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Six Common Mistakes Learners Make When Forming Conditionals

The utilization of conditionals presents a significant challenge to students, often resulting in errors such as the misuse of "will," "would," and "unless." Let us examine the six common mistakes made by learners in this regard.

October 4, 2025

Six Common Mistakes Learners Make When Forming Conditionals

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Have you started learning conditionals in a California English language school? You don’t feel enthusiastic about them, do you? They seem like a Gordian knot with all those complicated rules. We completely understand. Conditionals can be rather tricky as they employ almost all English language tenses. You also have to know which type you need in which situation since you can’t use them randomly.

Using conditionals properly in everyday conversations is a matter of practice, and there is no shortcut to mastery. During your learning process, you’ll undoubtedly make numerous mistakes. However, these mistakes shouldn’t discourage you and make you feel down. Instead, you should learn not to repeat them. If you aren’t sure how to do it, here are some of the most common problems students have with conditionals and how to avoid them. Read on!

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‍WHAT ARE SOME COMMON STUDENTS PROBLEMS WITH CONDITIONALS?

Students learning English as a second/foreign language often struggle with conditionals, as they keep mixing up the rules behind them. Moreover, even after learning the structures of all conditionals, they simply can’t use them correctly in their sentences.

To make your English language learning process more enjoyable, it's helpful to become familiar with some of the most common mistakes students make. As a result, you’ll understand the problematic areas and get motivated to eliminate them. So, pay attention to the following:

1. We don’t normally use will and would in the conditional clause.

Wrong: If you will come tonight, I will make a delicious dinner.

Correct: If you come tonight, I will make a delicious dinner.

NB: In some situations, we can actually do it, but these instances are considered exceptions, as they convey some different meanings:

If she will keep on doing that, I’ll have to fire her!

This sentence means that if she insists on doing that, the speaker will have to fire her. “Will” is used to express disapproval of a habit.

2. Unless means if not

Wrong: Unless you don’t leave my house, I will call the police!

Correct: Unless you leave my house, I will call the police! (If you don’t leave my house, I will call the police!)

3. The second conditional is used for hypothetical present situations. If we want to talk about the past, we need the third conditional.

If she studied harder, she would be a great student. (She doesn’t study hard, so she isn’t a great student.)

If she had studied harder, she would have finished university. (She didn’t study hard, so she didn’t finish university.)

4. If we need to discuss the present consequences of a past condition, we need a mixed conditional sentence.

If I had earned a lot of money while working abroad, I would have a spacious house now.

(I regret not earning more money while working abroad, and I don’t have a spacious house now.)

5. When forming a third conditional sentence, don’t forget have + past participle (would + have + past participle).

Wrong: If I had seen her, I would tell her everything about the accident.

Correct: If I had seen her, I would have told her everything about the accident.

6. In writing, we put a comma when the if-clause comes first.

If she had money, she would buy a new house.

‍ATTEND CLASSES IN A RENOWNED CALIFORNIA ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL

Do you want to learn tips and tricks on how to understand conditionals well? Not sure how you can use conditionals in reported speech? Come to the College of English Language and get all the help you need. Our experienced native teachers will go above and beyond to make sure you comprehend all the rules and implement them correctly. They’re equipped with patience and positive energy and will make you feel more comfortable while using English.

Visit us at one of our three locations in San Diego, Santa Monica, or Pacific Beach. You’ll have a great time learning English with us, and after class, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to have fun. How about strolling down Mission Beach Boardwalk with your new friends? Awesome, right? Don’t wait any longer and drop by today!