First Conditional

The first conditional refers to an event in the future with an almost certain or real possibility that it will happen. We think of one specific event that needs to happen in the future for the other event to happen. For example, you are watching the news and waiting to hear the snow forecast from the weatherman. One more inch of snow will close the bus routes. What will happen?

IF	Condition	Result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	it snows	I will not take the bus.

In the example above we are thinking about something in the future that you will do based on an event. In this case you will use the present simple tense of the verb for the possibility of the condition happening in the future. We then use WILL + the base verb for the future result that we think will happen. With the first conditionals the possibility of the condition happening is very real. Here are some more examples:

IF	Condition	Result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	you go home tomorrow	Mom will be happy.
If	he does his homework early	he will have time to play.
If	you don’t review tonight	you will fail the test.
If	it snows tomorrow	will you miss work?
If	it floods tomorrow	where will you go?

The words shall, can or may can substitute the word will in some cases. For example: If you do your homework early tonight, you may have time to play.

Also, you can switch the order of the clauses(result and condition) along with the if statement:

Result	IF	Condition
WILL + base verb		present simple
Mom will be happy	if	I go home tomorrow.
He will have time to play	if	he does his homework early.
You will fail the test	if	you don’t review tomorrow.
You will miss work	if	it snows tomorrow.
Where will you go	if	it floods tomorrow?