Conditional Tenses: Your Guide to Talking About "If" Situations

Give an example of a situation that is generally true and can be expressed using the Zero Conditional.

In a First Conditional sentence, what form does the verb take after 'will' or 'can'?

Explain the type of situations that the Second Conditional is used for.

What is the formula for a Zero Conditional sentence?

Provide an example of a situation that depends on a condition in a First Conditional sentence.

Give an example of a situation that can be expressed using the Second Conditional.

What does the First Conditional express?

What verb form follows 'can' in a First Conditional sentence?

When talking about habits or scientific facts, which Conditional is most appropriate to use?

What is the key difference between First Conditional and Second Conditional?

Zero Conditional

Describes general truths or facts that are always true, such as "If you heat water to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils."
Formula: If + present simple, present simple.

First Conditional

Used for real and possible situations in the future.
Verb form after 'will' or 'can' is the base form (infinitive) of the verb, e.g., "If it rains, we will stay indoors."
Example of a situation: "If I study hard, I will pass the exam."
Follows the structure: If + present simple, will + base verb.

Second Conditional

Used for hypothetical or unreal situations in the present or future.
Expresses wishes, dreams, or unlikely events, such as "If I won the lottery, I would travel the world."
Follows the formula: If + past simple, would + base verb.

Key Differences

First Conditional pertains to realistic future scenarios, while Second Conditional deals with unreal or unlikely situations.
First Conditional utilizes present simple in the conditional clause and 'will' in the main clause; Second Conditional uses past simple and 'would'.

Habits and Scientific Facts

The Zero Conditional is most appropriate for talking about habits and scientific facts due to its emphasis on certainty.

Verb Forms

In First Conditional sentences, the verb following 'can' also takes the base form, such as in "If you can help, please do."

Learn how to talk about things that might happen based on other conditions with the use of conditional tenses. Discover the three main types: Zero Conditional, First Conditional, and Second Conditional, and how they are used to express possibilities in English.