Anda di halaman 1dari 9

Unit 23: Great expectations!

First conditional
Meaning and use
We use the first conditional to talk about possible future situations (or conditions) and their
results. We use if for things we think are likely to happen, and when for things we think are
certain to happen.
If I visit London, Ill stay with friends.
It ist certain that I will go to London.
When I visit London, Ill stay with friends.
Its certain that I will go to London.

Form
A conditional sentence usually has two parts: the if/when part and the result (main) part. For
the first conditional we use the present simple in the if/when part, and will + infinitive
(without to) in the main part.
Conditional clause (if/when part) + Main clause (main part)
If/When + present simple - will + infinitive without to
The two parts can be in any order. When we write, when the if part comes first, we put a
comma between the if/when part and the main part. We dont use a comma when the main
part comes first.
If I visit London, Ill stay with my friends.
Ill stay with my friends if I visit London.
When she gets home tonight, shell give you a call.
Shell give you a call when she gets home tonight.

Positive
If youre late, well wait for you.
When I get home, Ill call you.
Theyll go to the beach if its sunny.

Negative
When I get home, I wont watch TV.
If we dont hurry, well miss the train.
They wont go to the beach if it isnt sunny.

Question

When you finish school, what will you do?


How will he feel if he doesnt get the job?
If you pass your exams, will you go to university?
Short answer
Yes, I will. / No, I wont.

Take Note: modals


We can use modals such as may, might, can or should in first conditional sentences.
May and might show we are less certain than when we use will.
We might be late if the shops are busy.
If I feel unwell tomorrow, I may stay at home.
You shouldnt use the kettle if it isnt working properly.
If you cant finish your homework tonight, you cant go out tomorrow.
When you can smell the cake, youll know that its cooked.

Take note: going to and present continuous with future meaning


We can use going to or the present continuous with future meaning in the if/when part or
the main part.
If we dont leave right now, were going to be late.
If youre playing tennis later, youll need to take your racket.

Take note: as long as and unless


We can use as long as and unless with the same meaning as if and if not:
As long as we leave now, we wont be late. (= If we leave now, we wont be late.)
Unless we leave now, well be late. (= If we dont leave now, well be late.)

Spoken English
The will in the first conditional can be shortened to ll in both speaking and informal writing. In
the negative form, will not can be shortened to wont.
If I lose my umbrella, Ill buy another one.
We wont be pleased if we miss our flight.
It is sometimes difficult to hear the shortened form ll before the infinitive. But its important to
remember it!

6 Minute Vocabulary
Silent letter/ words
k/ know, knee, knife
w/ wrist, write, wrong
b/ thumb, climb, lamb

6 Minute Vocabulary
Silent letters
Rob
In todays show were going to look at a very important part of spoken and written vocabulary:
silent letters.
Rob
lets listen to Nick. Hes at the doctors, and its not good news.
Catherine
what treatment does the doctor suggest for Nick?
Doctor
Take a seat. What seems to be the problem?
Nick
Its my wrist it really hurts!
Doctor
Lets see if we can work out whats wrong. Do you have pain anywhere else? What about
your elbows and knees?
Nick
No. Theyre fine. But I cant move my thumb and I dont know why.
Doctor
Well. Have you done anything physically demanding recently?
Nick
I did play tennis yesterday
Doctor
Youve probably just got a pulled muscle then. Youll just have to rest your wrist. No playing
tennis for a while I'm afraid.
Rob
And the answer is: he told Nick to rest his wrist.

Catherine
He did: well done if you got that right. Now, wrist thats the bit of your body that joins your
arm to your hand is an example of the vocabulary area were looking at today and thats
words with silent letters.
Rob
Yes: we spell this word wrist, w-r-i-s-t, but when we say it, we dont pronounce the first
letter /w/. Instead, we start with the sound from the second letter in the word, which is the
letter r - pronounced /r/.
Nick
Its my wrist it really hurts!
Catherine
So we dont say w-rist: we say wrist. Wrist. Some other words that start with a silent w are
Rob
Write: thats w-r-i-t-e, like to write a letter, and wrong, w-r-o-n-g, meaning not correct. In fact,
theres a rule here, which is: we dont usually pronounce the w in words that begin w-r. When
did you last write a letter, Catherine?
Catherine
Nick said another word with a silent letter:
Nick
but I cant move my thumb and I dont know why.
Rob
The word was know, meaning: to recognise and understand something, is spelt k-n-o-w but
we dont say the letter k. So it isnt k-now but know.
Catherine
Its know. So, another rule for you: we dont normally say the k in words that begin k-n:
like knee, the joint between your upper and lower leg, and knife, the tool we use to cut
things. Knee and knife start with silent k.
Rob
Excellent. Now, Nick also said a word with a silent letter at the end.
Catherine
He did, its a part of the hand: youve got four fingers, and then the fifth one that sticks out the
other way is your thumb; thats thumb spelt t-h-u-m-b, but we dont pronounce the final b.
We dont say thum-b we say thumb. Thumb.
Rob
Some other words with a silent b at the end are
Catherine
Climb, like to climb a ladder, and lamb, a baby sheep.

Catherine
And its time for a quiz. Count the silent letters in these sentences. Number one. Theres
something wrong with my wrist.
Rob
And the answer is two. Wrong and wrist both begin with a silent w.
Catherine
Good. Sentence number two. I dont know why my thumb hurts.
Rob
And the answer is two again. Know starts with a silent k and thumb ends with a silent b.
Catherine
And the last one. No, I cant climb up there because Ive hurt my knee.
Rob
Well, climb has a silent b at the end, and knee starts with a silent k. But the word no at the
beginning of the sentence is the opposite of yes, so its spelt n-o. So the answer is: there are
two words with silent letters in this sentence.
Catherine
Before we go, heres todays top tip for learning and recording vocabulary: when you learn a
word, and you know it has a silent letter, mark the silent letter very clearly in your vocabulary
notebook. That way you wont forget how to say it.
Did you hear - or rather not hear the silent letters in some of the words? The ones that were
used were:
silent letter/ words
k/ know
knee
knife

w/wrist
write
wrong

b/ thumb
climb
lamb

if + will
All the advice uses the first conditional: if + will. We use the first conditional to talk about
possible future situations (or 'conditions') and their results. The person giving the advice
doesn't know whether or not Sue will do these things.
A conditional sentence usually has two parts: the if part and the result (main) part. For the first
conditional we use the present simple in the if part, and will + infinitive (without to) in the
main part.
The two parts can be in any order. When the 'if' part comes first, we put a comma between
the if and the main part. We don't use a comma when the main part comes first.

If I feel tired, I'll have a nap.


I'll have a nap if I feel tired.
It isn't certain that I'll feel tired.
Negative
If we dont hurry, well miss the train.
They wont go to the beach if it isnt sunny.

Question
If you get home early, what will you do?
How will he feel if he doesnt get the
job?

when + will
All of the plans are in the first conditional and use when + will. We use the first conditional to
talk about possible future situations (or 'conditions') and their results. In activity 1, you saw
use 'if' for things we think are likely to happen. In Sue's plans she uses when for things she
thinks are certain to happen.
A conditional sentence usually has two parts: the when part and the result (main) part. For
the first conditional we use the present simple in the when part, and will + infinitive
(without to) in the main part.
The two parts can be in any order. When the when part comes first, we put a comma
between the when and the main part. We don't use a comma when the main part comes first.
When I get home, I'll cook dinner.
I'll cook dinner when I get home.
It's certain that I will get home. I will then cook dinner.
Negative
When I get home, I wont watch TV.
We will not be here when you visit on Friday.
Question
When you finish school, what will you do?
How will he feel when he hears the bad news?

6 Minute Grammar
First conditional
Sophie
We use the first conditional to talk about possible future situations - and their possible results.
Heres Catherine with our first example:

Catherine
If I lose my umbrella, I will buy another one.
Sophie
A weather-related example there: If I lose my umbrella, I will buy another one.
Neil
And its made of two parts. The first part describes a possible future situation, and its made
from if plus the present simple: If I lose my umbrella
Sophie
and the second part is the result part. Its made of will plus an infinitive. I will buy another
one. Can you put them both together now please Catherine.
Catherine
If I lose my umbrella, I will buy another one.
Neil
Here are some more examples.
Catherine
If I visit Mexico, I will stay with my friends.
They will go to the beach if its sunny.
If Michal passes his exams, well have a party for him.
Neil
So thats the first conditional: if plus present simple, with will plus an infinitive, to talk
about a possible future situation and its possible result.
Sophie
But if were not sure if the result part will actually happen, we can use might instead of will.
Catherine.
Catherine
If I lose my umbrella, I might buy another one.
Neil
I might buy you dinner tonight, Sophie, if youre nice to me!
Sophie
So thats might instead of will when were not certain about the future result.
Neil
But if were sure that the future situation will happen, we can change if to when, like this:
Catherine
When I lose my umbrella, Ill buy another one.

Sophie
You should always look after your umbrellas, Catherine. Ok, lets look at using should for
advice in a first conditional sentence.
Catherine
You shouldnt use the kettle if it isnt working properly.
Sophie
So the result part comes first. We have a modal verb, shouldnt, and we use this to give
advice: Dont use the kettle! The if part gives the possible future situation: The kettle isnt
working.
Neil
But how are we going to make the tea if the kettles broken? I havent had a cup all morning!
Sophie
Ill do my best to fix it, Neil. Now for a pronunciation tip. In our examples about umbrellas, the
two words I will can be shortened to Ill. Heres Catherine with the long and short versions of I
will. Listen carefully.
Catherine
If I lose my umbrella, I will buy another one.
If I lose my umbrella, Ill buy another one.
Neil
I will buy Ill buy. So will is shortened to just a /l/ sound. Here are some more examples:
Catherine
They will go to the beach if its sunny.
Theyll go to the beach if its sunny.
If Michal passes his exams, we will have a party for him.
If Michal passes his exams, well have a party for him.
Sophie
And were talking about the first conditional.
Neil
And its time for a quiz! Decide if these sentences are right or wrong. Sophie will give you the
answers. Number one. If William wakes up late, he miss the school bus.
Sophie
And this sentence is wrong: the if part is correct; but will is missing from the result part.
Heres the correct sentence, with a short will: If William wakes up late, hell miss the school
bus.
Neil
Great. Another one: Ill visit Central Park if I go to New York.
Neil
And the last one: I might go to the doctor if I wont feel better tomorrow.

Sophie
This sentence has the future form wont in the if part - and thats wrong. The correct
sentence needs present simple in the if part, so: I might go to the doctor if I dont feel better
tomorrow.
Neil
heres a top tip for using the first conditional correctly you only need one will, and its never
in the if part. Heres a wrong example:
Catherine
If I will see Peter on Saturday, I will tell him to call you.
Sophie
If I will see I will tell him two wills thats got to be wrong. Lets have a correct version
please, Catherine.
Catherine
If I see Peter on Saturday, Ill tell him to call you.
Neil
Thats much better. Only one will and it isnt in the if part.
Sophie
So thats the first conditional. Its made of if plus the present simple, with will plus the
infinitive.
Neil
And we mainly use it to talk about a possible situation in the future and its results.

Time for a grammar recap...


We use the first conditional to talk about possible future situations (or 'conditions') and their
possible results. We use if with present simple to talk about a possible future situation,
and will with an infinitive to talk about its possible result.
If I visit London, I'll stay with friends.
We can use when instead of if to show that the future situation is definitely going to happen.
We can use modals (may, might) instead of will if we are less certain of the result.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai