If English were easy, we would all be fluent. True? You just read a conditional sentence. To sound fluent, you need to get your head around conditional sentences. It’s an art. Don’t worry, though; you can learn it. Let’s step into the wonderful world of English conditional sentences.
English has four conditional sentence types: Zero conditional, the first, the second, and the third. Today we will concentrate on Zero and the first conditional.
Zero Conditional
Used for things that are always true. Common facts.
- If Present / Present
E.g., If water reaches 100 º, it boils.
If you walk in the rain, you get wet.
If you get wet, you get cold.
No ifs or buts about it. This conditional is a little easier to learn because it makes sense the way it is expressed. Unfortunately, the first conditional is a little more difficult to understand.
First Conditional
Used for things that are likely possibilities. Things that are likely to happen in the future.
We use:
- If + present simple / will or won’t + infinitive (You do see them in other forms of the present tense. )
e.g., If it rains in the morning, I will take an umbrella.
First conditional sentences consist of two clauses– a main clause (conditional clause) and a (subordinate) clause introduced by if. Both clauses talk about the future. Strangely enough, the verb in the if clause is in the present tense. The main clause is in the future tense. That’s what I meant by a little more difficult to remember.
E.G., I’ll phone you if I have time. I’ll take an umbrella to work if it rains tomorrow.
We can change the order of the clause in the conditional sentences.
If I have time, I’ll phone you. If it rains tomorrow, I’ll take an umbrella to work.
As you can see, when you begin the sentence with the if (subordinating) clause, you must use a comma between clauses.
Three uses of the First
We often use the first conditional for persuasion, warnings and threats. E.G.:
- Persuasion: I’ll cook dinner if you do the dishes.
- Warning: You’ll get detention if you don’t do your homework.
- Threat: If you throw that ball inside again, I’ll take it off you.
Variations of the First Conditional
Imperative
If + present, imperative.
We can use the imperative form of the verb rather than the future form. The imperative is often used to give instructions or advice. e.g., If you get chest pain, ring an ambulance!
If there is a fire, evacuate!
Present Continuous
We can use present continuous in the conditional clause.
e.g., I‘m coming over tomorrow if my car is fixed.
Going to
I’m going to do the washing tomorrow if it doesn’t rain.
I‘m going to sleep well tonight if the neighbours are quiet.
Present Tense in the If Clause
We can use various forms of the present tense in the if clause in the first conditional, depending on the meaning we want to convey.
Present perfect: If the train hasn’t arrived in ten minutes, we’ll have to catch a cab.
Present continuous: If they‘re using common sense, they’ll succeed with less work.
Should
We sometimes use should before the verb in the if clause. This will often weaken the possibility of the thing happening, implying by any chance…
If you should finish your work early today, you can go home early.
Should is sometimes used instead of if, usually in more formal situations.
E.G. Should a visitor become aggressive, please ring for help.
As with many things in English, there are exceptions to every rule. The more you use the different forms, the quicker you learn them. Practise listening for the first conditionals when you hear English speakers speaking. Use it on purpose yourself, and practise, practise, practise.
Pronunciation Tip
Here’s a pronunciation hint. In casual conversation, ‘if ‘ is often barely pronounced. The vowel disappears, and the f is whispered. A phrase like ‘If I were you’ is pronounced /faɪweju:/
So if you are listening to a native speaker, listen for the quiet pronunciation. You can even work out what type of conditional sentence they are using. Let me explain.
Common Mistake
If I will have time, I will ring you. Wrong You must use the present tense in the if clause.
If I have time, I will ring you. Right
If it will be sunny later, we will go for a picnic. Wrong
If it is sunny later, we will go for a picnic. Right
So that’s the zero and first conditional. The first conditional is mainly used in the first format,
If + present simple / will or won’t + infinitive. You will see it in the other formats we discussed here, so I included it here so you can get to know the different forms of the first conditional in English.
