Conditionals (Types 0, 1 & 2) – English Grammar Exercises For B1
Choose the most appropriate option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 If I ______ the lottery, I would buy a huge mansion on the coast.
(a) would win
(b) win
(c) won
(d) to win
2 We ______ first-class around the world if we had a hundred million dollars in the bank.
(a) travel
(b) would travel
(c) would traveled
(d) will travel
3 If I ______ you, I would quit that stressful office job the moment the prize money arrived.
(a) am
(b) have been
(c) would be
(d) were
4 I think my parents ______ much more relaxed if they didn’t have to worry about the mortgage anymore.
(a) would be
(b) will be
(c) are
(d) would being
5 If Sarah ______ suddenly wealthy, she wouldn’t wake up at 6 AM every day.
(a) becomes
(b) became
(c) become
(d) would become
6 What ______ if you woke up tomorrow and saw a billion dollars in your bank account?
(a) would you do
(b) will you do
(c) do you do
(d) you would do
7 If we had our own private helicopter, we ______ stuck in this awful city traffic right now.
(a) won’t be
(b) wouldn’t be
(c) aren’t
(d) wouldn’t been
8 Imagine the possibilities! If we ______ endless money, we could literally buy our own private island.
(a) having
(b) have
(c) had
(d) would have
9 If I didn’t need to work for a salary, I ______ all my free time to volunteering at the animal shelter.
(a) would dedicate
(b) will dedicate
(c) would dedicating
(d) dedicated
10 I wouldn’t tell anyone about the jackpot unless I ______ absolutely certain they wouldn’t ask for a loan.
(a) am
(b) were
(c) would be
(d) be
11 ______ a massive luxury yacht if you won the grand prize tonight?
(a) Would you buy
(b) Will you buy
(c) You would buy
(d) Did you buy
12 If my brother ______ his millions wisely, he wouldn’t go bankrupt in a year.
(a) invests
(b) would invest
(c) invested
(d) to invest
13 I would definitely share the prize with you guys if we ______ a legal agreement beforehand.
(a) signed
(b) sign
(c) would sign
(d) signing
14 If you didn’t have any financial limits at all, which country ______ to live in?
(a) would you choose
(b) do you choose
(c) you would choose
(d) will you choose
15 Suppose you ______ the winning numbers tonight, who would be the very first person you’d call?
(a) will guess
(b) guessed
(c) would guess
(d) guessing
16 Even if I ______ a multi-billionaire, I wouldn’t stop eating at my favorite cheap street food stalls.
(a) were
(b) am
(c) would be
(d) been
17 Honestly, your plan to buy a golden spaceship sounds ridiculous. If you ______ more practical, you would invest in real estate.
(a) are
(b) were
(c) would be
(d) being
18 We could travel to Mars for a vacation, assuming we ______ enough money to pay for the trip.
(a) have
(b) having
(c) would have
(d) had
19 I wouldn’t donate the whole sum to charity unless my own children ______ completely debt-free first.
(a) are
(b) would be
(c) were
(d) will be
20 It is so fun to dream, but if we ______ expensive lottery tickets every day, we would just go broke!
(a) keep buying
(b) would keep
(c) kept buying
(d) keep to buy
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c) won
- Why it is correct (The Key): Type 2 Conditional uses the Past Simple in the if-clause for an unreal/hypothetical situation in the present/future.
- Error Analysis: Option (b) “win” is a Common Mistake (confusing Type 1 with Type 2). Option (d) “to win” is a Structural Error (infinitive cannot act as a finite verb). Option (a) “would win” is a Strong Distractor (learners often mistakenly put “would” inside the if-clause).
2 (b) would travel
- Why it is correct (The Key): The main clause of a Type 2 Conditional requires “would + base verb”.
- Error Analysis: Option (d) “will travel” is a Common Mistake (using future tense when the condition “had” is past). Option (c) “would traveled” is a Structural Error (base verb must follow modals). Option (a) “travel” is a Strong Distractor (matches Type 0, but the condition is hypothetical).
3 (d) were
- Why it is correct (The Key): In Type 2 Conditionals, “were” is the standard form of the verb “to be” for all subjects (If I were you).
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “am” is a Common Mistake (using present tense for an unreal situation). Option (b) “have been” is a Structural Error here. Option (c) “would be” is a Strong Distractor (putting “would” in the if-clause).
4 (a) would be
- Why it is correct (The Key): The condition “didn’t have to” is Past Simple (Type 2), so the result clause needs “would + verb”.
- Error Analysis: Option (b) “will be” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “would being” is a Structural Error. Option (c) “are” is a Strong Distractor (logically makes sense, but grammatically incorrect for a hypothetical scenario).
5 (b) became
- Why it is correct (The Key): Past Simple in the if-clause matches the “wouldn’t wake up” result clause.
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “becomes” is a Common Mistake. Option (c) “become” is a Structural Error (Sarah is singular). Option (d) “would become” is a Strong Distractor.
6 (a) would you do
- Why it is correct (The Key): Correct question format for a Type 2 result clause (Modal + Subject + Base Verb).
- Error Analysis: Option (b) “will you do” is a Common Mistake (mismatched with “woke up”). Option (d) “you would do” is a Structural Error (statement word order in a question). Option (c) “do you do” is a Strong Distractor (Type 0 question, inappropriate for an unreal scenario).
7 (b) wouldn’t be
- Why it is correct (The Key): Matches the unreal past condition (“had”).
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “won’t be” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “wouldn’t been” is a Structural Error. Option (c) “aren’t” is a Strong Distractor.
8 (c) had
- Why it is correct (The Key): Past simple is needed to create the imaginary scenario of possessing endless money.
- Error Analysis: Option (b) “have” is a Common Mistake (Type 1 reality vs. Type 2 fantasy). Option (a) “having” is a Structural Error. Option (d) “would have” is a Strong Distractor.
9 (a) would dedicate
- Why it is correct (The Key): The condition is “didn’t need” (Type 2), requiring “would + verb” in the main clause.
- Error Analysis: Option (b) “will dedicate” is a Common Mistake. Option (c) “would dedicating” is a Structural Error. Option (d) “dedicated” is a Strong Distractor (missing the modal verb required for the result clause).
10 (b) were
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Unless” means “if not” and follows the same rules. It requires the past tense “were” to match “wouldn’t tell”.
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “am” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “be” is a Structural Error. Option (c) “would be” is a Strong Distractor.
11 (a) Would you buy
- Why it is correct (The Key): Question form for the result of a hypothetical condition (“won”).
- Error Analysis: Option (b) “Will you buy” is a Common Mistake. Option (c) “You would buy” is a Structural Error (wrong word order). Option (d) “Did you buy” is a Strong Distractor (asks about a real past event, not a hypothetical future).
12 (c) invested
- Why it is correct (The Key): Past simple to match the Type 2 result “wouldn’t go”.
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “invests” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “to invest” is a Structural Error. Option (b) “would invest” is a Strong Distractor.
13 (a) signed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Past simple is required in the if-clause to establish the hypothetical condition for “would share”.
- Error Analysis: Option (b) “sign” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “signing” is a Structural Error. Option (c) “would sign” is a Strong Distractor.
14 (a) would you choose
- Why it is correct (The Key): Question structure for a Type 2 Conditional result.
- Error Analysis: Option (d) “will you choose” is a Common Mistake. Option (c) “you would choose” is a Structural Error. Option (b) “do you choose” is a Strong Distractor.
15 (b) guessed
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Suppose” acts like “If”. The main clause uses “would”, so the condition needs Past Simple.
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “will guess” is a Common Mistake (using future in the condition). Option (d) “guessing” is a Structural Error. Option (c) “would guess” is a Strong Distractor.
16 (a) were
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Even if” follows conditional rules. “Were” is used for unreal present scenarios.
- Error Analysis: Option (b) “am” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “been” is a Structural Error. Option (c) “would be” is a Strong Distractor.
17 (b) were
- Why it is correct (The Key): Unreal condition in the present (“you are not practical, but if you were”).
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “are” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “being” is a Structural Error. Option (c) “would be” is a Strong Distractor.
18 (d) had
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Assuming” acts as a conditional conjunction. The result is “could travel” (past modal), so the condition must be Past Simple.
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “have” is a Common Mistake. Option (b) “having” is a Structural Error. Option (c) “would have” is a Strong Distractor.
19 (c) were
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Unless” clause needs Past Simple to match “wouldn’t donate”.
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “are” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “will be” is a Structural Error. Option (b) “would be” is a Strong Distractor.
20 (c) kept buying
- Why it is correct (The Key): Past Simple needed for a hypothetical present condition (we don’t actually buy them every day).
- Error Analysis: Option (a) “keep buying” is a Common Mistake. Option (d) “keep to buy” is a Structural Error (wrong verb pattern). Option (b) “would keep” is a Strong Distractor.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Type 2 Conditional Structure: The formula is If + Past Simple, Subject + Would/Could/Might + Base Verb. It is used purely for imagining things that are contrary to the present reality (like suddenly having millions of dollars).
- The “Were” Rule: In formal and standard English, always use “were” instead of “was” for all subjects in a Type 2 if-clause (e.g., If I were, If she were).
- No “Would” in the If-Clause: The most common mistake is putting “would” right next to “if”. Remember: “If I had” (Correct) vs. “If I would have” (Incorrect).
- Alternative Conjunctions: Words like unless (if not), suppose/supposing (imagine if), and assuming follow the exact same grammatical tense rules as if.