First Conditional: real possibility

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

Eg.

If + condition + result

If + pres. simp. + will + vb. inf. (Grammar of the First Conditional)

If it rains I will stay inside.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?):

Examples:

If I see Mary tomorrow I’ll tell her.

If they don’t pass the exam their teacher will be sad.

If it rains tomorrow what will you do?

Result + If + Condition (Reverse grammar for First Conditional)

I will tell Mary if I see her.

Their teacher will be sad if they fail the exam.

What will you do if it rains tomorrow?

Note: Sometimes, we use shall, can, or may instead of will, for example: If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.

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