Zero Conditional

ZERO CONDITIONAL

Este condicional refiere a una situación que es siempre verdadera (verdades universales): If you freeze water, it turns into ice.
If clause Main clause
If + Present tensePresent tense
If you freeze water it turns into ice.

• If you freeze water, it turns into ice.
Si congelas el agua, se convierte en hielo.
• If I work too much, I get tired.
Si trabajo demasiado,me canso.
• If I have time, I usually go to the movies.
Si tengo tiempo, generalmente voy al cine.
• If she eats hamburgers, she gets an allergy.
Si ella come hamburguesas, le da alergia.
• Ifthey come here, they always bring a present.
Si ellos vienen aquí, siempre traen un regalo.
• If she doesn't know the answer, she keeps silent.
Si ella no sabe la respuesta, se mantiene en silencio.• If we don't go out on Saturdays, we rent a video and stay home.
Si no salimos los sábados, alquilamos un video y nos quedamos en casa.
The zero conditional is used for universal truths e.g.'If you heat water to 100C at sea level, it boils.'

It can also be used when the speaker believes that when the condition is fulfilled the result is always the same e.g.

'If I am even 5 minuteslate for work, my boss shouts at me.'

It is important to understand that the 'universal' truth of the last example is entirely in the mind of the speaker and that it doesn't allow for the situationwhen the boss might be absent or late too.

The first conditional is used when we want to say that when the condition, which must be quite possible, is fulfilled the result, in the speaker's opinion,should be or is very likely to be that stated. E.g.

'If you shout at your boss, he'll fire you."

So, the zero conditional is for stating what the speaker regards as fact whereas the firstconditional is for predicting the result of an action or particular situation.

However, whether something is fact or prediction is left for the speaker to decide. This means that some people may...