Conditional sentences

Question

Which type of conditional are in these examples?

I’ll let you know if I was accepted into the graduate program.
The teacher will increase my grade if I was correct on the first question.
I’ll fix the error if I was mistaken.

Why these sentences use will with the simple past?

In the second type of conditional, I’m pretty sure, we use would (the past of will).

I would answer if he called.
If the weather improved, our crops would flourish.

Thank you!

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

piermo
Which type of conditional are in these examples?
I’ll let you know if I was accepted into the graduate program. Not necessarily a conditional.
The teacher will increase my grade if I was correct on the first question. Mixed conditional.
I’ll fix the error if I was mistaken. Mixed conditional.

The if-clause in the first one can be seen as an indirect question, also known as an embedded question or as an interrogative content clause. In fact, you can substitute 'whether' for 'if'. Such indirect questions often come after the verb 'know'.

However, with 'if', you can interpret it as a conditional, in which case it's a mixed conditional like the other two.

piermoWhy do these sentences use will with the simple past?

The condition was in the past, and the result will be in the future. It's as simple as that. For example,

1) I was mistaken. (past tense)
2) I will fix the error. (future tense)

If I was mistaken in the past, I will fix the error in the future.

piermo
In the second type of conditional, I’m pretty sure, we use would (the past of will).
I would answer if he called.
If the weather improved, our crops would flourish.

Correct. That's why your three examples above do not belong to the set of second conditional sentences. Because they don't follow the pattern of any of the numbered conditionals, they are called mixed conditionals.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

piermoI’ll let you know if I was accepted into the graduate program.

The "if" in the sentence above isn't the conditional "if". It is subordinator that introduce the subordinate clause in the sentence.

Conditional sentences

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