The First Conditional
What exactly is the first conditional and when would we use it?
Well, if you overheard someone saying "If you jump in the puddle, you will get wet" you'll know that they are talking about something that is likely to take place.
As with all conditionals a condition has to be met in order for the outcome to be achieved and in this case the condition is that jumping in the puddle will result in getting wet.
We use the first conditional to indicate that the chances of something happening are high, there is a strong probability that they will happen, if the condition is met.
We use the first conditional when we want to share information about something that is likely to take place.
Let's take a look at some more examples:
If it snows, we could go tobogganing.
When I go to the theatre, I might buy an ice cream.
Shelia will be there at 7 o'clock, if the train is on time.
If we go to the Indian Restaurant, we could eat a hot Jalfrezi curry.
Can you see the pattern in each of the sentence structures? They all tell us that if the condition is met then there is a good chance of the proposed outcome taking place.
As with the zero conditional the words if or when are used to open the sentence and introduce the scenario, the subject is then introduced, followed by the use of a base verb (the present simple). The second half of the sentence mentions the subject again, however it also introduces a modal before the base verb, which is the only difference to the way in which the zero conditional is formed.
The sentence structure we use to form the first conditional is:
if/when + subject + base verb + subject + modal + base verb = The First Conditional
But hold on a minute what is a modal and why do we need to use it to create the first conditional?
Modals are simply helper verbs, also known as auxiliary verbs. They help us to show possibility, and the likelihood of something happening. Examples of modals are: will, can, could, may, might, would, shall, must...
In the above examples of first conditional sentences you'll see that I used the modal verbs, will, could and might.
Teacher Tip: Although the zero conditional and the first conditional have slightly different meanings there is only one change in the way they are formed, which is the addition of a modal when using the first conditional.
Conditionals aren't hard to learn, as long as you remember that they are used to express how likely the outcome of something is based on a specific condition being met.
Let’s go over the first conditional one more time by watching this video that I made for you.
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