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Blog / "If I Would Have…": 16 Real Conditional Sentence Mistakes
"If I Would Have…": 16 Real Conditional Sentence Mistakes
The most common error in English conditional sentences is putting will or would in the if part of the sentence. In standard English, the if-clause uses a present or past tense, and will or would goes only in the other clause. The examples below are real sentences that people sent to Proofread Bot.
The corrections are written in formal, academic English, so contractions are spelled out in full. Where a contracted or colloquial form is common in everyday writing, it is shown underneath as the informal version.
1. "Will" in the if-clause (first conditional)
For real or likely situations, use the present simple after if, and will in the result clause: "If you study, you will pass."
✓ If you study more, your English will improve.
✓ If I see Peter, I will ask him.
✓ I will tell him if I see him.
Informal: I'll tell him if I see him.
✓ If you go to England, you will improve your English.
✓ If you eat your vegetables, you will be allowed to watch television.
The same rule applies after unless, when, as soon as, only if, and in case:
✓ Sammy will be allowed to play only if he shares his toys.
✓ Sam will not go to the dance unless you ask him.
Informal: Sam won't go to the dance unless you ask him.
✓ In case you need my help, I will be in my classroom until 4:00.
2. "Would" in the if-clause (second conditional)
For imaginary or unlikely situations, use the past simple after if, and would in the result clause: "If I had more time, I would travel."
✓ If I had more time, I would take up golf.
✓ If you studied more, your English would improve.
✓ If I won the big prize, I would take you to dinner.
✓ I would be the happiest boy alive if I had a monkey as a pet.
✓ She would go to Spain only if her parents bought her a plane ticket.
✓ Tom would not like broccoli even if you covered it in cheese.
Informal: Tom wouldn't like broccoli even if you covered it in cheese.
The past tense here does not refer to the past. It signals that the situation is hypothetical.
3. General truths (zero conditional)
For facts that are always true, use the present simple in both clauses.
✓ If people eat too much, they gain weight.
"Will" is not wrong in such sentences, but the present tense is more precise for scientific and general statements, and it is the form you will see in academic writing.
4. "If I was" or "if I were"?
In hypothetical sentences, formal English uses were for every subject: "If I were you," "If she were here." "If I was" is common in speech and accepted in informal writing, but in academic writing use were.
✓ If Sarah were here, she could join the party.
Informal: If Sarah was here, she could join the party.
Note also the comma: when the if-clause comes first, separate it from the main clause with a comma. When it comes second ("She could join the party if she were here"), no comma is needed.
5. "Would of" and "could of"
In the third conditional ("If I had known, I would have come"), the contraction "would've" sounds like "would of," and that is how it is sometimes written. It is always an error. See contractions in academic writing.
Proofread Bot flags will and would in conditional clauses and suggests the correct tense.