When To Use ZERO FIRST Conditional Sentences Accurate English Grammar
Hey I’m Emma from mmmEnglish!
Welcome to a fascinating, interesting,
grammar lesson. Another one in our series about
conditional sentences.
If you’re learning English, you will definitely
find this lesson helpful.
This type of grammar lesson might sound serious
but learning to use conditionals effectively
is going to help you to express yourself clearly
and be really creative with English.
Conditionals are really common, native speakers
use them all the time so if you start paying attention,
you are definitely going to notice this
sentence structure as you’re reading
and even as you’re listening too, you’ll hear it more.
In this video, we’re going to focus on
the zero conditional and the first conditional
and we’ll talk about how they’re different but importantly
when you should use one or the other
because that’s a little confusing.
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So let’s get into this lesson!
So I’m going to assume that you know most of the basics
about conditional sentences.
If you study grammar, it gets easier.
If you practise every day, you will improve.
If I lived in an English-speaking country,
I would be fluent.
If I had known how useful English was for my career,
I would have paid more attention to it at school.
So each of these sentences has an if clause
and a main clause but there are some differences
between them especially with verb tenses
and time references.
And all of this changes the meaning.
One of them is a fact.
Another is about the present but it’s an unreal present.
Another is about an imaginary past.
Today we’re going to focus on these two.
The zero and the first conditional.
The zero conditional is also called the factual
or the real conditional because we use it to talk about
truths and facts. Things that are real in the world.
We also use it to talk about habits
and rules and to give instructions
that are the result of something else happening first.
So in other words, if this happens then this is the result
always okay? It’s a fact. It’s the truth. It’s just
how it is. It’s what happens.
Let’s take a closer look at what it looks like
because it’s really simple.
We use the present simple in both clauses.
Now why does it say ‘if’ or ‘when’
can be used in the if clause?
It’s a good question.
In the zero conditional, you can use either ‘if’ or ‘when’
in the if clause
and the meaning with either word is pretty similar
but we use ‘if’ when there is a chance that the action
will happen but it might not happen as well
okay? If it does happen
then we know exactly what the result will be.
If I workout, I feel healthier.
So I workout and the result is pretty obvious.
When I do workout, I feel healthier, I feel better
about myself. It’s true.
But that doesn’t mean that I do it all the time right?
I don’t always feel healthy especially if I don’t workout.
We use ‘when’ when we know for sure that that action
is going to happen.
We might not know exactly when it’s going to happen
but we know that it will okay.
When I workout, I feel healthier.
So I’ve removed the possibility
that it’s not going to happen.
There’s no question about it.
I will workout.
The specific time doesn’t matter, we just know that it’s
going to happen in the future
so it’s a subtle difference, very, very subtle.
And the same difference actually applies in the first
conditional. We can use ‘if’ or ‘when’
as well in the first conditional.
But we’ll get to that.
Back to forming the zero conditional. Let’s look at a few
examples to help us do that.
When the sun sets, it gets dark.
If you leave milk out, it spoils.
If the power goes out, we can’t watch TV.
So these are all facts and truths, right?
Now what about this sentence.
In winter, it’s cold.
Is it a zero conditional sentence?
It’s a fact. It has the present simple verb
but it’s not a conditional sentence. Can you tell me why?
We don’t have two clauses. It is a fact but we don’t have
the condition and the result clause. It’s just a
present simple sentence.
But what about now?
If it’s cold, light the fire.
Now we’ve got a condition and the result
and this is a good example of how the zero conditional
can be used to give instructions.
And I’m using the imperative form to do that.
I’m telling you what to do, instructing you.
We also use the zero conditional to talk about rules.
Children can swim if an adult is with them.
And we use it to talk about habits.
If it’s hot, I go to the beach.
This is something that I usually do. It’s a habit right?
It happens often.
Can you see how in all of these examples
that the two separate parts of the sentence
are connected?
We’re stating a fact or a truth in the main clause
but it’s only possible on the condition
that the if clause occurs.
So now we know that the zero conditional
is the factual or the real conditional.
What about the first conditional?
It’s also called the possible conditional.
Now we’re not talking about facts anymore okay?
Things that are absolutely one hundred percent true.
Now we’re talking about possible future results.
They might happen but they might not happen as well.
So can you guess when it might be useful
to use the first conditional.
A time when you’re thinking about what’s
possible in the future.
We can use it to talk about predictions, superstitions,
plans, promises, offers, suggestions and warnings like
there’s a lot of different ways that we can use the
first conditional, right?
So all of these things talk about what is
likely to happen in the future. A likely outcome.
So in the first conditional we’re not just using
the present simple anymore, right?
Because we’re talking about the future.
In the ‘if’ clause, we still use a present simple verb
but in the main clause, we use the future tense.
Will.
If this thing happens
then this will likely happen. It will probably happen.
We can’t be absolutely sure.
You think so.
If you don’t eat now, you’ll be hungry later.
If she doesn’t call, I’ll be annoyed.
And just like in the zero conditional, we can still use
‘if’ or ‘when’ in the if clause and it depends on how
sure we are that something is gonna happen.
And ‘when’ tells us that we’re
very, very confident that the action in the if clause
is going to happen and the result
in the main clause is the most likely outcome.
When the sun sets, it will get cold.
Now what about this sentence?
If aliens arrive on earth, I will greet them!
Now I’ll give you a clue. There is something
not quite right about this sentence,
something about it sounds strange
but it has a present simple verb
and ‘will’ with the base verb following so it looks right
but this isn’t a possible situation.
Well, not really.
I could be unintentionally starting a debate about the
existence of alien life right here but
this is more of a hypothetical situation right?
So it would be better to use the second
conditional to talk about this hypothetical situation.
So we talked about the zero conditional.
We’ve talked about the first conditional
but what’s the difference between them?
And why would you choose one over the other?
Let’s take a look.
If you leave the milk out, it spoils.
If you leave the milk out, it will spoil.
Which one’s correct?
It’s a trick question. They’re both correct.
They’re both possible.
But choosing to use the zero or the first conditional
does change the meaning of the sentence a little.
So in the first sentence, we’re stating a general fact.
It’s true right? In general,
in life, you know at any moment,
when you leave milk out of the fridge it spoils.
So I might use the zero conditional to explain to a
child that milk spoils when it’s not in the fridge, right?
The child didn’t know that fact beforehand.
I’m telling them so that they know in the future.
When I use the first conditional sentence, I’m telling you
about a possible outcome based on the current situation
so it’s like advice or warning about a present situation.
Something that is specific.
So imagine that you’ve just made a coffee.
You left the milk on the bench and then you’ve gone off
to the living room to watch some telly.
So I’m using the first conditional now to warn you
or remind you about what might happen if you don’t
put the milk in the fridge. So I’m not telling you
a general life lesson or a fact about life.
You probably already know that milk spoils
but I’m giving you a suggestion or a reminder
that you should put it in the fridge.
Now look at a few more comparisons.
When the sun sets, it gets cold.
Compare it to: When the sun sets, it will get cold.
So I’m using the zero conditional again to talk about
a general fact, all right?
All around the world in general,
it gets colder when the sun sets.
But if you’re about to leave the house
and you’re wearing just a t-shirt
and I might be a little bit worried that
you’re going to get cold
then I might use the first conditional sentence
to remind you that, you know, in a few hours
when the sun sets. It’s probably going to get cold and
maybe you should bring a jacket.
Let’s try one more.
If she doesn’t call, I’m annoyed.
If she doesn’t call, I’ll be annoyed.
So in the first situation, the zero conditional is used
because it’s something that happens a lot right?
She often doesn’t call and every time I’m annoyed.
Every time she doesn’t call I’m annoyed.
It’s a really general statement about how I feel
on many occasions.
In the first conditional example though,
I’m talking about a specific phone call.
Maybe I’m waiting for a colleague to call.
I’m waiting for some information that I need to finish
writing my report by the deadline
and she promised to call me this afternoon.
So I’m not talking about her general calling habits.
I don’t always get annoyed with her
but I am talking about right now in this moment.
You know I’m worried that my colleague’s
not going to call and I’m just expressing that it’s really
annoying because I’m trying to finish my report.
Okay I hope that you’re feeling a bit more confident
about using the zero and first conditional now
because it’s time to practise.
So what I’m gonna do is I’ll give you a situation
and you’re gonna have to write either
a zero conditional sentence or a
first conditional sentence to go with it,
whichever one you think is the most appropriate one
right I want you to write your sentences in the
comments below. I’ll jump down and check them for you
You can write any of your own sentences
if you want me to check them
but for now let’s start with this one.
You’re a teacher
and you want to warn your students
that they need to do their homework
or tomorrow there’s going to be trouble.
They’re going to get in trouble, right?
So should you use the zero or the first conditional?
Good. It should be the first conditional.
Now this is a warning about a specific situation,
not a general truth
because we’re talking about tomorrow
okay so you could say something like:
If you don’t do your homework,
you’ll be in trouble.
So I’ve got a few more situations just like this one
where you’ll have to choose
is it more appropriate to use the zero conditional
or the first conditional?
So you’ll see that situation come up on screen,
pause it if you need to so that you can write
your sentences in the comments below.
I’ll come down and check them for you.
So let’s get started!
Situation one.
You’re talking to a child and you’re explaining a fact
about what happens in spring.
You’re talking to a friend and you want to
warn them to not be late to work tomorrow.
You’re a politician giving a speech and you want to
promise change in the future if the people vote for you.
You’re writing a cookbook and you need to write
a statement telling people that they can always change
the ingredients if they have a food allergy.
Now if you’re still feeling confused
about conditionals or maybe you’re feeling like
I’m just starting to get the hang of this
that’s okay, you know, conditional tenses are a
huge topic. They’re a huge part of English grammar
which is why I’m creating dedicated lessons
to all the different conditional structures.
If you found this lesson particularly helpful then please
give it a like and share it.
It really does help us at mmmEnglish.
Now if you come back next week,
I will have a new English lesson for you
but in the meantime,
check out these ones here.
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