Home » Verb Forms and Tenses » Conditionals » Zero Conditional
The Zero Conditional is used to talk about something that is always true, or facts
If you heat water, it boils.
If I go to visit my mother, I take some flowers.
The structure is:
| If clause, | Result clause |
| If present simple, | present simple. |
| If you heat water, | it boils. |
The structure can be reversed. In this case, do not use a comma.
| Result clause | If clause |
| present simple | If present simple |
| Water boils. | if you heat it. |
When
We can substitute ‘if’ with ‘when’. We use ‘if’ to suggest something is possible. We use ‘when’ because something is certain to happen.
If I go to visit my mother, I take some flowers.
When I go to visit my mother, I take some flowers.
Click on these links to learn more about the Conditionals