First Conditional – rules, examples and usage cases

In general, there are 5 conditional sentence types in English, but in this article we will analyze the First Conditional.

Contents

1. Building a First Conditional
    1.1. Affirmative form
    1.2. Negative form
    1.3. Interrogative form
2. When to use First Conditional
3. Substitute words for “if”
4. Substitute words for “will”

To deepen your knowledge, we suggest you watch a free lesson on First Conditional:

Building a First Conditional

We generally need First Conditional for the future tense, i.e. when we want to express a certain condition in the present that will affect the future. Let's take a look at an example sentence: If I earn a lot of money, I will buy a new car. 

Affirmative form

The if-clause is the Present Simple tense, and the main clause is the Future Simple with the bare infinitive.

• If Derek continues to behave like a jerk, I will break up with him.
• If the weather is nice, we will go to the park with you. 
• If Harry takes one more photo of Jane, I’m sure he will ask her out. 

Negative form

We can have the particle “not” in both the if-clause and the main clause.

• If it rains, I won’t go anywhere!
• If any russian singer participates in this concert, believe me I won’t come!
   

• If they don’t stop behaving like this, I will call their mum!
• If you don't read the instructions, you will be lost in zoom settings during the meeting.

Interrogative form

Let's see how to build a question in this table.

• If you are ill, will you go to the office tomorrow anyway?
• If we take credit, will our brother be mad as hell?

But it may also be that the interrogative part is placed at the beginning of the sentence, while the if part is placed at the end.

• What will you tell her if she goes with Patrick on a date?
• Where will David live if he leaves home?

Note that in this case, the comma between the two parts of the sentence disappears.

When to use First Conditional

You have already understood the most standard use case of First Conditional, when we have a certain condition in the present tense and its consequence in the future. But let's take a look at some other aspects of using the first type.

Substitute words for “if”

There are several words that can replace “if”, and the meaning of the sentence can remain the same or change as well.

1. When

• When I become a boss, I will fire Rose anyway.
• When Sam come back home, her parents will talk to her.

2. Unless

• Unless you learn all the words by heart, you won’t play computer games.
• Unless Helen tidies up her bedroom, I won’t even talk to her.

3. As long as

• As long as you love me, I'll protect you from all of the enemies.
• As long as she works this way, her colleagues will be always unpleasant to her.

4. As soon as

• As soon as our neighbors move to Austria, we will never see each other again.
• As soon as I cancel our meeting with them, our cooperation will be finished.

5. After

• After you promise not to yell at me anymore, we will have a discussion.
• After Auchan close all the supermarkets in Russia, I will return to buy food there.

Substitute words for “will”

“Will” is not always used in the result clause, and other verbs, mostly modals, can replace it, depending on the context of the sentence.

1. Can

If I know the material, I can pass the Pre-intermediate final test without any problem.

2. May

If you finish all your tasks before 5 p.m., you may be free.

3. Should

If your parents sleep, you shouldn't wake them up.

4. Must

If he parks his car here, he must pay for the parking.