Conditionals

English has four conditional patterns, and each is a fixed pair of tenses. Identify the pattern, then fill both halves from the table.

1. Type 0 — a general truth. if + simple present, simple present: "If you heat ice, it melts."
2. Type 1 — a real future possibility. if + simple present, will + V1: "If it rains, we will cancel the match."
3. Type 2 — unreal in the present. if + simple past, would + V1: "If I were the collector, I would order an inquiry." Use were for every subject, including I and he.
4. Type 3 — unreal in the past, now impossible. if + had + V3, would have + V3: "If he had studied, he would have passed."

Notice the shape: the if-clause always sits one tense step further back than the result clause. That single observation reconstructs the whole table under exam pressure.

The single most common mistake is putting "will" inside the if-clause — "If I will go to Pune, I will meet him" — which comes straight from "जर मी पुण्याला जाईन तर", where Marathi does use the future in both halves. English never allows will, would or shall immediately after if, when, unless, until or as soon as.

How to spot it: read only the words after "if". If you find "will", replace it with the simple present and the sentence is fixed. Also remember unless already contains "not", so "Unless you do not work hard" is a double negative.

T0: if + present, present · T1: if + present, will + V1 · T2: if + past (were), would + V1 · T3: if + had + V3, would have + V3 · never will/would right after if, when, unless, until · unless already means if-not

Fill in the blank: "If it ____ tomorrow, the match will be cancelled." Options: will rain / rains / rained / would rain. → rains. The result clause has "will", so this is Type 1, and Type 1 puts the simple present in the if-clause. Sanity check: the sentence still points to the future even though "rains" looks present — the "will" in the second half is carrying the future for the whole sentence, which is exactly why the if-clause must not carry it again.