Conditionals & wishes · CEFR A2 · Everyday
Zero conditional — English conditionals
Things that are always true. Facts, rules, machines.
The shape
If + present, present
State a rule or a fact that is always true.
In Hindi
जो हमेशा सच होता है — तथ्य, नियम, मशीनें।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
If you will heat water, it boils. | If you heat water, it boils. After "if" in this pattern, use the present. |
Zero conditional examples
Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.
A cow eats grass.
गाय घास खाती है।
It gets dark at night.
रात में अँधेरा होता है।
Water flows downwards.
पानी नीचे की ओर बहता है।
If water gets hot, it turns to steam.
अगर पानी गर्म होता है तो भाप बनती है।
When the sun rises, the darkness goes away.
जब सूरज निकलता है तो अँधेरा चला जाता है।
It rains a lot in the rainy season.
बारिश के मौसम में बहुत बारिश होती है।
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
Questions people ask
- What is the zero conditional used for?
- Things that are always true. Facts, rules, machines. In practice: state a rule or a fact that is always true.
- How do you form the zero conditional?
- If + present, present.
- What is the most common mistake with the zero conditional?
- Saying “If you will heat water, it boils.” instead of “If you heat water, it boils.”. After "if" in this pattern, use the present.
Where zero conditional fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Zero conditional is a CEFR A2 structure — the everyday band — and it belongs to conditionals & wishes. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the zero conditional →