Conditionals are structures in English that establish what will happen if a certain event takes place or action is performed, i.e. if a certain condition is true, a certain result occurs. There are four types of commonly used conditionals in English that are differentiated on the basis of the degree of possibility implied by each conditional: the first conditional, the second conditional, the third conditional and the zero conditional.

First Conditional

This conditional is used to talk about future events that might happen. It uses the present tense to discuss the possible future event.

Second Conditional

This conditional is used to talk about unreal possibility or impossible events; they establish the course of action that would follow, were something to happen hypothetically.

Third Conditional

This conditionals talks about the past, unlike the first and second which discuss events in the real or unreal future. These conditions, too, are therefore impossible, because they have either already occurred or might have occurred but won't anymore.

Sometimes the 'if' clause is merely implied, as in:

Zero Conditional

The zero conditional discusses an absolute certainty; the result of the condition is always true. The most common types of zero conditionals are scientific facts, like If you cool water to zero degrees, it turns into ice. Zero conditionals, therefore, do not deal with the future or the past; they simply deal with facts. The 'if' in these conditionals can be replaced with 'when': When you cool water to zero degrees, it turns into ice.

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• Conditionals
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