Omitting IF
Giving advice in hypothetical situations
Were / Had / Should
| IF CLAUSE | |
|---|---|
If is commonly used to introduce a conditional clause. If can be omitted from a conditional clause to shorten the sentence and place more emphasis on the result clause. |
|
| CONDITION | ADVICE |
If I were you, |
I wouldn't get involved. |
If I had known, |
I would have said something. |
If you should see him again, |
walk the other way! |
| CONDITIONAL VERB CLAUSE | |
|---|---|
Were, had and should may be used without if by moving the auxiliary verb in front of the subject. (Should is also used to mean in case.) |
|
| CONDITION | ADVICE |
Were I you, |
I wouldn't get involved. |
Had I known, |
I would have said something. |
Should you see him again, |
walk the other way! |
was / were – We often use were instead of was after if. Both was and were are used in formal English, but only was is used in informal English. If I were you...
Conditional Clause
Subject–Verb Inversion
Subject–Verb Inversion
| SUBJECT–VERB | |
|---|---|
In a conditional clause, use normal subject verb word order after if. |
|
| IF-CLAUSE | ADVICE |
If I were you, |
I would have asked him to pay me back. |
If the police had come, |
they would have stopped him. |
If he comes back, |
call me. |
| AUX–SUBJECT–VERB | |
|---|---|
In a conditional clause using were, had or should, move the auxiliary verb or be (main) verb before the subject. Omit if. |
|
| SHORTENED CLAUSE | ADVICE |
Were I [were] you, |
I would have asked him to pay me back. |
Had the police [had] come, |
they would have stopped him. |
Should he [should] return, |
call me. |
If / In case
Advice vs. Precaution
If versus In case
| IF | |
|---|---|
An if clausediffers in meaning from an in case clause. An if clause is something we do only if the action in the other clause occurs (not before). |
|
| CONDITION | ADVICE |
If you need to reach me, |
call my cell phone. (Do this after X happens.) |
*In case you need to reach me, |
call my mobile phone. (Do this for the duration.) |
| IN CASE | |
|---|---|
An in case clause is an action we take before something might occur. An in case clause indicates a precaution. |
|
| PRECAUTION | ADVICE |
In the event (that) you need to reach me, |
write down my phone number. (Do this before X happens.) |
In case you need to reach me (later), |
take your phone with you now. (Do this before X happens.) |
*Yellow highlighting indicates example of incorrect usage.
See If / In case
Practice
Giving Advice
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Click the "check all" button at the bottom of the practice to reveal the answers after you finish, or
c lick the individual "check" buttons #1-10 to compare responses as you go.