Choose the best option to complete each sentence, then check your answers.
___ the international research team not secured additional funding last year, the clinical trials would currently be stalled due to a lack of specialized equipment.
This sentence requires an inverted mixed conditional (past condition using 'Had + subject + past participle' and a present result with 'would + base verb'). 'Were' would require 'to secure'; 'If' requires normal subject-verb word order ('If the team had not'); 'Should' is used for first conditional future probabilities.
If the government had implemented stricter emissions regulations a decade ago, urban air quality in major industrial centers ___ significantly better today.
The sentence links an unreal past condition ('had implemented') to a present outcome anchored by 'today', requiring a mixed conditional result form ('would + base verb'). 'Would have been' is incorrect because it specifies a past result rather than a present state.
The university will not grant tenure to visiting professors ___ they satisfy all published research criteria within three academic years.
'Unless' is a subordinating conjunction that correctly introduces a full conditional finite clause ('they satisfy...'). 'Except' requires 'if' to introduce a clause, while 'without' and 'despite' are prepositions that must take a noun phrase or gerund.
___ any technical discrepancies arise during the secondary analysis of the dataset, the principal investigator must be notified immediately.
Formal first conditional inversion places 'Should' before the subject and base verb ('arise'). 'Were' requires 'to arise'; 'Had' requires a past participle ('arisen'); 'Unless' creates a double negative meaning and fails to trigger base verb inversion.
___ to adopt the recommended monetary policy adjustments, the central bank would risk accelerating inflation over the coming quarters.
An inverted second conditional hypothetical uses 'Were + subject + to-infinitive'. 'Was' is incorrect in formal subjunctive conditionals; 'Had' requires a past participle; 'If the board' lacks the required finite verb structure before 'to adopt'.
Had the economic analysts predicted the sharp drop in consumer demand, the retail corporation ___ its expansion into overseas markets last fiscal year.
An inverted third conditional requires 'would not have + past participle' in the result clause to describe an unreal past outcome ('last fiscal year'). 'Would not authorize' incorrectly forms a present mixed conditional result, while 'had not authorized' cannot act as a main clause modal verb.
If global supply chains ___ so interconnected today, the regional transport strike last month would not have caused such widespread disruption.
This mixed conditional pairs a present general state ('today') with a past result ('last month'). A present hypothetical condition requires the past subjunctive 'were not'. 'Had not been' incorrectly shifts the present condition into the past, and 'are not' violates conditional tense sequence rules.
___ the substantial subsidies provided by the government, few private firms would have invested in renewable energy infrastructure during the initial phase.
'But for' functions as a conditional prepositional phrase meaning 'if it were not for' and takes a noun phrase ('the substantial subsidies'). 'Unless' requires a full clause with a subject and verb; 'Provided' requires 'that'; 'In spite' must be followed by 'of'.
___ that the initial clinical trial yields statistically significant results, the pharmaceutical company plans to initiate Phase II testing by early autumn.
'Assuming that' introduces a conditional premise followed by a finite clause. 'Despite' and 'In spite' cannot be followed directly by 'that + clause' (requiring 'the fact that'); 'Unless' cannot be followed by the conjunction 'that'.
When urban temperatures increase significantly during heatwaves, concrete and asphalt structures ___ heat, intensifying the urban heat island effect.
Zero conditional sentences express general scientific facts using present simple tense ('absorb and retain') in both clauses. 'Would absorb' incorrectly frames an established physical factual phenomenon as a hypothetical possibility.
Only if the panel reaches a consensus on the ethical guidelines ___ the clinical trial be permitted to proceed.
Starting a sentence with the restrictive conditional marker 'Only if' requires inversion of the subject and auxiliary verb in the main clause ('will the clinical trial be permitted'). 'it will' retains standard word order; 'does' cannot combine with passive 'be permitted'; 'is' creates an ungrammatical double auxiliary.
If it ___ for the timely intervention of the emergency response team, the ecological damage to the wetland ecosystem would be far more severe today.
The fixed formal second conditional pattern 'If it were not for + noun' describes a present unreal condition affecting a present outcome ('today'). 'Has not been' violates subjunctive conditional forms, and 'would not be' cannot be placed inside the conditional 'if'-clause.
The ethics board granted permission for the study ___ all participant data remained strictly anonymous throughout the publication process.
'On condition that' introduces a formal contractual prerequisite. 'In order that' denotes purpose rather than a condition; 'so long' is missing 'as'; 'as far as' indicates extent or scope rather than a conditional requirement.
Had the infrastructure project been completed on schedule, the municipality ___ forced to allocate emergency funds for temporary road repairs last winter.
An inverted third conditional describes an unreal past condition ('Had been completed') and its unreal past result ('last winter'), requiring 'would not have been'. 'Would not be' incorrectly expresses a present result.
___ the committee rejects the proposal, the department will have to revise its budget allocations for the upcoming fiscal year.
'In the event that' is a complex conjunction followed by a full subject-verb clause ('the committee rejects...'). 'In case of' and 'Due to' are prepositions requiring a noun phrase, while 'Owing to that' is ungrammatical as a conditional conjunction.
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Mastering conditional structures—including zero, first, second, third, and mixed conditionals, as well as formal inversions and alternative conditional conjunctions—is essential for achieving a Band 7.0+ score on the IELTS exam. Advanced conditionals allow candidates to express complex hypothetical situations, cause-and-effect relationships, and nuanced academic arguments with high grammatical precision.
In IELTS Writing Task 2 and Speaking Parts 2 and 3, using inverted conditionals such as “Had the council implemented…” or alternative conditional markers like “provided that” demonstrates mastery of complex sentence structures (Grammatical Range and Accuracy). In Reading and Listening, recognizing these patterns enables candidates to accurately interpret the timing, certainty, and hypothetical nature of arguments presented in texts and lectures.
This test assesses your ability to identify and apply advanced conditional patterns across formal and academic contexts. Select the single option that correctly completes each sentence according to standard English grammar.
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