Zero and First Conditionals

Zero Conditional
1. Use the ZERO CONDITIONAL to talk about what happens in general, every time, when a condition exists.
  1. FORM
    1. IF CLAUSE: If a condition EXISTS
      1. present (simple, continuous or perfect)
    2. comma
    3. MAIN CLAUSE (RESULT): The result IS true
      1. present (simple, continuous or perfect)
  2. EXAMPLES
    1. If the food IS out of date, I DON’T EAT it.
    2. If I HAVE DRUNK, I DON’T DRIVE.
    3. If you ARE TALKING, I CAN’T CONCENTRATE.
      Annotations:
      - We can also use modals such as CAN + VERB.
    4. I CAN’T TALK If you ARE TALKING.
      Annotations:
      - No COMMA when you put the MAIN CLAUSE (RESULT) first.
    5. WHEN you are talking, I can’t concentrate.
      Annotations:
      - We can normally replace IF with WHEN without changing the meaning.
First Conditional
1. Use the FIRST CONDITIONAL to talk about something that might happen in the future if a condition exists.
  1. FORM
    1. IF CLAUSE (CONDITION): If a condition EXISTS.
      1. present (simple, continuous or perfect)
    2. COMMA
    3. MAIN CLAUSE (RESULT): the result WILL BE true.
      1. future (any type), imperative, modal
  2. EXAMPLES
    1. If you STUDY, you WILL PASS the exam.
    2. If he DOESN’T CALL you, you SHOULD TELL me immediately.
    3. If you HAVE COME to class, the exam IS GOING TO BE easy.
    4. If we WIN, we WILL BE CELEBRATING soon.
      Annotations:
      - Do NOT use WILL in the IF CLAUSE: If you need me, I’ll help you. (NOT If you will need me, I’ll help you.
    5. We WILL BE CELEBRATING soon if we WIN.
      Annotations:
      - NO COMMA when you put the main clause at the beginning.

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Zero and First Conditionals

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	Created by Annamarie Fussa almost 3 years ago