One day, Lenny looked at the kitchen nook window and wondered why there
were drops of water on the glass because it had not rained
during the night. So, he asked his father, Joe, who was a very smart
man, to explain. "Son", the father said, "Imagine the window is like a cold
glass of water on a warm day.
If warm air inside our house touches the cold window, it cools
down. If the air cools, it can’t hold as much moisture, so little
drops of water form on the window, kind of like when you see tiny
droplets on the outside of your glass of water on a hot day. That’s
called condensation!
So, it hasn't rained, but the air inside has enough moisture in it,
and if it touches the cold glass, it turns into water droplets.
It's like the air is “breathing out” little drops of water!
BRAINSTORM: Why do you think the father used the word "if" in his
explanation? Do you believe this story? If so, why?
Do you remember what "if" meant in your math class?
For example, If a triangle has two equal angles, then it is
an equilateral triangle.
Your math teacher might have told you this: Conditional statements
definition: A statement of the form "If the hypothesis(P) is true
then the conclusion(Q) is true. Example: "If a triangle is acute,
then its three angles are less than 90 degrees"
In other words, the conclusion is only true when the condition is true.
The father's explanation in the story about condensation is based on fact.
The conditional statements he made are true. In English grammar, we call this
the Present Real Conditional.
Note: We can also use the present continuous form for the condition.
For example: If she is sleeping, don't wake her up.
Listen carefully to the audio track.
Did you notice that the young man used a different type of
Real Conditional?
How is the grammar in the sentence "If she loves me,
I will marry her."
different from what you learned about the Present Real Conditional?
If you figured this out, you noticed that the young man used the
Future Real Conditional. Let's have a look at the rules for the
Future Real Conditional in the following illustration.
The Past Real Conditional
Past real conditionals are not used a lot, but we use them when
we want to talk about something that happened often in the past.
If + condition + , (then) result
Result + if + condition
The condition is in the past tense. The result is also in the
past tense.
Examples: If I had time when I was a student, I used to play basketball.
She always brought her little brother with her if we had a date.
If the weather was nice and the waves were good, I always went surfing in Santa Monica.
Check-Up
Directions: Select the appropriate word(s) to complete the following
sentences.
1) If you study hard, you _________ the exam.
Wrong
pass
Wrong
are passing
Right
might pass
2) Len said,"Unless it’s a Wednesday, I ________ to work."
Right
don't go
Wrong
will go
Wrong
went
3) If you drive south for 120 miles, you ________
to San Diego.
Wrong
get
Right
will get
Wrong
gets
4) If A=B and B=C, then A ______________C.
Wrong
will equal
Right
equals
Wrong
may equal
5) If they don’t hurry, they ________________
miss the train.
Wrong
0
Wrong
don't
Right
are going to
6) Plants ____________ if they don't
get water.
Right
die
Wrong
may die
Wrong
are dying
7) As a child, if I _________ in front of an audience,
I used to sing songs for them.
Wrong
were
Right
was
Wrong
had been
You will now be challenged to use the skills and knowledge
you have acquired.
If you have the necessary measure of courage, play the following video to accept your challenge.