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Doctor's orders: go to the park! The first conditional with if and will

Students learn the first conditional in this A2 ESL lesson plan about doctors who prescribe time in parks.

Grammar
First conditional sentences, if + present simple and will or won't + verb (If it rains, we won't go.), with Will…? questions, the comma and the contrast with the zero conditional.
Topic
Park prescriptions, which name a park and an activity, at a clinic in Washington, D.C., with health words such as checkup, stethoscope, fresh air and screen time.
Activities
A waiting-room notice to read, a checkup dialogue and a viewer's voice message to hear, self-checking drills, a chat that plans a seven-day park challenge and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Time for a checkup!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: a visit to the doctorVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a prescription for a park

    • Look at the photo: a day in the parkPictureUnlock
    • Read the notice in the waiting roomReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: the park doctor

    • Listen to Nora and Dr. BlakeListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the viewer's questionListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: If you walk, you'll feel better

    • Study the scheme: if + present, will + verbGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: if + present, will / won't + verbFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: if, will and won'tFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: a seven-day challenge

    • Choose the right replies: Maya's park challengeChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: your seven-day challengeOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the habits into the correct columns: a healthy weekSort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: make if-sentences with will / won'tFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct order: a seven-day planUnjumbleUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the challenge cardDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Nora's postChoose the optionUnlock

30 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Health vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • checkup
  • waiting room
  • prescription pad
  • fresh air
  • screen time
  • outdoors
  • pediatrician

Grammar: the first conditional with if and will

The first conditional links a real situation that may happen to its result in the future. With a doctor's prescription for time in the park, learners use the present after if, will in the result, add won't and don't, ask Will…? and What will…?, place the comma and tell it apart from the zero conditional.

If you walk in the park, you'll feel better!

One real situation (if + present simple) and its future result (will / won't + verb).

If + present simple, will + verb

The if part takes the present simple, and the result takes will + verb: If you walk in the park, you'll feel better. With he, she and it, only the if verb adds -s: If he walks, he'll feel better.

Every person

WhoIf + present simplewill / won't + verb
IIf I walk in the park,I'll feel better.
youIf you walk in the park,you'll feel better.
heIf he walks in the park,he'll feel better.
sheIf she walks in the park,she'll feel better.
itIf it's sunny tomorrow,it'll be a great day.
weIf we walk in the park,we'll feel better.
theyIf they walk in the park,they'll feel better.

In Washington, D.C.

  • If Dr. Blake prescribes a park, Nora will walk there.
  • If you breathe fresh air, you'll feel great.
  • Biscuit will be happy if Nora takes him to the park.
  • If it rains, Maya won't sleep in her tent.
  • Will Marco win if he walks every day?
  • If we go early, we'll see the kites.

Won't, don't and questions

A negative result takes won't: If it rains, we won't go to the park. A negative condition takes don't or doesn't: If you don't sleep, you'll be tired tomorrow. In questions, will comes before the subject: Will you feel better if you walk? – Yes, I will.

WhatExample
won't = will notIf it rains, we won't go to the park.
don't / doesn't in the if partIf you don't sleep, you'll be tired tomorrow.
Will…? and short answersWill you feel better if you walk? – Yes, I will. / No, I won't.
What will…?What will you do if it rains?

Where the comma goes

When the if part comes first, a comma closes it: If it rains, we'll stay inside. With the result first, the sentence needs no comma: We'll stay inside if it rains. Either order gives the same meaning.

If first: a comma

  • If it rains, we'll stay inside.
  • If you walk, you'll feel better.

The result first: no comma

  • We'll stay inside if it rains.
  • You'll feel better if you walk.

Zero or first conditional?

Something always true, every time, takes the zero conditional: If you heat ice, it melts. One real situation in the future takes the first: If it's sunny tomorrow, we'll go to the park. A future result needs will: If you walk tomorrow, you'll feel better, not you feel better.

Always true, or one future situation?

Always true, every time (the zero conditional): present + present: If you heat ice, it melts. One real situation in the future (the first conditional): if + present, will + verb: If it's sunny tomorrow, we'll go to the park. A future result needs will: If you walk tomorrow, you'll feel better (not: you feel better).

Unless means if … not

Unless works like if + not: We'll go to the park unless it rains means We'll go to the park if it doesn't rain. After unless, the verb is usually positive.

unless = if … not

We'll go to the park unless it rains. = We'll go to the park if it doesn't rain.

Common mistakes

  • If you will walk, you'll feel better.

    If you walk, you'll feel better.

    no will after if (not: If it will rain)

  • You will to feel better.

    You will feel better.

    will + verb, no to

  • If you walk tomorrow, you feel better.

    If you walk tomorrow, you'll feel better.

    a future result: will

  • If he walk every day, he'll feel better.

    If he walks every day, he'll feel better.

    he, she, it: walks

More lessons on this grammar: Zero and first conditional lessons and exercises

Try the first conditional exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • link a real situation to its future result: If you walk in the park, you'll feel better. If it rains, we won't go.
  • keep will out of the if part: If it rains, not If it will rain
  • ask and answer questions: Will you feel better if you walk? – Yes, I will. What will you do if it rains?
  • plan a seven-day healthy-habit challenge aloud: If it's sunny, I'll walk in the park near my home.

Third in Healthy and happy habits, the fourth unit of English A2.2 · Curious Minds, lesson 15 joins the two lessons before it: will and won't for predictions from lesson 13, and the if + present simple of lesson 14's zero conditional. Advice about healthy habits links an action now to a result later, which is the job of the first conditional.

First come a wheel of questions about parks, screen time and checkups and ten health words with pictures and audio, from prescribe and breathe to stethoscope and pediatrician. Students read a waiting-room notice on park prescriptions and DC Park Rx, a project that started in Washington, D.C., in July 2013, then listen to Nora's checkup with Dr. Blake (an AI-voiced dialogue) and to a viewer's voice message from Idaho with a seven-day challenge. In the grammar chapter, the scheme leads into four self-checking drills, one of them a table of if, will and won't for every person. In the speaking chapter, students plan the challenge with Maya in a chat, then open boxes to plan their own, out loud.

Nine self-checking homework tasks follow, three of them steps of the challenge: sorting habits into more and less, putting a seven-day plan in order and completing a challenge card. The others match, unscramble and fill in the words, practice if-sentences and finish a post.

Grammar:
first conditional · if + present simple, will / won't · the comma with if · Will you … if …?
Topic:
Washington, D.C. · park prescriptions · Park Rx · National Park Service · healthy habits · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Start with the weekend forecast: ask What will you do if it's sunny on Saturday? and What will you do if it rains?, and let students answer with I'll… before they see the form.
  • Ask what a prescription pad is for before the notice, then whether a doctor could prescribe a park. Students read to find what a park prescription names.
  • Play the checkup dialogue twice: first for what Dr. Blake writes on his prescription pad, then pause after each If… and let students say the result from memory.
  • Make the open boxes a real plan: in pairs, students agree on three healthy habits for seven days and say them as if-sentences: If it rains on Day 3, I'll take an umbrella.

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The whole course: English A2.2 · Curious Minds

32 lessons that pick up where English A2.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present perfect to used to, have to and relative clauses. Eight units cover nature, tech at home, heroes, healthy habits, fashion, school, animals and traditions. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Wonders of nature

    the present perfect with ever and never, been to, superlatives with I've ever, articles with place names

    1. Lesson 1Have you ever seen the sky dance?The present perfect for experiences
    2. Lesson 2Have you been to the Grand Canyon?Present perfect vs past simple
    3. Lesson 3The longest cave in the worldSuperlatives with the present perfect
    4. Lesson 4The first national parkArticles with place names

  2. Unit 2 Clever tech at home

    the present perfect with just, already and yet, phrasal verbs, subject and object questions

    1. Lesson 5The chocolate bar that meltedThe present perfect with just
    2. Lesson 6Has my lunch arrived yet?Already and yet with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 7Turn it on, turn it offPhrasal verbs with it and them
    4. Lesson 8The girl who tests waterSubject and object questions

  3. Unit 3 Everyday heroes

    the past continuous, when and while, adjective order, story linkers

    1. Lesson 9When the pager beepsThe past continuous with was and were
    2. Lesson 10The man who planted apple treesPast continuous and past simple with when and while
    3. Lesson 11What's in the lost and found?The order of adjectives
    4. Lesson 12The dogs who saved NomeStory linkers

  4. Unit 4 Healthy and happy habits

    will for predictions, the zero and first conditionals, so do I and neither do I

    1. Lesson 13Why does school start later in California?Will and won't for predictions, decisions and offers
    2. Lesson 14Brain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15 · you're hereDoctor's orders: go to the park!The first conditional with if and will
    4. Lesson 16Walking in the mall at 7 a.m.Agreeing with So do I and Neither do I

  5. Unit 5 Style through time

    used to, didn't use to, made of and made from, still and not anymore

    1. Lesson 17Why did everyone use to wear a hat?Used to for past habits and states
    2. Lesson 18Jeans used to be work clothesUsed to in negatives and questions
    3. Lesson 19Quilts made from old clothesMade of, made from and made by
    4. Lesson 20Cowboy boots, still made by handStill, not anymore and no longer

  6. Unit 6 School in America

    have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to, had to

    1. Lesson 21Do you have to wear a uniform?Have to and don't have to for rules
    2. Lesson 22Stop for the yellow bus!Must, mustn't and don't have to
    3. Lesson 23A class trip to the SmithsonianBe allowed to and can for permission
    4. Lesson 24One room, one teacher, every gradeHad to and didn't have to for past duties

  7. Unit 7 Amazing animals

    relative clauses with which, that, who and where, look and sound + adjective, adjectives with prepositions

    1. Lesson 25The bird that copies car alarmsRelative clauses with which and that
    2. Lesson 26Alligators and crocodiles togetherWho, which, that and where in relative clauses
    3. Lesson 27Sailors thought it was a mermaidLook, sound and feel as linking verbs
    4. Lesson 28Beagles at the airportAdjectives with prepositions

  8. Unit 8 Traditions we love

    invitations, will vs going to, so and such, one and ones

    1. Lesson 29Come to our cookout!Making, accepting and refusing invitations
    2. Lesson 30Is spring going to come early?Will vs going to for the future
    3. Lesson 31From turnips to pumpkinsSo and such for emphasis
    4. Lesson 32Giant balloons over ManhattanOne and ones in place of a noun

Questions about this lesson

What is the first conditional?
The first conditional is if + present simple, then will + verb, for a real situation that may happen and its result: If you walk in the park, you'll feel better. If it rains, we won't go. It talks about the future, but the if part stays in the present. The A2 lesson Doctor's orders: go to the park! on edio.ai teaches it with a doctor's park prescription.
How do you make first conditional sentences?
Join a present simple if part to a will result: If it's sunny tomorrow, we'll have a picnic. If you don't leave now, you'll miss the bus. Add -s to the if verb for he, she and it (If he walks…), and put a comma after the if part when it comes first. Questions start with will: Will you come if I go?
What's the difference between the zero and first conditional?
The zero conditional is for facts, while the first conditional is for one real future situation. Zero: present + present, true every time (If you heat ice, it melts.). First: if + present, then will (If it's sunny tomorrow, we'll go to the park.). In Doctor's orders: go to the park!, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, a scheme tip sets the two side by side.
What are some examples of the first conditional?
Typical first conditional examples pair a possible event with what will follow: If it rains, I'll take an umbrella. If we take the dog, we won't walk very fast. If you turn off your phone, you'll sleep better. What will you do if it snows tomorrow? Each has the present simple after if and will or won't in the result.
Do you need a comma in an if clause?
Use a comma only when the if clause comes first: If it rains, we'll stay inside. When the result comes first, no comma is needed: We'll stay inside if it rains. The rule is the same for the zero conditional (If it's hot, ice cream melts.) and the first, and the order doesn't change the meaning.
Is it "If it will rain" or "If it rains"?
It's If it rains: no will after if, even when the sentence is about the future. If it rains tomorrow, we won't go to the park. Will belongs in the result: we'll stay inside. In the same way, it's If you walk, not If you will walk. Several drills in Doctor's orders: go to the park!, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, set this trap.
How do you ask questions with the first conditional?
Put will before the subject of the result and keep the if part as it is: Will you feel better if you walk? Will he win if he walks every day? The answer is Yes, I will or No, I won't. In wh- questions, the question word comes first: What will you do if it rains?
What health vocabulary do A2 students need?
A2 students need words for a doctor's visit and for healthy habits: a checkup (a visit when you aren't sick), the waiting room, a stethoscope for listening to your heart, a pediatrician (a doctor for children) and the prescription pad a doctor writes on. For habits, add fresh air, outdoors and screen time. All ten words in Doctor's orders: go to the park! on edio.ai have pictures and audio.
How do I teach the first conditional to A2 students?
Start from real plans that depend on something, like the weather: If it's sunny on Saturday, what will you do? Let students answer with I'll… before you show the form. Then contrast it with the zero conditional and drill the trap If it will rain. A seven-day challenge, like the one in Doctor's orders: go to the park! on edio.ai, gives every sentence a purpose.
What's a good game for practicing the first conditional?
An if-chain is a classic: each student turns the last result into a new condition, as in If I go to the park, I'll see a dog. If I see a dog, I'll… For planning practice, open-the-box prompts such as Day 3 is rainy. What will you do? work well, and the boxes in this lesson have students build their own seven-day challenge.
What's good homework for practicing the first conditional?
Good homework gives students a plan to build in if-sentences: habits to sort into more and less, a seven-day plan to put in order (Day 2: If it rains, I'll take an umbrella.) and a challenge card to complete. In this lesson, those three come with gap-fills of will and won't, and all nine homework tasks check themselves.
Are there interactive exercises for the first conditional?
Yes: gap-fills and chats that give instant feedback suit the first conditional well. This page plays four parts of Doctor's orders: go to the park!, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: the waiting-room notice on park prescriptions, Nora and Dr. Blake's checkup dialogue, a gap-fill of if + present and will or won't + verb, and a chat that plans a seven-day park challenge. The rest needs an account.
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