Lesson 6 – Step 3 – The First Conditional

Goal

It’s time to review the First Conditional. You can watch the video or go straight to the explanation. You decide!

Once you’ve finished, you can move to step 4.

Language Discovery

Look at the phrases in blue in the text in step 1. What do they have in common?

1.  They all begin with if.
2.  They are all in the present simple

Look at the phrases in green in the text in step 1. What do they have in common? 

They are all phrases with will.

General Notions

We use the first conditional to talk about possible situations in the future and their consequences. Conditionals always have 2 clauses (2 parts): the if-clause (the condition) and the will-clause (the consequence).

→ If you listen (condition), you will understand (consequence)

Structure

If  + present simple   ,   will + verb (inf)

if-clause     will-clause

If you like thrillers, you will definitely enjoy this film.

If you are really interested in special effects, you won’t enjoy it that much.

We can invert the order of the clauses. In that case, we don’t use the comma:

will + verb (inf) if + present simple

You will definitely enjoy this film if you like thrillers.

You won’t enjoy it that much  if you are really interested in special effects. 

Dig a little deeper

You can use the present simple or can instead of the will-clause.

You can buy a new car if you have enough money

If you go to the supermarket, bring me some milk.

Conclusion

Ready? Terrific! Let’s move on to step 4 to practise what you’ve learnt in this step.