First Conditional

Question

Can someone tell we why this sentence is formulated wrong. The example was to be given in the first conditional.

Example: When I will increase the sales force, sales will improve.

I believe the correct example is: When I increase the sales force, sales will improve.

Thank you for your help

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

AnonymousI believe the correct example is: When I increase the sales force, sales will improve.

It is the correct formulation.

But when you hear the word "conditional," think of if or unless.

If I increase the sales force (the condition), sales will improve. (the result)

Unless I increase the sales force, sales won't improve.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much AlpheccaStars,

Can you also explain why this is wrong, 'When I will increase the sales force, sales will improve.'
As I understood 'when' can also be used as a conditional and is more likely to happen rather than using 'if' which is less likely to happen.

But what I really need to know is why we can not use 'When I will.'
As mentioned 'When I increase the sales force, sales will improve,' is correct but why is the first formulation wrong?

Thank you again for all your help and I am really looking forward to the answer.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

AnonymousCan you also explain why this is wrong, 'When I will increase the sales force, sales will improve.'

This sentence is syntactically questionable as a conditional and

I would say it's more of an ' indicative mood ' than sunjunctive in my opinion.

I can't think of a condition where one can use "will" effectively in a conditional setting. "Will" suggests strong intention and high probablility. If something is unsure, theoretically, it can't be highly probable.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Hi Anon;

It's hard to explain, but I will try!

When is commonly used with "will" (future tense) in a simple question about a future event. These are fine, and equivalent.

When will he arrive?
When is he going to arrive?

When is he arriving?
When does he arrive?

When (used to introduce a dependent clause) can refer to a past or future condition, relative to the main clause. Only two tenses are used in the dependent clause, past and present. Here are the combinations;

1) past/past - Something that happened once in the past.
When I arrived, I brought a gift.

2) present/present - This is habitual, something I always or usually do, something that always happens:

When I arrive, I bring a gift.
When it rains, it pours.

It can also be cause and effect (present or future):
When I eat too much chocolate, I get sick.

3) present/future - represents a promise, or a consequence following an event, the conditions for which are in the dependent clause. The condition is expressed in present; in that respect, it is like a precondition or which is independent of time.

When I arrive, I will bring a gift.
When he is elected president, the prisoners will be freed.

The future/future combination is not used.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you everyone for all your help, I really appreciate it <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

CalifJim · Answer

In English grammar, will cannot be used in clauses introduced by certain adverbial subordinators such as when.

See and follow the links for further discussion on this topic.

CJ

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