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Brain freeze! The zero conditional for facts and results

An A2 ESL lesson plan on the zero conditional for facts that are always true, such as what happens when you eat ice cream too fast.

Grammar
Zero conditional sentences, if + present simple in both parts (If it's hot, ice cream melts.), with What happens if…?, when for if and the comma rule.
Topic
Brain freeze, the short head pain from very cold treats, on a hot July day in St. Louis, with words such as lick, drip, cone and forehead.
Activities
A post on brain freeze to read, an ice cream shop dialogue and a viewer's voice message to hear, self-checking drills, a chat of summer facts and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Ice cream time!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: ice cream timeVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: why does my head hurt?

    • Look at the photo: brain freeze!PictureUnlock
    • Read the show's postReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: slow down, Marco!

    • Listen to Nora and MarcoListeningTry 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 it's hot, ice cream melts

    • Study the scheme: if + present simpleGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the present simpleFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: if + present simpleFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: cool summer facts

    • Choose the right replies: cool summer factsChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: if it's hot…Open 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 words into the correct columnsSort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: always trueChoose the optionUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: if + present simpleFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: the ice cream shop's signChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Wes's commentDrag and dropUnlock

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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

  • cone
  • sprinkles
  • ice pop
  • ice cube
  • forehead
  • tongue
  • ice cream truck

Grammar: the zero conditional for facts

Of the English conditionals, the zero conditional is the one for facts: whenever the if part happens, the result follows. If it's hot, ice cream melts. With brain freeze as the example, learners keep the present simple in both halves, add -s for he, she and it, ask What happens if…?, use when for if and place the comma.

If you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze.

Always true? Use if + present simple, present simple.

If + present simple, present simple

Both parts use the present simple: If you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze. If ice cream gets warm, it drips. The if part names the condition and the other part the result, and the result follows every time.

The zero conditional

If + present simple + a comma ( , )present simple

If you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze.

If ice cream gets warm, it drips.

At the ice cream shop

  • If Marco eats fast, he gets brain freeze.
  • Ice cream drips if it gets warm.
  • When Biscuit sees a cone, he licks it.
  • If you press your tongue to the roof of your mouth, the pain gets better.
  • What happens if you drink a slushy drink fast?

Every person: he eats, it drips

I, you, we and they take the plain verb. With he, she and it, the -s goes on both verbs: If she eats ice cream fast, she gets brain freeze. If it gets warm, it drips. But it's If you eat, never If you eats.

WhoIf + present simple,present simple
IIf I eat ice cream fast,I get brain freeze.
youIf you eat ice cream fast,you get brain freeze.
heIf he eats ice cream fast,he gets brain freeze.
sheIf she eats ice cream fast,she gets brain freeze.
it (the ice cream)If it gets warm,it drips.
weIf we eat ice cream fast,we get brain freeze.
theyIf they eat ice cream fast,they get brain freeze.

Not, and What happens if…?

Negatives take don't or doesn't: If you eat slowly, brain freeze usually doesn't happen. What happens if…? asks for the result, with -s on happens, and yes/no questions start with Do or Does: Does ice cream melt if it's hot? – Yes, it does.

FormExample
notIf you eat slowly, brain freeze usually doesn't happen.
What happens if…?What happens if you eat ice cream fast? – You get brain freeze.
Does…?Does ice cream melt if it's hot? – Yes, it does.
Do…?Do you get brain freeze if you eat fast? – Yes, I do.

The comma, and when for if

When if comes first, a comma ends that part: If it's hot, ice cream melts. When the result comes first, there's no comma: Ice cream melts if it's hot. For facts, when can replace if, with the same comma rule: When it's hot, ice cream melts.

Where's the comma?

if first: use a comma

  • If it's hot, ice cream melts.
  • If you eat fast, you get brain freeze.

if second: no comma

  • Ice cream melts if it's hot.
  • You get brain freeze if you eat fast.

if or when?

For facts (always true), when means the same as if: When you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze. When it's hot, ice cream melts. The comma rule is the same.

No will, no past, and advice with if

For something always true, neither part takes will or a past form: If you eat fast, not If you will eat or If you ate. For advice, the second part can be an instruction: If you get brain freeze, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

Always true: the present simple in both parts

Use the present simple after if and in the other part too: If you eat fast, you get brain freeze (not: If you will eat…, not: If you ate…). Giving advice? Start the other part with a verb, like an instruction: If you get brain freeze, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

Common mistakes

  • If you will eat fast, you get brain freeze.

    If you eat fast, you get brain freeze.

    no will after if

  • If you ate ice cream fast, you get brain freeze.

    If you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze.

    always true: present simple in both parts

  • If you eats ice cream fast, you get brain freeze.

    If you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze.

    you eat, but he eats

  • If it's hot ice cream melts.

    If it's hot, ice cream melts.

    if first: use a comma

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

Try the zero 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:

  • state facts with if + present simple in both parts: If you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze.
  • add -s for he, she and it: If he eats fast, he gets brain freeze. If it gets warm, it drips.
  • ask about results: What happens if you drink a slushy drink fast? Does ice cream melt if it's hot? – Yes, it does.
  • give advice with if and an instruction: If you get brain freeze, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

This is the second lesson of Healthy and happy habits, unit 4 of English A2.2 · Curious Minds, and the first with if. It builds on the present simple with he, she and it from A1.2 lesson 1, whose -s and -ies endings now turn up in if-sentences: My little sister cries if her ice cream falls on the floor. Lesson 15 then adds the first conditional, with will in the result. Brain freeze links one cause to one effect, the shape of every zero conditional.

A wheel of ice cream questions opens the lesson, followed by ten word cards with pictures and audio, lick, drip and sprinkles among them. Students read the show's post on why brain freeze happens and how to stop it, with true-or-false and multiple-choice questions, then listen to Nora and Marco at an ice cream shop on a hot July day (an AI-voiced dialogue) and to a viewer's voice message from Utah. After the scheme come four drills that check themselves, the third of them a table of if-sentences for every person. In the speaking chapter, students trade cool summer facts with Marco in a chat, then open boxes that start sentences such as If I eat ice cream fast, I …

Nine self-checking tasks make up the homework: matching, anagrams, a word gap-fill, words to sort into columns, always-true facts to complete, sentences to order, an if + present simple gap-fill, an ice cream shop's sign and a viewer's comment with gaps.

Grammar:
zero conditional · If + present simple, present simple · What happens if…? · if or when · the comma with if
Topic:
brain freeze · ice cream · National Ice Cream Month · ice cream cone · St. Louis · summer · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Start with a science round: ask What happens if you put water in the freezer? or What happens if you mix red and yellow?, and students answer in full: If you mix red and yellow, you get orange.
  • Before the post, ask who has had brain freeze and where it hurt. Students then read to check why it happens and how to stop it.
  • Play the ice cream shop dialogue twice: first for when National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day are, then for its three if-sentences, which students repeat with a pause at the comma.
  • Open the boxes in pairs: one student finishes If you leave … in the sun, it …, and the partner turns it around, result first and no comma: Chocolate melts if you leave it in the sun.

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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 14 · you're hereBrain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15Doctor'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 are conditionals in English?
Conditionals are sentences with if that join a condition and its result. The zero conditional states facts (If it's hot, ice cream melts.), and the first conditional describes a real situation in the future (If it rains, we'll stay inside.). The second and third conditionals, for unreal situations, usually come later, from B1. The A2 lesson Brain freeze! on edio.ai covers the zero conditional, and the next lesson adds the first.
What is the zero conditional?
The zero conditional is if + present simple, then present simple, for facts that are always true: If you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze. If ice cream gets warm, it drips. It says what happens every time the condition is met, so neither part uses will. Science facts, habits and rules all fit it: If you heat ice, it melts.
How do you make zero conditional sentences?
Start with if and a condition in the present simple, add a comma, then give the result in the present simple: If it's hot, ice cream melts. If he eats fast, he gets brain freeze. Both verbs take -s with he, she and it, and negatives use don't or doesn't. You can also put the result first, with no comma: Ice cream melts if it's hot.
What are some examples of the zero conditional?
Good zero conditional examples state facts that happen every time: If you heat butter in a pan, it melts. If you mix red and yellow, you get orange. Plants grow fast if they get sun and water. If it rains, the grass gets wet. Each one has the present simple in both parts. The homework of Brain freeze!, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, gives eight such facts to complete.
What's the difference between if and when?
For facts that are always true, if and when mean the same: If you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze = When you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze. Both follow the same comma rule. For one future event, they differ: when means you're sure it will happen (when I get home), and if means it may not (if it rains).
Can you use will in a zero conditional?
No: a zero conditional has no will after if, and none in the result. It's If you eat fast, you get brain freeze, not If you will eat fast. A past form doesn't fit either: If you ate ice cream fast, you get brain freeze mixes two times. With will in the result, for one future situation, the sentence becomes a first conditional: If it rains, we'll stay inside.
What does "brain freeze" mean?
Brain freeze is a short, strong pain in the front of the head that can come from eating or drinking something very cold: Ow! I drank my slushy drink too fast, and now I have brain freeze. Its older name is ice cream headache. It usually lasts from a few seconds to two minutes and goes away on its own. The show's post in Brain freeze! on edio.ai explains why it happens.
What words do you need to talk about ice cream?
Ice cream talk needs words for the treat and for eating it: a cone (a crunchy holder), sprinkles (tiny colorful candy bits), an ice pop (frozen juice on a stick) and the ice cream truck, a van selling frozen treats on the street. Ice cream can melt and drip, and you lick it with your tongue. Eat it too fast, and your forehead may hurt.
How do I teach the zero conditional to A2 students?
Begin with facts students already know, like If you heat ice, it melts or If you mix blue and yellow paint, it turns green, so the meaning is clear before the form. Then show that both parts stay in the present simple, practice What happens if…?, and add the comma rule last. In Brain freeze! on edio.ai, a post and a dialogue about brain freeze come before the scheme and four drills.
What's a good game for practicing the zero conditional?
An open-the-box game of half sentences works well: each box starts a fact, such as If I eat ice cream fast, I … or If you leave … in the sun, it …, and whoever opens it finishes the sentence aloud. For the words, a sorting game puts lick, drip, ice cube and forehead into columns. Brain freeze!, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, has both.
What's good homework for practicing the zero conditional?
Good homework gives facts to complete in the present simple: If my dad … (be) tired, he takes a nap after lunch. If you mix blue and yellow paint, it … (turn) green. Sentences to put in order and a shop sign of tips (If your cone drips, lick around the top!) add variety. The homework of this lesson works that way, and all nine tasks check themselves.
Are there interactive exercises for the zero conditional?
Yes: self-checking gap-fills and chats show each slip with the present simple at once. Without an account, this page plays four parts of Brain freeze!, an A2 lesson on edio.ai: the show's post about brain freeze, Nora and Marco's dialogue at an ice cream shop, a gap-fill of present simple verbs in if-sentences, and a chat of cool summer facts. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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