Unit 9 – Grammar 2 – Page 61

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES WITH IF CLAUSES / THE FIRST CONDITIONAL.

The FIRST CONDITIONAL is used to talk about possible situations with their consequences. Look at these examples:
Possible situation ----------- Consequence
If + Sub + Simple Present -----Sub + WILL/MAY/MIGHT + BASE + complement
If I get a high-paying job, I’ll buy a big house.
I’ll be able to travel every year.
I’ll have to pay higher taxes.

If I don’t study hard, I might not pass the semester.

I’ll fail the test.
When you use the If clause at the beginning, you need to use a comma (,) after it. But we can say these in a different order:
I´ll buy a big house if I get a high paying job.
I might not pass the semester if I don´t study hard.
In this case, you don´t need the comma (,).

*Very Important: Remember that WILL expresses high probability, intention or prediction but MAY and MIGHT refers to
low probability or possibility.
The negative of WILL is WON’T, MAY is MAY NOT and MIGHT is MIGHT NOT.
The future of CAN is WILL BE ABLE TO + Verb in base form, not will can. (will can does not exist)
The future of MUST is WILL HAVE TO + Verb in base form, not will must.
Eg: I´ll be able to travel every day if I get a high-paying job.
I´ll have to pay higher taxes if I get a high-paying job.
Unit 9 – Grammar 2 – Page 61

The First Conditional

The first conditional has the present simple after 'if', then the future simple in the other clause:

 if + present simple, ... will + verb in base form

It's used to talk about things which might happen in the future. Of course, we can't know what will happen in the future,
but this describes possible things, which could easily come true.

 If it rains, I won't go to the park.

 If I study today, I'll go to the party tonight.
 If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes.
 She'll be late if the train is delayed.
 She'll miss the bus if she doesn't leave soon.
 If I see her, I'll tell her.

First vs. Zero Conditional:

The first conditional describes a particular situation, whereas the zero conditional describes what happens in general.

For example (zero conditional): if you sit in the sun, you get burned (here I'm talking about every time a person sits in the
sun - the burning is a natural consequence of the sitting)

But (first conditional): if you sit in the sun, you'll get burned (here I'm talking about what will happen today, another day
might be different)
Unit 9 – Grammar 2 – Page 61

For more on the First Conditional, please watch these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7EQd2RfT38 or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-2v7UpoQ0

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/first-conditional-exercise-1.html