Conditional Sentences & Question Tags — SSC General English Notes Ch. 15

Introduction

Conditional sentences express a condition and its result using "if"; Question tags are the short questions added to the end of a statement ("...isn't it?", "...doesn't he?"). Both topics follow clear, memorisable structural rules.

Four Types of Conditional Sentences

Type	Structure	Use	Example
Zero Conditional	If + Present Simple, Present Simple	General/scientific truths	If you heat ice, it melts.
First Conditional	If + Present Simple, will + V1	Real/likely future situations	If it rains, we will stay home.
Second Conditional	If + Past Simple, would + V1	Unreal/hypothetical present or future	If I were rich, I would travel the world.
Third Conditional	If + Past Perfect, would have + V3	Unreal past (didn't happen)	If she had studied, she would have passed.

💡 Golden Rule: The "if" clause NEVER uses "will" or "would" — these words only appear in the main (result) clause.

Q. Choose the correct sentence: (A) If I would win the lottery, I would buy a house. (B) If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.

The "if" clause cannot contain "would" — it needs Past Simple for the Second Conditional
Correct: (B) If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.

"Were" Instead of "Was" in Second Conditional

⚠️ Formal Rule: In the Second Conditional's hypothetical "if" clause, formal/standard English uses "were" for ALL subjects (I, he, she, it), not "was" — e.g., "If I were you..." not "If I was you..."

Question Tags — Core Formation Rule

The Polarity-Reversal Rule

Positive statement → Negative tag | Negative statement → Positive tag

Statement	Tag
She is a doctor,	isn't she?
They aren't coming,	are they?
He can swim,	can't he?
You have finished,	haven't you?

Special Question Tag Cases

Statement Type	Tag Used
"I am..." (positive)	...aren't I?
Imperative (command)	...will you?
"Let's..." (suggestion)	...shall we?
Subject = "Everyone/Someone/Nobody" (treated as singular, but tag pronoun is "they")	...don't they? / ...do they?
Sentence contains "never," "hardly," "seldom," "rarely" (negative words without "not")	Treated as negative → positive tag

Q. Add the correct question tag: "I am your friend, ___?"

"I am" positive uses the irregular tag aren't I? (not "am I not" in casual usage, though that's also technically correct in formal English)

Q. Add the correct question tag: "He hardly ever comes on time, ___?"

"Hardly" makes the sentence functionally negative → needs a positive tag
...does he?

✅ Practice Focus: Four conditional types and their exact if-clause/main-clause tense pairing · "If" clause never contains will/would · "Were" for all subjects in Second Conditional · Polarity-reversal rule for question tags · Special cases (I am→aren't I, imperatives→will you, hardly/never→positive tag).

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