The conditional is sometimes used with an if clause to describe situations that might happen. In English we can translate the conditional as 'would do something' . This can be confusing since we use the same helping verb in English to refer to repeated actions in the past:
"When I was six I would cry whenever I saw a snake" is not a conditional phrase; it is a repeated action in the past.
"I would cry if you ever left me" is a conditional phrase.
Read the sentence in English and decide whether the action takes place repeatedly in the past (imperfect tense) or whether it is a conditional phrase. Press the NEXT button to start.
| We would eat if I had food. | conditional |
| When my father worked in Boston we would eat late. | repeated past action (imperfect) |
| If I were a millionaire there would not be anything to worry about. | conditional |
| When I was young there would be dances every friday night. | repeated past action (imperfect) |
| I would talk to him if I were you. | conditional |
| I would talk to him every night before I went to bed. | repeated past action (imperfect) |
| I'm not sure how I should deal with this problem. What would you do? | conditional |
| I can't believe you still talk to him. I would ignore him. | conditional |
| I always earned C's because I would never ask questions. | repeated past action (imperfect) |
| He would hit me whenever I talked back to him. | repeated past action (imperfect) |