Grammar (/grammar) > B1-B2 grammar (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar) > Conditionals 1

Conditionals 1

Do you know how to use the zero, first and second conditionals? Test what you know with
interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how zero, first and second conditionals are used.

If you freeze water, it becomes solid.

If it rains tomorrow, I'll take the car.
If I lived closer to the cinema, I would go more often.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation
Conditionals describe the result of a certain condition. The if clause tells you the condition (If
you study hard) and the main clause tells you the result (you will pass your exams). The order of
the clauses does not change the meaning.

If you study hard, you will pass your exams.

You will pass your exams if you study hard.

Conditional sentences are often divided into different types.

Zero conditional
We use the zero conditional to talk about things that are generally true, especially for laws and
rules.

If I drink too much coffee, I can't sleep at night.

Ice melts if you heat it.
When the sun goes down, it gets dark.

The structure is: if/when + present simple >> present simple.

First conditional
We use the first conditional when we talk about future situations we believe are real or possible.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow, we'll go to the beach.

Arsenal will be top of the league if they win.
When I finish work, I'll call you.

In first conditional sentences, the structure is usually: if/when + present simple >> will +
infinitive. 

It is also common to use this structure with unless, as long as, as soon as or in case instead of
if.
 I'll leave as soon as the babysitter arrives.
I don't want to stay in London unless I get a well-paid job.
I'll give you a key in case I'm not at home.
You can go to the party, as long as you're back by midnight.

Second conditional
The second conditional is used to imagine present or future situations that are impossible or
unlikely in reality.

If we had a garden, we could have a cat.

If I won a lot of money, I'd buy a big house in the country.
I wouldn't worry if I were you.

The structure is usually: if + past simple >> + would + infinitive. 

When if is followed by the verb be, it is grammatically correct to say if I were, if he were, if she
were and if it were. However, it is also common to hear these structures with was, especially in
the he/she form.

If I were you, I wouldn't mention it.

If she was prime minister, she would invest more money in schools.
He would travel more if he was younger.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Try another grammar lesson(/grammar/b1-b2-grammar)

Language level

B1 - Intermediate (/taxonomy/term/1490)
Average: 4 (55 votes)

Submitted by flaze3 on Mon, 13/03/2023 - 02:26

Permalink (/comment/185572#comment-185572)

So what about conditionals like "if he didn't come to work yesterday, he was probably
ill"? Is it a zero conditional? It's not a general truth, but a logical deduction. I
understand this is an example of a "real conditional", but I'm not sure how it fits into
the 0,1,2,3 ranking. If we were to say "if I went to his house, I took beer with me", that
seems to be a clearer example of a 1st conditional, since the implication is that it was
a repeated event - we could replace "if" with "when" and the sentence would still work.
However, in the first sentence, we cannot replace "if" with "when", so I am unsure of
how to categorize it.

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by Jonathan R on Mon, 13/03/2023 - 03:27

Permalink (/comment/185574#comment-185574)

Hi flaze3,

The zero/first/second/third system presents some common conditional forms and

meanings, and it is quite widely used in learning materials. However, it has also
been criticised for missing out a wide variety of forms and meanings that are
actually used in real life, and you pointed out some good examples of this. My
personal opinion is that it is a somewhat useful system - but it is also a limited
one, and we cannot classify all examples of real-life conditionals usage in it.

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by Prerana.Peru on Sat, 25/02/2023 - 08:28

Permalink (/comment/184780#comment-184780)

The question that haunts me is the usage of 'could' or 'would' in these type of
conditionals. Could you clarify with examples ?
Is it correct to use I could change my course, if I knew its evil terms and conditions.
Helpful Article. Thanks a lot

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Sat, 25/02/2023 - 14:33

Permalink (/comment/184789#comment-184789)

Hello Prerana.Peru,

'would' and 'could' are both very commonly used in second conditionals. 'could' is
basically the verb 'can' in a conditional tense.

Yes, the sentence you ask about is grammatically correct.

We're happy to help you understand any other specific examples or questions you
have -- please just make them as specific as possible. It's also helpful if you
explain to us how you understand the sentences so that we can better see how to
help you.

All the best,

Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by mawski on Wed, 22/02/2023 - 21:41

Permalink (/comment/184670#comment-184670)

Hi!
Is it okay to use 'going to' to replace 'will' in conditional 1?
Or using 'will' is a must?

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by Peter M. on Thu, 23/02/2023 - 07:34

Permalink (/comment/184686#comment-184686)

Hi mawski,

You can use a range of verb forms in place of 'will' - going to is one and so are
other modals than will: might, may, should etc.

 
 Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by Mary.888 on Sat, 18/02/2023 - 06:36

Permalink (/comment/184487#comment-184487)

Hello,
I'd like to know how we can use "first conditional" when we are talking about a
possible situation that happened in the past.
For example when I was at school my father said: "if you study hard, I will buy you a
bicycle". This is conditional type 1.
Now when I'm going to tell this as a story to someone, how can I tell it?
Is it OK to say like this:
When I was a school student my father told me If you studied hard, I would buy you a
bicycle? (This structure sounds like conditional type 2, but I know in reality it was
type1.)

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by Peter M. on Sat, 18/02/2023 - 07:37

Permalink (/comment/184491#comment-184491)

Hello Mary.888,

Yes, that's correct.

The conditional is formed first and then the rules of reported speech (verb
backshifting) are applied, so 'study' becomes 'studied' and 'will buy' becomes
'would buy'. 

Your analysis is good - well done.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by kyanlam on Wed, 08/02/2023 - 11:46

Permalink (/comment/184056#comment-184056)
Hi. Is it possible to say 'Life would be better when I do not health concerns'? Thanks.

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

Submitted by Jonathan R on Wed, 08/02/2023 - 13:07

Permalink (/comment/184060#comment-184060)

Hi kyanlam,

Yes, if you add a verb: Life would be better when I do not have (any) health
concerns.

If you consider this situation unlikely or unrealistic, you could say: Life would be
better if I didn't have (any) health concerns. / Life would be better if I had
no health concerns.

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Log in (/user/login?destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) or register (/user/register?

destination=/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1%23comment-form) to post comments

1 2 (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=1)
(/grammar/b1-
3 (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=2)
b2-
4 (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=3)
grammar/conditionals-
1?
5 (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=4)
page=0)
6 (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=5)

7 (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=6)

8 (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=7)

9 (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=8)

Next (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=1)

Last (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/conditionals-1?page=23)
 Do you need to improve your English grammar?
Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their
English grammar with our online courses.

/online-courses?promo_id=oc&promo_name=online-courses&promo_creative=learning-content-cta&promo_position

Online courses
(/online-courses?promo_id=oc&promo_name=online-
courses&promo_creative=sidebar&promo_position=grammar)

Our websites
LearnEnglish Kids for children aged 5 to 12
(https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org)

LearnEnglish Teens for children aged 13 to 17

(https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org)

TeachingEnglish for teachers and teacher educators

(https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk)
 Help
Free online English test (/english-levels/online-english-level-test)

Sign up for our newsletter (/subscribe-to-our-newsletter?

promo_id=nl01&promo_name=newsletter&promo_creative=sidebar-
promo&promo_position=rightsidebar)

Frequently asked questions (/frequently-asked-questions)

Getting started (/getting-started-free-resources)

House rules (/house-rules)

Home (/)

Online Courses (/online-courses)

Live online classes (/online-courses/live-online-classes)

Self-study online courses (/online-courses/self-study)

Personal online tutoring (/online-courses/personal-online-tutoring)

IELTS online courses (/online-courses/ielts-online-courses)

Skills (/skills)
Listening (/skills/listening)

Reading (/skills/reading)

Writing (/skills/writing)

Speaking (/skills/speaking)

Grammar (/grammar)
A1-A2 grammar (/grammar/a1-a2-grammar)

B1-B2 grammar (/grammar/b1-b2-grammar)

English grammar reference (/grammar/english-grammar-reference)

Vocabulary (/vocabulary)
A1-A2 vocabulary (/vocabulary/a1-a2-vocabulary)

B1-B2 vocabulary (/vocabulary/b1-b2-vocabulary)

Vocabulary games (/vocabulary/vocabulary-games)

Business English (/business-english)
Corporate training and assessments (/corporate-solutions)

Business magazine (/business-english/business-magazine)

Podcasts for professionals (/business-english/podcasts-for-professionals)

English for emails (/business-english/english-for-emails)

You're Hired (/business-english/youre-hired)

General English (/general-english)

Video zone (/general-english/video-zone)

Audio zone (/general-english/audio-zone)

Magazine zone (/general-english/magazine-zone)

Story zone (/general-english/story-zone)

Audio series (/general-english/audio-series)

Video series (/general-english/video-series)

Apps (/apps)

Community events (/community/community-events)

LearnEnglish webinars (/community/learnenglish-webinars)

Learning hub (/learning-hub)

English levels (/english-levels)

Online English level test (/english-levels/online-english-level-test)

Understand your English level (/english-levels/understand-your-english-level)

Improve your English level (/english-levels/improve-your-english-level)

Find resources for your level (/english-levels/find-resources-for-your-level)

Follow us

TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcouncilenglish)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/britishcouncilenglishonline/)

YouTube (https://youtube.com/@BritishCouncilEnglish)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LearnEnglish.BritishCouncil)

Twitter (http://twitter.com/LearnEnglish_BC)

Terms of use (https://www.britishcouncil.org/terms)

Accessibility (https://www.britishcouncil.org/accessibility)

Privacy and cookies (https://www.britishcouncil.org/privacy-cookies)

Frequently asked questions (/frequently-asked-questions)

Contact us (/contact-us)

Newsletter (/newsletter)

Getting started (/getting-started)

House rules (/house-rules)

Site map (/sitemap)

© British Council
The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).