ZERO AND FIRST CONDITIONAL

ZERO AND FIRST CONDITIONAL

1. DEFINITION

   • All conditional sentences talk about a result that is dependant on a condition.
   • The sentences, therefore, have two parts, or clauses.
   • In English, we use the word “if” to determine the condition in the first clause, and the result (which depends on the condition) in the other clause.

2. STRUCTURE

   • ZERO CONDITIONAL​
     • IF + Condition (Simple Present) + Result (Simple Present) ​ ​
   • FIRST CONDITIONAL
     • IF + Simple present, Simple future (s+will/won't+v in base form)​ ​

3. USES

   • ZERO CONDITIONAL​
     • Regular / true events​
     • It is used to express facts that are always true
     • It can also be used to give instructions. In this case we will use an imperative to express the instruction or warning.
   • FIRST CONDITIONAL
     • Possible future events​
     • Of course, we can't know what will happen in the future, but this describes possible things, which could easily come true.

4. EXAMPLES

   • ZERO CONDITIONAL
     • If you don't put sun cream on, you get burnt.
     • If people eat too much, they get fat
     • If my dog sees the postman, he barks.
     • If it rains, don't go to the playground.
   • FIRST CONDITIONAL​
     • If it rains, I won't go to the mall
     • If I study today, I'll go to the party tonight
     • If the weather is nice, I’ll go to the park.
     • If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss our train.