Conditionals: zero, first and second
Look at these examples to see how zero, first and second conditionals are used.
If you freeze water, it becomes solid.
If it rains tomorrow, I'll take the car.
If I lived closer to the cinema, I would go more often.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Conditionals describe the result of a certain condition. The if clause tells you the condition (If you study hard) and the main clause tells you the result (you will pass your exams). The order of the clauses does not change the meaning.
If you study hard, you will pass your exams.
You will pass your exams if you study hard.
Conditional sentences are often divided into different types.
Zero conditional
We use the zero conditional to talk about things that are generally true, especially for laws and rules.
If I drink too much coffee, I can't sleep at night.
Ice melts if you heat it.
When the sun goes down, it gets dark.
The structure is: if/when + present simple >> present simple.
First conditional
We use the first conditional when we talk about future situations we believe are real or possible.
If it doesn't rain tomorrow, we'll go to the beach.
Arsenal will be top of the league if they win.
When I finish work, I'll call you.
In first conditional sentences, the structure is usually: if/when + present simple >> will + infinitive.
It is also common to use this structure with unless, as long as, as soon as or in case instead of if.
I'll leave as soon as the babysitter arrives.
I don't want to stay in London unless I get a well-paid job.
I'll give you a key in case I'm not at home.
You can go to the party, as long as you're back by midnight.
Second conditional
The second conditional is used to imagine present or future situations that are impossible or unlikely in reality.
If we had a garden, we could have a cat.
If I won a lot of money, I'd buy a big house in the country.
I wouldn't worry if I were you.
The structure is usually: if + past simple >> + would + infinitive.
When if is followed by the verb be, it is grammatically correct to say if I were, if he were, if she were and if it were. However, it is also common to hear these structures with was, especially in the he/she form.
If I were you, I wouldn't mention it.
If she was prime minister, she would invest more money in schools.
He would travel more if he was younger.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
If I don't spend all my money, I can pay my rent.
If I work hard, I'll get a lot of money.
If I read a book, I would be a know-well.
This is so helpful. If I hadn't taken this lesson, I would have made many mistakes in grammar.
Hello Aymajical,
I have taken and am taking these lessons. Still, I am making so many mistakes in grammar.
Shetu Yogme
thank you for the lesson.
Please I need a clarification: in the first conditional there are two examples with both verbs at present simple:
I don't want to stay in London unless I get a well-paid job.
You can go to the party, as long as you're back by midnight.
Is it correct?
Hello DarioCringia,
Both sentences are correct.
The result clause in these structures generally uses will but this is not a tense but rather a modal verb. We can use other modal verbs instead of 'will', such as might, should or, like here, can.
The first example contains want and this is a description of an emotion which the person is feeling right now, not dependent on any future condition. Whether or not the person stays depends on the job, so if you change the clause to be about that then you need to use will:
I won't stay in London unless I get a well-paid job.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
If /when(ever) we had the money, we went to Paris.
If /when(ever) we have money, we go to movies.
Are these sentences correct in terms of grammar and meaning?
Thanks
Hello a.kopuz,
Yes, those sentences are both correct. The first describes your behaviour in the past and the second describes your behaviour in the present.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
1-Zero Conditional:
-If the trip is canceled, travelers spend the night at the hotel.
2-First Conditional:
-If the trip is canceled, the travelers will have to spend the night at the hotel.
3- Second Conditional:
-If I were you, I wouldn’t let my son live far away from me.
-If she were a little late for the appointment, she wouldn’t get this job.
Hello,
Since it is difficult for 4-year-old children to use the second conditional.
May I inquire about the incorrect use of the second conditional by a 4-year-old child?
For example, a kid could say: "If I was 12 years old, I wouldn’t be scared of the dark"?
And then corrected by an adult.
How would children say that sentence? Thank you.
Hello User_1,
This is really a question about children's cognitive development, which is not an area I have expertise in. However, I can tell you that abstract and hypothetical thinking does not develop until late childhood - say 11 or 12 years of age and so a four-year-old child would not even attempt to construct this kind of sentence. Piaget is the most important source here:
https://educationlibrary.org/piagets-formal-operational-stage-of-cognitive-development/
https://teachers.institute/childhood-growing-up/cognitive-development-children-perception-abstract-thinking/
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team