First Conditional: Real Possibility

With the First Conditional we are thinking about the future, and talking about a condition that is likely to happen and the possible result of this condition.

There is always a very real chance that the condition will happen.

For example, you get up in the morning and plan to go for a run, but the sky is getting cloudy.  It’s not raining right now, but you think it might rain later.  What will you do?  If it rains, I will stay at home.

We use the Present Simple tense to talk about the condition.  We use will + base verb or  modal + base verb or imperative to talk about the result.

We don’t usually use “will” or “won’t” in the “if” clause.

IF	Condition	Result
If	I see Mary	I will tell her.
If	Tara is free tomorrow	invite her.
If	they do not pass their exam	their teacher will be sad.
If	she gets up early	she can catch the bus.
If	it rains tomorrow	what will you do?

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Result	IF	Condition
I will tell Mary	if	I see her.
He will buy me lunch	if	he sees me tomorrow.
They can visit the pyramids	if	they go to Mexico.
Stay at home	if	it rains tomorrow.
What will you do	if	he doesn’t call you?

Introduction to Conditionals

There are four basic English conditionals that we use to express possible or imaginary situations: Zero, First, Second, and Third.

Conditional sentences contain two clauses: the “if” (condition) clause, and the “result” clause. All conditionals have two easy, possible structures and either structure can be used without changing the meaning.  We can put the “if” clause first, or the “result” first.  Note that we only use a comma when the “if” clause come first.

For example: If a certain condition is true, then a specific result happens.

IF	Condition	Result
IF	x = 10,	2x = 20

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For example: A specific result happens if a certain condition is true.

Result	IF	Condition
2x = 20	IF	x = 10

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Here’s a little chart to help you visualize.

Probability		Conditional	Example	When
100%		Zero Conditional	If I don’t eat for a long time, I get very hungry.	Any Time
~50%		First Conditional	If she sees him, she will tell him the news.	Future
~10%		Second Conditional	If he studied harder, he would graduate with honours.	Future
0%		Third Conditional	If they had gone to Hawaii, they would have surfed everyday.	Past