• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

IELTS with Fiona

IELTS Made Easier

Members Academy
Log in

  • Home
  • Resources
  • Lessons
  • My courses
  • FAQs
  • About me
  • What’s New

How to use conditionals in IELTS Writing

By ieltsetc on March 2, 2020 2

Confused by conditionals? This lesson takes you through the different types of conditional sentences, from zero right through to third conditional.

My YouTube videos also take you step by step through everything you need to know, and give you plenty of examples that you can use in your Writing (and Speaking!) Test.

Watch Part 1 of my 3-part ‘Conditionals Made Easier’ series below:

The Overview

There is a simple logic to conditionals (though it doesn’t feel like it!).

Conditionals depend on how REAL or POSSIBLE the situation is in the eyes of the speaker.

Look at these examples, which I teach in the video.

As you progress further and further from possibility (from zero to third, the tenses go BACK – from Present, to Past, to Past Perfect).

Conditonals for IELTS Writing

ZERO Conditional

Use ZERO Conditional when

  • something is always true (If I have money, I spend it)
  • as commands (If you have money, spend it!)

You can use it to talk about your habits in Speaking Part 1.

e.g. How do you usually get to school/work?

  • I usually walk, but if it’s raining I get the bus. 

Here are some well-known expressions my students sent me on Instagram using Zero Conditional:

1) If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

2) If you can’t beat them, join them.

3) If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

4) Be good. If you can’t be good, be careful.

5) If you want something done properly, do it yourself.

6) If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

7) If you can dream it, you can do it (Walt Disney)

8) If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

9) If life gives you lemons, make tequila.

10) If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

First Conditional

Use First Conditional

  • when you think the event is possible (If I have time, I’ll help you).
  • to make threats, promises and warnings (If you do that again, I’ll call the police)
  • in your Writing Task 2 Conclusion

For example:

If we/parents/the government/those responsible…

…continue to (…)

…are unable to find an alternative to (…)

…do not limit/reduce (…)

…do not invest more time and money in (…)


Result

…there will be dire consequences for (the planet).

…the impact on (the planet) will be disastrous.

…it will have an adverse impact in the long-term.

…many more (people) will suffer as a result.

Alternatives to 'if'

I’ll lend you some money…

…as/so long as you promise to pay me back.

…provided that you promise to pay me back.

…on condition that you promise to pay me back.

I won’t lend you any money…

…*unless* you promise to pay me back (see next section)

UNLESS

‘Unless’ can be difficult. It just means ‘if not’  and can be used with all the conditionals.

Here are some memorable examples my students posted on Instagram:

ZERO CONDITIONAL

  1. Don’t say you love me unless you mean it.
  2. Dreams don’t work unless you do.
  3. Don’t give advice unless someone asks for it.
  4. Nobody wants to hear about your workout unless you fell off the treadmill.
  5. Always give 100% unless you’re giving blood.
  6. ‘Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.’ (Dr Seuss The Lorax)
  7. I don’t argue unless I’m right.
  8. I don’t use my mobile phone unless it’s important.
  9. I don’t eat breakfast unless I’m very hungry.
  10. I won’t be late unless there’s a traffic jam.

SECOND CONDITIONAL

  • I wouldn’t take the road through Moria unless I had no choice.
  • I wouldn’t lend my car to anyone unless I had total faith in them.

Second Conditional

Second Conditionals are a great way of making suggestions and recommendations in IELTS Writing Task 2.

Watch Part 2 of my Conditionals Made Easier series on YouTube for explanations and useful examples (see below).

Writing Task 2 Conclusions

If clause:

If we/parents/the government/those responsible…

…did more to (combat/tackle climate change)

…could find an alternative to (fossil fuels)

…limited/reduced (the number of cars on the road)

…invested more time and money in (alternative fuels)

RESULT clause:

…they would be able to reduce (habitat loss)

…(global warming) might be reversed.

…it would bring a number of advantages. 

…many more (species) could be saved.

WISH + Past Tense

‘Wish‘ follows the same rules as the Second Condtionals, because it expresses imaginary situations.

(Watch the video for explanations)

I can’t go to the party.

I wish I could go to the party. 

I don’t have much money.

I wish I had more money. 

I’m not very ambitious.

I wish I was/were more ambitious. 

I can’t speak French.

I wish I could speak French. 

NB ‘Wish’ can be replaced with ‘If only‘ (stronger regret).

Third Conditional + wish/If only

Use THIRD Conditional to talk about imaginary situations in the PAST.

For example:

I didn’t study. I didn’t pass.

If I had studied, I would have passed.

(If + Past Perfect + would + have + 3rd form)

It is often used to express REGRET about the Past. 

When you use ‘WISH’ to express regret about the Past, you use Past Perfect, the same as the Third Conditional.

Here are some common examples of regrets: 

  • I wish I had studied a different subject. 

(If I had studied computing, I would have got a better job).

  • I wish I had gone to bed earlier last night.
  • I wish I hadn’t skipped breakfast this morning.
  • I wish I hadn’t spent so much money yesterday.
  • If only they’d taught us how to fix cars at school.
  • If only I’d bought the jacket I saw last week.

Hidden Conditionals

These are not exactly conditionals, but the meaning is similar.

‘The closer you get, the slower I go.’

= If you get closer, I will drive slower.

‘The bigger the better.’

= If something is bigger, it is better.

‘The more the merrier.’

= If more people come to the party, it will be merrier!

Mixed Conditionals

In real life, conditionals get mixed up all the time, because each part of the sentence refers to a different time.

e.g.

If I had studied computing (PAST), I would be rich (PRESENT).

Don’t worry too much about these. You rarely need to use them.

Inverted Conditionals

This is a very advanced and quite formal way of expressing conditionals (but not too difficult!).

Second Conditional

If the government invested more, they would save money.

Were the government to invest more, they would save money.

Third Conditional

If the government had invested more, they would have saved money.

Had the government invested more, they would have saved money.

Get more help –  grammar lessons are integrated in the step-by-step courses of the Members Academy.

 

  • How to use formal language in IELTS Task 2
  • How long will it take to increase my IELTS score?
  • How to show concession in IELTS Writing Task 2
  • Grammar for IELTS: How to write complex sentences

Want to know what’s new?

If you want to hear all about my new lessons, podcasts, YouTube videos, challenges and courses, get your name on my email list (oh you’ll also get my free 28-Day Planner).

Sign up for the free 28-Day Planner.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Meha Shah says

    November 23, 2020 at 8:09 pm

    You are the best teacher ever.
    The following sentence is correct ma’m?
    2nd Conditional:
    “If I studied hard, I would pass the exam” – inverted as :
    ” Were I to study hard, I would pass the exam.”

    3rd Conditional:
    “If I had studied hard, I would have passed the exam.”
    Inverted as :
    “Had I studied hard, I would have passed the exam. “

    Reply
    • ieltsetc says

      November 24, 2020 at 8:57 am

      Yes Meha – those are excellent! Best wishes
      Fiona

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Would you like to support my website?

In order to make sure you get a fantastic experience on my website I don’t use any advertising, and all the costs are paid for out of my own pocket.

If you’d like to help me keep these materials free for everyone, you are more than welcome to buy me a coffee! Many many thanks in advance.

Buy me a coffeeBuy me a coffee

RSS My latest podcasts

  • IELTS Reading/Writing: Driverless Cars 🚘 January 11, 2021
  • IELTS Reading: Motivational Factors and the hospitality industry 👩‍🍳🧑‍🍳 December 29, 2020
  • IELTS Writing: How to hedge in Task 2 🌳🌳 December 20, 2020

Categories

  • Academic Writing Task 1
  • Grammar
  • GT Writing Task 1
  • IELTS Advice
  • IELTS General Training
  • IELTS Listening
  • IELTS Reading
  • IELTS Speaking
  • IELTS Vocabulary
  • IELTS Writing Task 2

Tags

Academic Reading P1 Academic Reading P2 Academic Reading P3 Agriculture Animals Buildings choosing from list Civilisation Crime education Finance gap-fill listening gap fill reading Gap Fill with answers grammar GT letters GT Reading GT Task 1 Health History ielts tips informal writing Inventions labelling a diagram Matching Headings matching people Matching Statements multiple choice listening multiple choice reading Nature pronunciation Research Speaking Tables Technology TFNG The Arts The environment The Future Transport travel Water work writing task 2 YNNG

What my students are saying:

IELTS with Fiona reviews Charmian

Charmian

From 6.6 to 8!!! Can you believe it? Thanks for everything!

Members Academy student

IELTS with Fiona
5
2020-01-13T09:09:01+00:00

Members Academy student

IELTS with Fiona reviews Charmian
From 6.6 to 8!!! Can you believe it? Thanks for everything!
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/charmian/
IELTS with Fiona reviews Shreyas

Shreyas

I was overwhelmed to receive my IELTS results. I got overall of 7.5 in my IELTS exam. Thank you once...

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona
5
2020-01-13T09:06:30+00:00

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona reviews Shreyas
I was overwhelmed to receive my IELTS results. I got overall of 7.5 in my IELTS exam. Thank you once again for all resources.
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/shreyas/
IELTS with Fiona reviews Sancia

Sancia

I was stuck in writing with 6.5 and with just 2 weeks of preparation from your notes I scored 7.5....

General Training 28-Day Challenge student

IELTS with Fiona
5
2020-01-13T08:43:00+00:00

General Training 28-Day Challenge student

IELTS with Fiona reviews Sancia
I was stuck in writing with 6.5 and with just 2 weeks of preparation from your notes I scored 7.5. I don't have enough words to thank you.
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/sancia/

Ipek

I’ve got a very busy life and IELTS Academy was time-saving for me that it involves everything about IELTS in...

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona
5
2019-12-03T18:16:09+00:00

Academy Member

I’ve got a very busy life and IELTS Academy was time-saving for me that it involves everything about IELTS in one place. Fiona is an excellent teacher with passion and kindness to all of her students. She helped me a lot with IELTS and I improved my scores significantly in a very short time. Some days I had no spare time for studying and I listened her podcasts when I was driving to work and it also helped me a lot! I strongly recommend this course to all IELTS candidates.
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/ipek/
IELTS with Fiona reviews Ipek

Lily S

The Academy gave me clear guidelines, study materials and methods to lead me into a high IELTS performance. As I...

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona
5
2019-12-03T18:12:42+00:00

Academy Member

IELTS with Fiona reviews Ipek
The Academy gave me clear guidelines, study materials and methods to lead me into a high IELTS performance. As I have a super busy career and family life, my study time is very limited. When I first decided to take an IELTS test, I even didn't know where to start. After studying with Fiona for a while, in the first IELTS test, I got Band 8! Thank you so much for your hard work and your professionalism, Fiona!!!
https://ieltsetc.com/testimonials/lily-s/
5
IELTS with Fiona

Work out your current score

IELTS Band Score Calculator

Popular Posts

  • How to use formal language in IELTS Task 2
  • How long will it take to increase my IELTS score?
  • How to show concession in IELTS Writing Task 2
  • Grammar for IELTS: How to write complex sentences

Recent posts

  • How to write an email to someone you don’t know
  • How to use ‘rise’ and ‘raise’
  • How to use have/get something done
  • What is ‘hedging’ in academic writing?
  • Words ending in -able or -ible

Come and see what’s going on

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Products

  • IELTS Speaking Mock Test Speaking Mock Test $45.00
  • IELTS Writing Feedback IELTS Writing and Speaking Assessment $99.00
  • Get 8 IELTS Writing Feedback Videos $200.00
  • IELTS Speaking Course syllabus Speaking Course and Mock Test $99.00
  • IELTS WRITING FEEDBACK IELTS Writing Assessment and Feedback Task 1 and Task 2 $50.00

Looking for something specific?

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube
  • About me
  • Contact me
  • IELTS Band Score Calculator
  • IELTS Test 28-Day planner
  • Resources
  • My IELTS 10-minute lessons

Copyright © 2021 — IELTS Exam Training Courses • Privacy Policy • Disclaimer • All rights reserved

This site uses cookies: Find out more.