First Conditional without Secrets

Complete guide to the first conditional for every level

1. Section for Beginners: Basics BEGINNER

The first conditional (First Conditional) is used to describe situations that are likely to happen in the future if a certain condition is met. It is the world of real possibilities.

Sentence Structure

Remember! Even though we think about the future, we never put „will” after the word if.

• If it rains, we will stay at home. (If it rains, we will stay at home.)
• If I find your keys, I will call you. (If I find your keys, I will call you.)

Order of Sentences

You can reverse the order, but then the comma will disappear:

• We will stay at home if it rains.

2. Time Expressions and Conditional Conjunctions

First Conditional is not just the word „if”. There are a number of other expressions that work according to the same grammatical rule (Present Simple after the conjunction):

Conjunction	Meaning	Example
Unless	If not / unless	Unless it stops raining, we won’t go out.
As soon as	As soon as	I will tell him as soon as I see him.
When	When (certainty)	When I get home, I will have dinner.
Provided (that)	Provided that	I’ll lend you money provided you pay me back.

3. Section for Advanced: Nuances and Exceptions ADVANCED

Substitutes for „Will”

Instead of „will” in the main clause, we can use modal verbs to change the degree of certainty or the nature of the statement:

• May / Might: If we leave now, we might catch the train. (Maybe we will make it – less certainty).
• Can: If you finish your homework, you can go out. (Permission).
• Should: If you want to lose weight, you should eat less sugar. (Advice).

Imperative Mood

Instead of the result with „will”, we can use a command:

If you see Mark, tell him to call me.

Exception: If + Will? Yes, it’s possible!

There are two specific situations when „will” can appear after „if”:

1. Polite requests: If you will wait a moment, I’ll check the results. (If you would be so kind as to wait…)
2. Persistence: If you will keep smoking, you will get sick. (If you stubbornly continue to smoke…)

Inversion (Formal style)

In very formal language, we can omit „if” and apply inversion with „should”:

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
(Instead of: If you should have / If you have…)