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First Conditional

Introduction

The first conditional structure is used to talk about possibility in the future - something which will or will not happen in the future depending on certain conditions being met.

Examples

Table 1

Table 1

Column 1

Column 2

"If they win the match,

I will buy them dinner."

If this happens ...

... this will happen.

If this doesn't happen ...

... this will not happen.

There are no rows in this table

⁠

Table 2

Table 2

Column 1

Column 2

"If you study hard,

you will pass the exam."

There are no rows in this table

⁠

Table 3

Table 3

Column 1

Column 2

"If she sings well,

she will win the competition."

There are no rows in this table

⁠

Form

A first conditional sentence contains two clauses: the "if" clause and the main clause.To make the "if" clause, we use:"if" + present tense.To make the main clause, we use:future tense.

The "if" clause can be used first or second. The meaning is exactly the same:

If they are late, we will leave without them.

We will leave without them if they are late.

When the "if" clause is used first there is a comma between the clauses.

⁠

We can use "when" in place of "if":

"if" implies possibility

"when" implies that it is certain.

For example:

If I get home late, we won’t have dinner.

When I get home, we’ll have dinner.

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