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Tenses and conditionals: Class 10 English
The perfect and continuous tenses, consistency of tenses, the four types of conditional sentences, wishes and common mistakes, with practice sentences and answers.
Key points
The tense of a verb shows the time of the action and the kind of action. The main uses are these:
- Simple present: habits and facts (She walks to school. Water boils at 100 °C.).
- Present continuous: an action happening now or around now (He is reading a book.).
- Present perfect: an action that began in the past and has a result now, or an experience (I have finished my homework.).
- Present perfect continuous: an action that began in the past and is still going on, with the length of time (She has been studying for two hours.).
- Simple past: a finished action at a definite time in the past (We visited Lahore last year.).
- Past continuous: an action in progress at a time in the past (It was raining when I left.).
- Past perfect: the earlier of two past actions (The train had left before we arrived.).
- Future simple: a decision or prediction (I will call you tomorrow.).
Since and for. Use since with a point in time (since 2020, since Monday) and for with a length of time (for three years, for two hours). Both go with the present perfect or the present perfect continuous.
Consistency of tenses. Do not change tense in the middle of a sentence without a reason. If the main verb is in the past tense, the other verbs describing the same time are usually in the past too. Wrong: He said that he will come. Right: He said that he would come.
Conditional sentences have an if clause and a main clause. There are four common types:
- Zero conditional: if + simple present, simple present. It is used for facts that are always true. If you heat ice, it melts.
- First conditional: if + simple present, will + verb. It is used for real possibilities in the future. If it rains, we will stay at home.
- Second conditional: if + simple past, would + verb. It is used for unreal or unlikely situations in the present or future. If I had a car, I would drive to school.
- Third conditional: if + past perfect, would have + past participle. It is used for unreal situations in the past. If he had studied, he would have passed.
In the second conditional we use were for all persons in formal English: If I were you, I would apologise. We do not use will or would in the if clause. Wrong: If it will rain, we will stay. Right: If it rains, we will stay.
Wishes. Use wish with the simple past for a wish about the present (I wish I knew the answer.) and with the past perfect for a regret about the past (I wish I had listened.). Use unless to mean if not: Unless you hurry, you will be late.
Subject and verb agreement. A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Each, every, either, neither and everyone take a singular verb. Two singular nouns joined by and take a plural verb, but one idea joined by and takes a singular verb: Bread and butter is my breakfast.
Study tip: For a conditional, first decide whether the situation is real or unreal and whether it is in the present, the future or the past. Then choose the matching pair of tenses.
Definitions and flashcards
Say the meaning first, then open the card to check.
Tense
The form of a verb that shows the time of an action.
Present perfect
The tense formed with have or has and the past participle.
Past participle
The third form of the verb, as in written, gone and seen.
Conditional sentence
A sentence with an if clause that states a condition and a main clause that states the result.
If clause
The part of a conditional sentence that states the condition.
Main clause
The part of the sentence that states the result of the condition.
Subject and verb agreement
The rule that the verb must agree with its subject in number.
Unless
A word meaning if not.
Formula sheet
| Name | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Zero conditional | If + simple present, simple present | A general truth. |
| First conditional | If + simple present, will + verb | A real possibility. |
| Second conditional | If + simple past, would + verb | An unlikely or imagined situation. |
| Third conditional | If + past perfect, would have + past participle | A situation in the past that did not happen. |
| Present perfect continuous | has/have + been + verb-ing | An action that began in the past and continues. |
Short questions with model answers
These are the kind of questions asked for 2, 3 and 5 marks. Try each one before opening the answer.
Complete the sentence: If I (have) more time, I would learn Arabic. (2 marks)
If I had more time, I would learn Arabic. This is a second conditional, so the if clause takes the simple past.
Correct the sentence: If it will rain tomorrow, we will cancel the match. (2 marks)
If it rains tomorrow, we will cancel the match. The if clause of a first conditional uses the simple present, not will.
Fill in since or for: She has lived here ____ 2018 and her brother has lived here ____ five years. (2 marks)
She has lived here since 2018 and her brother has lived here for five years. Since is used with a point in time and for with a length of time.
Write the correct form: By the time the doctor arrived, the patient (die). (2 marks)
By the time the doctor arrived, the patient had died. The death happened before the doctor arrived, so the past perfect is used.
Explain the difference between 'If I were a bird, I would fly' and 'If it rains, I will stay'. (3 marks)
The first is a second conditional. It describes an unreal situation, because I am not a bird, so it uses the simple past (were) and would. The second is a first conditional. It describes a real possibility in the future, so it uses the simple present and will.
Write one sentence for each of the four types of conditional. (5 marks)
Zero: If you mix red and blue, you get purple. First: If I finish early, I will help you. Second: If I won the lottery, I would build a school. Third: If she had left earlier, she would have caught the bus.
Common mistakes
- Using will in the if clause of a first conditional (If it will rain).
- Using would in the if clause of a second conditional (If I would have a car).
- Using the simple past for an action that is still continuing. Say I have lived here for ten years, not I lived here for ten years, when I still live here.
- Changing tenses in the same sentence without a reason.