ELIMINATING IF

When a speaker using conditional sentences, he may, sometimes, eliminate the if when he wishes to. There are certain rules should be considered in eliminating it. For Type 2 Conditional sentences which use full verbs, this rule cannot be applied.

1.    Type 0: Zero Conditionals

For his type of conditional, the clause contains the If will be affected. It will be replaced by modal Should. The following formula is for the general pattern of the type, the rest formulas as shown previously will follow the pattern.

The formula is:

IF + Subject + V₁ + O/C + SIMPLE PRESENT

BECOMES

SHOULD + Subject + BASE + O/C + SIMPLE PRESENT

Examples:

a.     If water is heated, it provides vapor.

b.     Should water be heated, it provides vapor.

a.     If you hold your breath for minutes, you fell tired.

b.     Should you hold your breath for minutes, you fell tired.

2.    Type I : True to the fact in the Present of Future

The process of eliminating if for this type of conditional is similar to the previous type. The modal should is still used and placed in the front of the sentences. To see the difference between the two types, we can observe the result clause; for the first type it is other tenses while for the second type is always simple future.

The formula is:

IF + Subject + V₁ + O/C + SIMPLE FUTURE

BECOMES

SHOULD + Subject + BASE + O/C + SIMPLE FUTURE

Examples:

a.     If the government lets the investors come, the inflation will be lower.

b.     Should the government let the investors come, the inflation will be lower.

a.     If smoking is prohibited in public places, the air will be cleaner.

b.     Should smoking be prohibited in public places, the air will be cleaner.

3.    Type II : Contrary to the Fact in the Present

The concept of eliminating the If for this type of conditional can only be applied on the sentences which use BE as the verbs. It means, for the sentences which use Full Verbs, it cannot be applied.

The formula is:

IF + Subject + WERE + O/C + PAST FUTURE

BECOMES

WERE + Subject + O/C + PAST FUTURE

Examples:

a.     If I were the decision maker, I would not pass the new law proposal.

b.     Were I the decision maker, I would not pass the new law proposal.

a.     If she were my sister, she would be so proud of me.

b.     Were she my sister, she would be so proud of me.

4.    Type III: Contrary to the Fact in the Past.

For this type of conditional, he auxiliary HAD is simply placed at the beginning of the sentence. The rest parts will stay the same.

The formula is:

IF + Subject + HAD + V₃ + O/C + PAST FUTURE PERFECT

BECOMES

HAD + Subject + V₃ + O/C + PAST FUTURE PERFECT

Examples:

a.     If they had broken the ruler, they would have been arrested.

b.     Had they broken the ruler, they would have been arrested.

a.     If he had not saved me, I would have died yesterday.

b.     Hadn’t he saved me, I would have died yesterday.

THE TABLE OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

Type	If-Clause	Result Clause	Reality/Fact
Type 0	Simple Present	Simple Present	General truth/ scientific factual
Type 1	Simple Present	Simple Future	Present (probably)
Type 2	Simple Past	Past Future	Present
Type 3	Past Perfect	Past Perfect Future	Simple Past