0, 1st and 2nd conditional BE

zero, First and second conditionals

Zero Conditional

It's used to talk about facts that are generally true and do not change. It refers to a general situation that always happens if a condition is met.

• If + Present Simple, + Present Simple
• If you leave ice in the sun, it melts. (facts)
• If you click here, a new window appears. (instructions)

Second Conditional

First Conditional

It's used to talk about probable situations in the future. Use the first conditional if you believe that the condition is likely or possible.

It's used to talk about events that are less likely to happen or even impossible. We can use it also to talk about something hypothetical.

• If + Present Simple, + will
• If we change our supplier, we will reduce costs
• Unless: we can use unless to mean if no or except: They won't let you into the restaurant unless you're wearing a tie.
• Use when/as soon as instead of if, to show you are sure that something will happen: Liz will call me when the client arrives

• If + Past Simple, + would
• If you wasted less time chatting on the phone, you would get more work done.
• We can use were instead of was with 'I' and 'he/she/it'. This is mostly done in formal writing: If I were you, I would ask for a rise.