Zero Conditional — Exercises on General Truths
Practice the zero conditional: if + present simple in both halves for facts, rules and results that happen every time.
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If you ___ ice in the sun, it melts within minutes.
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leave
This happens every time, so both halves stay in the present simple. 'It melts' tells you this is a general fact, not a prediction about one afternoon.
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If you ___ this button, the machine stops immediately.
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press
Pressing the button always stops the machine — a rule, not a one-off event. Present simple in both halves.
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Water ___ at a lower temperature if you're high up a mountain.
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boils
A fact that's true every time — present simple in both halves. Here the 'if' half comes second, so there's no comma.
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If you ___ this plant too much water, the leaves turn yellow.
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give
'The leaves turn yellow' is present simple, which tells you this is what always happens — so the 'if' half is present simple too.
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My sister gets a headache if she ___ coffee after six.
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drinks
'Gets a headache' is a habit, not a one-off prediction, so the 'if' half is present simple too.
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If you heat this kind of plastic, it ___ its shape — that's why it's not used for kitchenware.
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loses
The second half of the sentence shows this is a property of the material, true every time — so present simple, not 'will'.
The Zero Conditional: When Something Is Always True
The zero conditional puts the present simple in both halves of the sentence: If you press this button, the machine stops. It makes no prediction. It states what happens every time the condition is met — a fact about the world, a property of a material, a rule in an office, a habit of a particular person.
The reliable test is substitution: if when can replace if with no change in meaning, the sentence is a zero conditional. When you press this button, the machine stops means exactly the same thing. Compare that with If it rains tomorrow, we'll cancel, where swapping in when would claim the rain is certain.
The mistake to watch for is will creeping into either half. Because the sentence often describes something that will indeed happen, learners mark it as future. The presence of a present simple verb in the result clause — it boils, the leaves turn yellow, she gets a headache — is the signal that the whole sentence is a general rule.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial