1. If everyone drinks Guinness, it won't be that bad (First Conditional)
Caso práctico
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| By el_floz, C. Commons |
It is 17th March at last! St. Patrick's Day! Paco and Adam are meeting in town to join Dubliners in their parties around the city. It is a national holiday in Ireland and everyone is out to celebrate it. St. Patrick is considered to be the patron saint of Ireland and one of Christianity's most important figures.
While Paco is waiting for Adam at the bus stop, he is observing the city and the people. Everything is green today. Everyone is wearing green ribbons, big hats and shamrocks. If he finds where to buy a shamrock, he will get one. At the end of the road, he can see a big parade with a band playing bagpipes and other instruments.
Adam arrives at last and they follow some young people into a pub. If they choose that place, it will probably be good. They reach the bar to order some drinks. Adam wants a pint of Guinness, like most of the people around them. Paco thinks, 'If everyone drinks Guinness, it won't be that bad. I'll have some Guinness too'.
Paco doesn't like the beer very much but he still drinks it. Adam, on the contrary, seems to enjoy it a lot. People toast all the time, whether they know the other people or not. Paco and Adam are imitating the tradition and, whenever they buy a drink, they raise their glasses and toast the people around them.
The atmosphere is really good. People are singing and dancing all the time, and surprisingly, they never seem to get tired of drinking. Paco is a bit tipsy though...
Identify all the first conditional sentences that you can find in the text.
Comprueba lo aprendido
Retroalimentación
Verdadero
Retroalimentación
Falso
Retroalimentación
Falso
Retroalimentación
Verdadero
Importante
Let's study the First Conditional. Look at these sentences taken from the text:
- If he finds where to buy a shamrock, he will get one. ( Si encuentra dónde comprar un trébol, lo comprará).
- If they choose that place, it will probably be good. ( Si escogen ese lugar, probablemente será bueno)
- If everyone drinks Guinness, it won't be that bad. ( Si todos beben Guiness, no estará tan mala).
Taking a look at these sentences you can see that FIRST CONDITIONAL sentences have a very fixed sructure. In order to make a first conditional you need two clauses:
- The conditional clause , starting with IF.
- The main clause.
In both clause you need to use certain tenses. Use the Present Simple for the conditional clause with IF and the future with WILL for the main clause. Keep this scheme in mind:
Remember that the FIRST CONDITIONAL has the same translation into Spanish. IF + Presente , Futuro. It is used for actions that are probable and possible. For example:
- If it rains, I will stay at home ( Si llueve, me quedaré en casa)
- If I see Mary, I will tell her. (Si veo a Mary, se lo diré).
Also, it's important to remember that IF can be replaced by UNLESS (a menos que). The structure of the sentence is not affected but UNLESS has a negative meaning. Look at these examples:
- If you don't study, you won't go camping this weekend. (Si no estudias, no irás de camping este fin de semana).
- Unless you study, you won't go camping this weekend. (A menos que estudies, no irás de camping este fin de semana).
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Now look at this video where you a summary of what you have just studied:
Comprueba lo aprendido
Para saber más
To practise more first conditional sentences, click on the exercises below.
| Exercise 1 |
Exercise 2 |
Exercise 3 |
Curiosidad
Have a look at this ad about Guinness and St. Patrick's Day! It's very good!
Let's learn more about this type of conditionals in the next section!