional: If I have enough money, I will go to Japan.

2. Second conditional: If I had enough money, I would go to Japan.
3. Third conditional: If I had had enough money, I would have gone to Japan.

Conditional clause Main clause

1. First Condition If + will + inf (inf is the short form of Infinitive. The infinitive form
Present Tense of a verb is the verb in its basic form) / present tense / imperative
a. If you help me with the dishes (if + present tense),
I will help you with your homework. (will + inf)
b. If the sum of the digits of a number is divisible by three,
the number is divisible by three (Pres. tense)
c. If you see Mr Fox tonight, tell him I am ill. (imperative- An imperative
sentence is a type of sentence that gives instructions or advice, and expresses a
command, an order, a direction, or a request.).

2. Second Condition If +
would + inf
Past Tense
3. Third Condition If +
would have + past participle
Past Perfect Tense
We do not normally use will or would in the conditional clause,
only in the main clause.

Uses of the Conditional

1. First conditional
 a. Nature: Open condition, what is said in the condition is possible.
b. Time: This condition refers either to present or to future time.
e.g. If he is late, we will have to go without him.
If my mother knows about this, we are in serious trouble.

2. Second conditional
a. Nature: unreal (impossible) or improbable situations.
b. Time: present; the TENSE is past, but we are talking about the
present, now.
e.g. If I knew her name, I would tell you.
If I were you, I would tell my father.
Compare: If I become president, I will change the social security
system. (Said by a presidential candidate so possible)
If I became president, I would change the social security system.
(Said by a schoolboy: improbable)
If we win this match, we are qualified for the semifinals. (possible)
If I won a million pounds, I would stop teaching. (improbable)

3. Third conditional
a. Nature: unreal
b. Time: Past (so we are talking about a situation that was not so in
the past.)
e.g. If you had warned me, I would not have told your father about
that party.(But you didn't, and I have).

Remember!

1. The conditional construction does not normally use will or would in if-
clauses. EXCEPTION: If will or would express willingness, as in requests, they can be
used in if-clauses.
e.g. If you will come this way, the manager will see you now.
I would be grateful if you would give me a little help.
(= ± please, come this way; please, give me...)
2. For the second conditional, were replaces was:
If I were a rich man...
If I were a bird…
3. After if, we can either use "some(-one, -where...)" or "any(-one, -where...).
If I have some spare time next weekend....or :
If I have any spare time...
4. Instead of if not, we can use unless.
e.g. I'll be back tomorrow unless there is a plane strike.
He'll accept the job unless the salary is too low.
5.There is a "mixed type" as well, for the present results of an unreal condition in the
past:
If + Past Perfect - would + inf.
If you had warned me [then], I would not be in prison [now].
 What is an Imperative Sentence?
Imperative definition: Imperative sentences are used when we want to tell someone to do
something (telling people to do or not to do things).
We can use the imperatives to tell people to do or not to do things. They usually don’t have a
subject – they are addressed to the listener or listeners, whom the speaker understands to be
the subject.

In the imperative, we use the base form of the verb. Imperative clause usually ends with a
period (.), but it may also end with an exclamation point (!).
Imperative sentence examples:
 Get out of my way!
 Stop talking and open your book.
 Go upstairs.
 Brush your teeth.
 Read the instructions.
 Switch off your mobiles.
 Don’t be late!

Types of Imperative Sentences with Examples

Imperative Sentences are used for advice, suggestions, requests, commands, orders or
instructions…, specifically as follows.

A request
Example:

Please consider.
An invitation
Example:

Come to my party.
A command/ direct/ order
Example:

Wake up now!
An instruction
Example:

Go straight ahead and turn left.

An advice
Example:

Don’t eat too much.

A warning/prohibition
Example:

Don’t touch me!

Transition words are words that help connect or link ideas, phrases, sentences, or
paragraphs. These words help the reader smoothly through ideas by creating a bridge between
them. It would hard for readers to immediately jump from one idea to the next, so transitions
help the reader move smoothly through the ideas instead.

Transition words can be used to show addition. Sometimes you may want to add on to an idea
you have already expressed, and transitions of addition can help you add ideas or
information.

Transitions of Addition

Furthermore Moreover Besides Too Also

Similarly Likewise For example In addition to… Anoth

Here is an example of using one these transitions:

I have always liked cats because they are small and cute. Also, they are good hunters.

You see that “Also,” helps us move from one idea to another. We move from the idea that the
speaker likes cats because they are cute to the fact that the speaker thinks that cats are good
hunters.

Transition words can also be used to show time. They can demonstrate in what order
something happens, when something happened, or how often something happens.

Transitions of Time

After / Afterwards First / Second Then At first

eventually immediately To begin with Meanwhile

Here is an example of using a transition of time to show when events happened:

First, we went to the store to buy a fish. Then, we went home to set up the tank for the fish.

The transitions “First” and “Then” help us understand the order of events. The speaker went
to the store and then set up the tank. We know the order because of the transitions. While the
order seems logical in this sentence, transitions become very helpful when the order of events
is confusing or there are lots of events happening.
Transitions also help us move smoothly from one paragraph to the next. Transitions do this
by concluding one paragraph and opening another. Most paragraphs try to have a conclusion
that is nice and tidy. This makes the reader feel as though the paragraph and the point made
in the paragraph are complete. Transitions of conclusion try to summarize the information in
the paragraph and end the paragraph.

Examine the transition of conclusion in the following paragraph:

Our school is a wonderful school. We have a lovely red bird as our mascot, and our teachers
are really nice. They always smile at us and talk to us. They are very smart. Our school has
nice tables in the cafeteria and it serves good food. The floors are always clean and waxed,
and it always smells like lemon. To sum up, our school is great because the teachers are
always nice and the building is always clean.

The phrase “to sum up” gives us a clear end to this paragraph by reminding us of the key
information and the main idea, which is that the school is great. After reading the transition to
conclusion, we are ready to move on to the next paragraph.

Transitions help the reader move between ideas or paragraphs by creating a bridge between
them.