English Grammar:Lesson 2-A Description of First Conditionals by Rachel

A Detailed Description of First Conditionals by a Student

Today, Rachel is in a better mood. Her English lesson was better than yesterday’s. She thinks she understood more when the teacher gave a detailed description of First Conditionals. Takondwa, her best friend, is happy for her of course!

Takondwa: You see, it wasn’t that bad today.

Rachel: I survived!

Takondwa: You participated a lot in class today — that was very good.

Rachel: Thank you Takondwa. I think I might start liking English Grammar lessons now. I can even tell you what we learnt today!

Takondwa: Really? I am surprised Rachel. Do you want to become an English teacher? Don’t you want to be a top model anymore?

Rachel: Ha, ha, ha. No Takondwa. I don’t think teaching is my calling yet but let me have a go at it today. Just today, okay?

(Rachel takes a deep breath)

Rachel: All right, here we go. Yesterday’s lesson was about Zero Conditionals, right?

Takondwa (Smiling): Yes…

Rachel: An example of a Zero Conditional is “If you eat too much, you gain weight.”

Takondwa: Yes, go on…

Rachel: You see Takondwa, there are two situations here. The first one is “EAT TOO MUCH” (the cause or the condition) and the second one is “GAIN WEIGHT” (the result). Both verbs are in the Simple Present because we are talking about a general truth.

Takondwa: Yes, that’s right. It looks like you didn’t forget anything. Wow Rachel, you are going to become an English teacher!

Rachel: Ha, ha, ha. Don’t be silly Takondwa. Well, where was I?

Takondwa: I think you were about to give me a detailed or extensive description of First Conditionals.

Rachel: Yes, that’s right. First Conditionals are a little bit like Zero Conditionals. They both have two situations whereby one situation is dependent on the other. Situation B can happen only if Situation A takes place. The difference lies in the fact that the verb in situation B is in the Future Tense. The result of Situation A will possibly or probably take place in the future. They are called First Conditionals because they come after Zero Conditionals.

Takondwa: Mmmh, I think I don’t really understand. Can you give me an example?

Rachel: Okay, here it is: “If I do well in this exam, my parents will be happy.” This is a specific or particular situation.

Takondwa: So…

(Description of First Conditionals)_ English Grammar

Rachel: It’s different from the following Zero Conditional sentence: “If you do well in exams, parents are happy“. In this sentence you can even add at the beginning: “Generally speaking, if you do well in exams, parents are happy“. You can also use WHEN here instead of IF. “When you do well in exams, parents are happy.”

Takondwa: What about: If I will see you, I will be happy.”

Rachel: No Takondwa, that’s incorrect. The verb that is in the If-clause should be in the Simple Present and the modal verb that is in the main clause should be in the Future Tense. Let me correct your sentence now:

If I see you, I will be happy.”

Takondwa: Ha, ha, ha. Rachel, today you weren’t sleeping in class, I can tell that very well. Okay, Rachel, here is a tough one. What is a clause?

Rachel: No, I wasn’t sleeping at all, ha, ha, ha. The lesson was quite interesting, I should say. Well, your question is very easy. A clause is a group of words that has a Subject and a Verb. In the previous example I gave you, I is the Subject (the one who does the action) and See is the Verb (the action). See you is the Predicate which consists of a Verb and an Object (the one that is acted upon).

Takondwa: All right, that’s good. What is a Main Clause then?

Rachel: A Main Clause is a group of words containing a Subject and a Predicate that can make full sense on its own. We say that it can stand alone. Whereas, the If-clause starts with IF — this is why we call it the IF-Clause. This is not a Main Clause because it is dependent on another group of words. “If I see you” doesn’t make sense on its own. It’s incomplete.

Takondwa: Give me more examples about First Conditionals.

Rachel: No problem, I will give you five.

  1. If I leave now, I will be able to catch the bus.
  2. If you beat me, you‘ll regret that for the rest of your life!
  3. If they come, we will tell them to come back tomorrow.
  4. If you buy this, you won’t have any money left in your bank account.
  5. If you eat this uncooked chicken, you‘ll get severe stomach cramps.
(Description of First Conditionals)_English Grammar

Takondwa: Well Rachel, I am impressed. You left no stone unturned…

Rachel: I know, I know Takondwa. I think I’m beginning to like this. I’m getting good at this actually. Tomorrow I will explain to you what Second Conditionals are.

Takondwa: Well, Rachel. I’m really looking forward to this!

Rachel: Thank you!

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