5.

2 Zero, First and Second

Conditionals
When do we use conditional sentences?

We use the Zero Conditional to talk about things that are always
true; the First Conditional to talk about possible situations; and
the Second Conditional to talk about imaginary situations.

If the sky is cloudy, the stars aren’t visible.

You’ll learn a lot about space if you study

physics next year.

If you lived on Mars, your days would be 39

minutes longer than days here on Earth.

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 Read the text. Find conditional sentences describing:
a) a scientific fact b) a possible future situation
c) an unreal situation d) an unlikely situation

If you were an alien, what would your life be like?

It’s hard to imagine! It’s easier to imagine being a
human in space. All animals from Earth die if they
don’t have enough oxygen, so if I was in space,
oxygen supply would be very important. If I ever
travel outside my own country, I’ll probably go
somewhere in Europe. But if I could go anywhere
in space, I’d visit Mars.

a)
d)
c)
b)

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How do we make conditional sentences?
Conditionals
Zero If you freeze water, it expands. If + Present Simple, Present Simple
Conditional (scientific fact)
Sarah starts to sneeze if she smells flowers.
(always true)
We’ll look at the NASA website later if we have time. If + Present Simple, will + infinitive
First
(the result of another action)
Conditional
Unless it’s a clear night, we won’t see many stars.
(possibility in the future)
If my little sister offered to help me, I’d be amazed. If + Past Simple, would + infinitive
Second (unlikely situation)
Conditional If I was/were older, I’d train to be an astronaut.
(unreal situation)

You can use was or were

When the if clause is at the beginning of
with the first person of the
the sentence, we put a comma (,) after it.
Unless means Second Conditional,
But there’s no comma if the if clause is
‘if not’. except for If I were you.
second.

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 Practice Time
Make Zero, First or Second Conditional sentences from the prompts.

1. water / freeze / if / you / cool / it to 0°C (scientific fact)

Water freezes if you cool it to 0°C.

2. if / you / stay / in the sun any longer / you / burn (the result of another action)
If you stay in the sun any longer, you’ll burn.

3. Emma / always / call / if / she / miss / her train home (always true)
Emma always calls if she misses her train home.

4. what / you / do / if / you / win / a competition to go into space / ? (unlikely situation)

What would you do if you won a competition to go into space?

5. we / get / better pictures for our school project / if / we / use / a drone (possibility in the future)
We’ll get better pictures for our school project if we use a drone.

6. if / I / be / the richest person in the world / I / live / on my own tropical island (unreal situation)
If I was/were the richest person in the world, I’d live on my own tropical island.

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