First Conditional

FORM

If + Present + Future (will)

USE

We use the first conditional when we talk about real possibilities or imaginary
situations in the future.

Examples:

• If you go to bed early tonight, you won’t be tired tomorrow morning.

• If I see him, I will tell him to call you.
• He will make more money if he gets a new job at that company.
• We will go to Paris in the summer if we can take time off work.
• If we don’t hurry, we will be late.
• A: What will you do if you can’t find a hotel room?
B: if we can’t find a hotel room, we will go to another city.

Notice that we can put the if clause in the first or second part of the sentence. If it is
in the first part, we use commas. We don’t use commas if it’s in the second part.

We never use the future form of a verb in the if clause. We can’t say “If we will see
him, we will invite him to dinner.” This is incorrect. We must always use the present in
the if clause, and say “If we see him, we will invite him to dinner.” This is correct.

Sometimes going to is used instead of will, because they both express an action in
the future.

We can also use other modal verbs in the First Conditional. Some common ones are
can, may, and should.

Examples:

• If the weather is nice, we can go to the park.

• If he stays in this country, he should learn the language.
• We may go to the concert if the tickets aren’t sold out.
IMPORTANT: We can’t use when in the First Conditional because it completely
changes the meaning. Look at the following examples:

• If she calls, I will go to her house.

This sentence means that we are not sure she is going to call. It’s only a possibility.

• When she calls, I will go to her house.

This sentence means that we are 100% sure she is going to call.