If you speak now you will interrupt them.

Question

Hey.

My my boss and two others colleagues are having a meeting.

My colleague says:

should I interfere and says something.

I tell her:

no you shouldn’t if you speak now, you are interrupting him.

I know it should probably be “will interrupt”

but I don’t really understand why.

E.g.

if you drive this fast you’ll get a ticket.

If you drive this fast, you are not paying attention to the rules.

If you go over to her place without asking, you’re trespassing.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

If there are 4 people at the meeting: your boss, you, and two colleagues of yours, then the following is okay:

Your colleague: "Should I say something?"

You: "No, you'd (= you would) be interrupting him." (Your colleague has not said anything yet and there is doubt about whether she should, so the present, which represents current action is not used. And although the interruption would be in future time, the future is not used because of the doubt about the situation, which is indicated by the modal construction "would."

The sentence, "If you drive this fast, you'll get a ticket.", is okay.

The sentence, "If you drive this fast, you're (= you are) not obeying the law.", would be okay.

The sentence, "If you do over to her place without asking, you're trespassing." is okay. You could also say: "...without asking, you'll be trespassing."

If you speak now you will interrupt them.

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