ALL CONDITIONALS
ZERO CONDITIONAL
2ND CONDITIONAL
1ST VS 2ND CONDITIONAL
1ST CONDITIONAL EXAMPLES
MIXED CONDITIONALS
The First Conditional is the second of four English Conditionals, and it expresses a future condition in relation to a future result. This post will take a deep look into the First Conditional while demonstrating the many ways we use it to communicate. After you have read this post, you’ll have a new understanding of the Future Conditional.
The Often unrecognized First Conditional
As English Conditionals go, the First Conditional is by far the most expansive. When I often practice reading with my students, I will highlight a sentence that starts with a time word (like as long as); then I’ll ask the student if he recognizes what kind of sentence it is. After he has given me the (typical) confused look, I underline the time word, the present tense, then the future tense. From there, they look up and say “it’s the First Conditional.”
- We‘ll have a barbecue as long as it isn’t raining.
In the above example, you see the mix of present and future tenses. Yet the structure doesn’t fit what my students are typically used to seeing in a First Conditional sentence as most ESL coursebooks teach that the First Conditional consists of the following:
- If + Present Simple + Future Simple.
This is such a simple and narrow view of the First Conditional. In my online video course on the conditionals, I explain and provide many examples of the First Conditional in its many aspects.
The graphic metaphor illustrates the difference in what most ESL books teach (the tip of the iceberg) as opposed to the true size of the First Conditional (under the surface).
What is the First Conditional
As I’ve mentioned in the Big Picture post on all 4 English Conditionals, each conditional exists in a time zone: Present, Past, or Future. The First Conditional is the Future Conditional as it expresses a Future condition in relation to a future result.
Typical relationships between the condition clause and the result clause include Conditional Future: Actions/State, Sequence, Predicament, Exception, and Requirements.
First Conditional Formation with different Time Clauses
As is the case with each conditional type, the first conditional consists of a Time Clause plus a Present tense as the condition clause and a result clause in a future tense.
- TC + Present Tense , Future Tense
- Future Tense + TC + Present Tense
It is the time clause that determines the meaning and strongly influences the verb tenses of the First Conditional sentence.
Those time clauses are as follows:
| TIME CONJUNCTION | EXPRESSES | CLAUSE RELATIONSHIPS | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| after | Time | Sequence | After I've landed, I'll ring you to pick me up. |
| as soon as | Time | Sequence | I'll be ordering the tickets as soon as they go on sale. |
| before | Time | Sequence | Will you have completed your to-do list before you go home for the day. |
| by the time | Time | Sequence | By the time we get to our seats, the game will already have started. |
| once | Time | Sequence | Once you have made the payment, we'll begin preparing your order. |
| until | Time | Sequence | I won't be renewing my subscription until the price comes down. |
| when | Time | Sequence | I'll ask for a raise when I see the boss tomorrow. |
| while | Time | Sequence | I'll pick up your parcel while I'm out running errands. |
| now that | Time | Sequence | Now that I've passed my driving exam, my dad will let me drive his car. |
| unless | Time | Exception | We'll have to close the business unless the economic situation improves. |
| in case | Time | Predicament | I'll set a reminder in your calendar in case you forget about the appointment. |
| as long as | Time | Requirement | As long as I pass the exam with a minimum of 70%, I'll get my teaching qualification. |
| provided that | Time | Requirement | Provided the train leaves on time, we'll be arriving at the seaside before sundown. |
| if | Time | Action/State | If you work hard at your English every day, you'll improve it. |
| even if | Time | Negated Action/State | Even if it stops raining, the conditions won't be good enough to have a picnic. |
| since | Time | Case and Effect | Since we haven't found a babysitter, we'll be giving away our tickets to the theatre. |
In the above table, you see the time clauses expressing the relationship. Additionally, the verb tense of the condition clause is mostly influenced by the time conjunction.
First Conditional Clause Relationships and Verb Tenses
In English, we express the verb in a tense depending on a couple of factors:
- The nature of the verb: Is it action or stative? Finished or Unfinished? Long or Short? Etc.
- The relationship of verbs to each other in separate clauses.
When it comes to complex sentences such as the conditionals, the most influential factor on the verb tense is sequence.
In cases of sequence, the time conjunction directly determines which verb tense to use in the condition clause. The time clause may also influence the verb of the result clause although this isn’t always the case.
The three relationships that influence the condition clause verb tense are: interrupting, parallel, and perfect sequence.
The Interrupting and Parallel Future Sequence: While + Present Continuous
While you were learning the past tenses, you probably read the rule that While attached to the Past Continuous tense. The first conditional operates the same way except the verb tense of the action will be Present Continuous.
It means, while I’m doing this long action, the result will either interrupt (with an action in Future Simple); or the result will be a parallel action that is also in progress at the same time in the future. Here are some examples:
- While I’m running errands, I’ll pick up your parcel. (interrupting)
- I’ll be making some phone calls while I’m waiting for you outside. (parallel)
In both cases, the time clause directly determined which verb tense I used (Present Continuous) in the condition clause. Yet the result clause verb tense depended on the nature of the relationship between that verb and the condition clause verb. The interrupting action was Future Simple while the parallel action was Future Continuous.
The Perfect Future Sequence: After + Present Perfect
One aspect of the Perfect Tense Aspect is that of the 2-action sequence.
You can think of the perfect tense as a name tag on the verb that occurred first in the two-action sequence. For native speakers, perfect tenses combined with the time conjunctions tell us which action happened when.
If the first action is perfect, the second action is usually simple.
You can think of this relationship as a kind of formula as the time conjunction directly influences both verb tenses. If you look back at the table, you will notice several time conjunctions that express sequence. Here are some rules to know:
- Any time conjunction that means After attaches to the first (or perfect) action: After, as soon as, once, now that, and when. Now, we don’t always use the Present Perfect in these conditional sentences although I recommend you do. That is because it helps you master the use of the Present Perfect verb tense.
- The time conjunction Before attaches to the second action in the sequence which should be the Present Simple tense.
Let’s look at the same example sentence expressed two ways.
Result Clause Verb Tenses of the First Conditional: Future Continuous
Since you are probably already comfortable with the Future Simple, I will use these next two sections to focus on the Future Continuous and the Future Perfect Verb tense.
As I had mentioned in the time clause section on While, if the verb’s action in the result clause runs parallel to the action of the condition clause, the verb tense will be Future Continuous.
Yet this isn’t the only reason to use the Future Continuous as the result. The Future Continuous means unfinished at a time in the future. The next two examples will show additional meaning and use of the Future Continuous tense in the First Conditional.
Use the Future Continuous in the First Conditional to discuss the details of planned future events
In the below example, notice the First Conditional structure and the verb tense of the result clause.
- We’ll be negotiating the rental contract when we meet next week.
The meeting for next week has already been arranged by the two parties. Additionally, both parties know what the main topic of discussion will be. Since the details have already been decided, you use the Future Continuous verb tense to discuss them.
Use the Future Continuous in the First Conditional to express your future intentions
Another use of the Future Continuous is to state your intentions about a future time or situation.
- If I can take off work next weekend, we’ll be going skiing in Austria.
What we can tell from this example sentence is that the speaker doesn’t know for sure whether he’ll have time off or not. Yet if he does get time off, he intends to go skiing in Austria.
These are a couple of uses of the Future Continuous in the result clause. Next up, let’s look at the Future Perfect and the result clause.
Result Clause Verb Tenses of the First Conditional: Future Perfect
If the Future Continuous means unfinished at a time in the future, the Future Perfect Simple means finished by a time or event in the future.
In my video lesson on the Future Perfect, I gave an example case at the end about a family doing a Route 66 driving tour of the USA. Route 66 starts in Chicago, Illinois and continues to Santa Monica Beach, California.
No matter where you are in your journey:
- By the time you have reached Santa Monica, you will have driven a total of 2,140 miles.
In the above example sentence, you can see an advanced version of the First Conditional. The time clause is by the time, the Present Perfect is in the condition clause while the Future Perfect makes up the result clause.
We use the Future Perfect to express the number of finished actions before the time or event in the future (finished along the way). Therefore, the number of miles you travelled represents the number of finished actions along the way.
Roundup: Continue your journey with the English Conditionals
This post has given you the complete picture of the First Conditional in terms of the following:
- The Time Conjunctions you can use with the First Conditional
- The Full Range of Present Tenses to use in the condition clause
- The Full Range of Future Tenses to use in the result clause
If you would like to continue this learning in video format, I invite you to my course page on Thinkific. There, you will find my Business English Solutions course. It teaches the First, Second, and Third Conditionals fully with video lectures and exercises.
Learn more about the 1st Conditional in the Big Picture Post
This post focused on the First Conditional and all its aspects that you don’t typically learn in an ESL book. Yet you also want to learn the inferences, common mistakes, and First Conditional imposters (sentences that look like the First Conditional but actually aren’t).
You can find those explanations on the Big Picture post that teaches all 4 plus 1 conditionals.
Can you learn the First Conditional with ChatGPT?
Of course practice makes perfect, so where can you get quality examples of First Conditional sentences?
In a special bonus post, I show you how you can learn and practice the First Conditional with ChatGPT.
The post is my experiment using ChatGPT to see if it can generate valuable example sentences and exercises on the First Conditional. I also give my commentary on how ChatGPT performed in the experiment. Yet I also do a fair bit of teaching and explaining based on the example.
Final Word on the First Conditional
So, have I delivered on my promise? Make sure to leave a comment on the post with where you’re from and how English books that you’ve worked with in the past explained the First Conditional. I’d love to hear your stories, so we can keep the conversation going.
That’s it for now, and see you in the next post.
