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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
zero or first conditional
Hi,
I sometimes confused as to the likes of the following is a zero or first condtional.
If (When) you drop an egg, it breaks.
If you describe someone as X, you mean they are Y.
If you come late for work, the boss gets mad.
I would have little or no problem, if what is described is a univeral truth like this:
If you boil water, it gets hot.
I sometimes confused as to the likes of the following is a zero or first condtional.
If (When) you drop an egg, it breaks.
If you describe someone as X, you mean they are Y.
If you come late for work, the boss gets mad.
I would have little or no problem, if what is described is a univeral truth like this:
If you boil water, it gets hot.
Top answer
They are all zero conditionals, because both clauses are expressed in the Present Simple. They need not concern general truths to be zero conditionals. It's timeless-ness that makes them such: any of them can be rewritten using "whenever" instead of "if"!
- They are all zero conditionals, because both clauses are expressed in the Present Simple.
- They need not concern general truths to be zero conditionals.
- It's timeless-ness that makes them such: any of them can be rewritten using "whenever" instead of "if"!
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2 Answers
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They are all zero conditionals, because both clauses are expressed in the Present Simple. They need not concern general truths to be zero conditionals. It's timeless-ness that makes them such: any of them can be rewritten using "whenever" instead of "if"!
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Anonymouswhat is describedWhat is described is irrelevant to the classification.
Look only at the tenses of the verbs when determining which type of conditional you are dealing with.
CJ
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