FRENCH IF-CLAUSES

I) The following if-clauses can be translated directly from English
to French: 

  1) Si + present, future:  S'il arrive, nous partirons. 
		            If he arrives, we will leave.
  2) Si + present, present (habitual):  Si elle travaille, nous jouons.
			 	        If she works, we play.			
  3) Si + present, imperative:  S'il arrive, criez!
				If he arrives, scream!

II) The following if-clauses do not always translate directly from English 
to French:

  1) Si + imperfect, conditional present (hypothetical):
        S'il arrivait, nous partirions.
        If he arrived (were to arrive), we would leave.
        Nous nous inquiéterions si tu nous oubliais. 
        We would worry if you forgot us.

  2) Si + pluperfect, past conditional (counter-factual).
       Si elle était venue, j'aurais fait mes devoirs hier.
       If she had come (but she didn't), I would have done 
	my homework yesterday.

  3) Si + pluperfect, present conditional.
       S'il était arrivé, je serais content maintenant.
       If he had arrived, I would be happy now.

Careful! Many English speakers now replace "if he had come" with 
"if he would have come."  The translation, however, remains 
"s'il était venu." 
Remember! In a clause beginning with "si," only three tenses are possible: 
present, imperfect, and pluperfect, but never the conditional.