Conditionals worksheets for ESL
85 worksheets and 1 shadowing script · Modals & verb patterns
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Conditionals worksheets
85 printable worksheets with answer keys; the 24 most used, easiest level first.
Conditionals shadowing
Listen, repeat, record and compare: short scripts for pronunciation and fluency.
About Conditionals
Conditionals link a condition to its result. The zero conditional (if + present, present) is for general truths: If you heat ice, it melts. The first (if + present, will) is for real future possibilities: If it rains, we'll stay in. The second (if + past, would) is for unreal or unlikely situations: If I had more time, I'd learn Japanese. The third (if + past perfect, would have) imagines a different past: If we'd left earlier, we wouldn't have missed the train.
Zero and first conditionals are usually taught at A2, the second at B1, the third at B1–B2, and mixed conditionals and inversion (Had I known…) at C1–C2. Learners put will or would in the if-clause (*If it will rain…), confuse second and third forms, and misread 'd.
Here you'll find printable conditionals worksheets with answer keys, which print as PDFs or can be solved online through a class link.
Teaching tips: Conditionals
- Build chain stories for the first conditional: If I miss the bus, I'll be late. If I'm late, my boss will be angry…
- Use 'What would you do if…?' questions as a fluency warmer for the second conditional.
- Present the third conditional through a story of regret, then have learners rewrite key moments with If … had …, … would have …
- Watch for will or would in the if-clause of these basic patterns: *If I will see her, I'll tell her.
- Show that the clauses can swap order, and that a comma is usual only when the if-clause comes first.
Questions teachers ask
What's the difference between the first and second conditional?
Both can refer to the future, but the first is for situations the speaker sees as realistic (If I get the job, I'll move) and the second for unlikely or imaginary ones (If I got the job, I'd move).
Is 'If I was' or 'If I were' correct?
Both are used. If I were is more formal and is standard in the fixed phrase If I were you; If I was is common in informal speech.
What are mixed conditionals?
They combine time frames, usually a past condition with a present result (If I had studied medicine, I would be a doctor now) or a present condition with a past result (If I were braver, I would have said something).
How can I teach conditionals to young learners?
Keep to zero and first conditionals with concrete situations: If you mix red and yellow, you get orange. If it's sunny tomorrow, we'll play outside.