According to Pyle, the third type of conditional sentence is difficult for foreign students to understand because the fact of the sentence is the
opposite of the sentence which appears. When the conditional sentence is negative, the meaning is actually positive and so on.
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This type is also called
as counterfactual.
Counterfactual conditionals
refer to
impossibilities with reference to the present or the past. Dancygier and Sweetser state that the meaning of counterfactuality
is not directly means as the form sentence mentioned, but it depends on the contextuality and inference of the sentence.
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3. The Function of Conditional Sentences
Cobuild defines the use of conditional sentence into several points there are
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To talk about a situation that sometimes exists or existed. For
example : If they lose weight during an illness, they soon regain it afterwards.
To talk about a situation that you know doesn‟t exist. For example
: If Indonesia had a winter, the weather would be different.
To talk about a situation when you do not know whether it exists or not. For example : If she is right, it would be possible for the
company to find an inovation.
To talk about a situation that may exist in the future. For example : If I stay in Batam for several years, I will spend a
high cost for a life. The other experts such as Foley and Hall define the function of
conditional sentence based on each type into some points below
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:
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Michael A.Pyle Mary Ellen Munoz Page, TOEFL-Preparation Guide Test of English As A Foreign Language, New Delhi : Wiley, 2002, p.115.
17
Barbara Dancygier Eve Sweetser, Mental Spaces in Grammar - Conditional Constructions, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press,2005, p.71.
18
Collins Cobuild, English Grammar, Birmingham: Collins Cobuild, 2011. p.637.
The first conditional sentence emphasizes about the possible future
events or situation and the results. For example : If you work hard in examination, you will get the
best score.
The second conditional sentence describes about the improbable future event or situation. The condition is unlikely to be fulfilled
because the future event is unlikely to happen. For example : If I were you, I would not reach my dream to be
true. The fact means : Iam not you, so I will reach my dream to be
true.
The third conditional sentence express the hypothetical in the past. The event happen in the past, and the meaning is contrary to the
fact. For example : If Indonesia had had a winter, it could have been
snow everywhere. The fact is : Indonesia did not have a winter so it could not be
snow everywhere.
B. Interactive Technique
