The first conditional is designed to describe the relationship between factual elements or to describe outcomes that are highly likely or to describe things that are generally true.
Conditionals can be confusing and the grammar can often appear break the rules. I hope the information in the column titled "interpretation" will help you understand some of the more confusing aspects.
| If clause | Result clause | Interpretation | |
|
Grammar |
If + present form of verb (different present forms are possible. | present simple form of the verb | Note that we don't use "will" -- the conditional is not trying to describe future events but establish a factual link between events. |
| 1 | If you heat water enough | it boils. | Expresses a factual relationship between heat and boiling. Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the pronoun i.e. it = pleural form |
| 2 | If you drop an object | it falls. | Expresses a factual relationship between dropping an object and gravity. |
| 3 | If you increase the stoke volume without changing the heart rate | cardiac output increases. | Expresses a factual relationship between stroke volume and cardiac output. Notice that the verb in this case is "increase" which in this case is intransitive*. |
| 4 | If you eat a lot of sugar at once | your body will produce and release insulin. | Expresses something this is almost always true. |
| 5 | If I go jogging | my heart rate increases. | Note that jogging is present continuous and is acceptable. |
* Intransitive verbs are verbs which do not have an object, i.e. there is no object that receives the action of the verb. In the example above, the verb "increase" has no direct object. However, "increase" can also be used as a transitive verb (action verbs with a direct object). For instance, consider the following: John increased the thermostat. In this example the thermostat is the object of the verb and received the action of the verb, i.e. the thermostat was increased by John.
| If clause | Result clause | Interpretation | |
|
Grammar |
If + present form of verb (different present forms are possible. | present simple form of the verb | Note that we don't use "will" -- the conditional is not trying to describe future events but establish a factual link between events. |
| 1 | If I go to a party | I bring a bottle of wine or flowers for the host. | Expresses something that is generally true or true most of the time, i.e. it is true often enough that it should be considered a fact. |
| 2 | If I am invited to a party | I bring a bottle of wine or flowers for the host. | Note that "invited" appears to be the past participle of the verb "to invite." However, "invited" is not being used as a verb, but instead, it is being used as an adjective which adds detail to the noun (in this case "I"). "Am" is a state verb and is in the present simple form. |
| 3 | If I get invited to a party | I bring a bottle of wine or flowers for the host. | Note that the meaning of example 2 and 3 is the same. In this case "invited" has the same meaning as "an invitation." |
| 4 | If I receive an invitation to a party | I bring a bottle of wine or flowers for the host. | Compare examples 1, 2 and 3 to example 4. As you can see, they all have the same meaning. From a grammatical point of view, example 4 appears to be the least confusing. The verb "receive" is in the simple present and "invitation" is the noun object. However, on closer inspection you see that "invitation" is derived from "to invite," or more precisely it is the noun that results from the act of "inviting." |
| 5 | If someone invites me to a party | I bring a bottle of wine or flowers for the host. | The simplest form is shown in example 5. "Invite" functions as verb and is in the present simple form. |
| 6 | When I go to a party | I bring a bottle of wine or flowers for the host. | Note the use of the word "when." The word "when" is used to indicate the event happens on a, more or less, regular basis and makes the event less theoretical. By using the word "when" the user is telling us that they attend parties often and they bring wine or flowers. By using the word "if" (first example) the user is telling us that they don't attend parties very often, however, it is still true that they bring wine or flowers. |
| 7 | When I am invited to a party | I bring a bottle of wine or flowers for the host. | Note that, just as in example 2, "invited" is an adjective. |
| 8 | When I get invited to a party | I bring a bottle of wine or flowers for the host. | |
| 9 | If I exercise | I am tired. | Note that "tired" is not the past tense of "to tire" but is being used as an adjective to describe the noun (in this case the pronoun "I"). The verb is the state verb "am" (to be), which is always present simple. |
| 10 | When I exercise | I get tired. | |
| 11 | When I get married | I do it in a church. | Note that "married" is being used as an adjective. The whole sentence basically means -- when my state changes from that of being single to that of being married, the change of state happens in a church. |
| 12 | This example clearly shows the difference between "if"
and "when." In these 2 examples, the "when" version (example 11) makes
sense and suggest the speaker has been married several times. The "if"
version creates a conflict between the "if" and the "do." The "if" holds
the possibility that it (marriage) has never happened before, while the
"do" excludes the possibility that the speaker has never been married
before. To state this properly, you would have to use the First
Conditional i.e. If I get married, I will do it in a church.
"If" can be used with "do" -- however, be careful that the two words don't create a logical conflict. For example: If I made bread I do it in a microwave, not an oven. There is no logical conflict between "if" and "do." However, notice that there is a fundamental difference between the meaning of "if I get married" and "if I make bread." "If I get married" clearly implies that I am not, nor have I ever been, married. While "if I make bread" implies that I have made bread before, but I don't do it very often. |
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| 13 | When I go jogging | I get headaches. | Note that "go" is the verb and "jogging" is the present participle which is serving as an adjective. In this case "jogging" describes our state. |
| 14 | If I go jogging | I get headaches. | Note that "if" suggests that the speaker does not go jogging very often. Note that example 14 is a more generalized form and "headaches" isn't meant to suggest that the speaker gets more than one headache after jogging. This form could be used to respond to a more general question, e.g. "Do you like to go jogging?" / "No. If I go jogging I get headaches." |
| 15 | If I go jogging | I get a headache. | Example 15 is less a generalization and more of a statement of fact or a truth based on past experience. This form could be used as a direct response to a direct question, e.g. "Why don't you like to jog?" / "If I go jogging I get a headache." |