Zero Conditional: Facts and General Truths
The Zero Conditional describes things that are always true: facts, scientific truths, automatic results. If you heat water to 100°C, it boils, When employees feel valued, they work harder, If you press that button, the machine stops. Both clauses use the present simple — never will or any future form — and if and when are interchangeable. The pattern is the simplest of the conditional family, and it builds the form-and-meaning foundation that the other three conditionals will then complicate.
This worksheet drills A2 use of the Zero Conditional through cause-and-effect statements in everyday and workplace contexts.
Worksheet preview
What’s inside:
- Grammar Box with form (If/When + present simple, present simple) and the interchangeability of if and when
- Sentence matching: pair eight if/when clauses with logical result clauses, then write the full sentences
- Gap-fill: complete sentences with the present simple form in both clauses
- Personalised production: write five zero conditionals based on your own experience
- Full Answer Key plus Teacher Notes on the no-will rule and the if/when interchangeability
Common mistakes addressed: will in either clause (If you heat water, it will boil), missing third-person -s in the result clause (If a manager doesn’t listen, the team feel), and using would instead of present simple under L1 transfer.
For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR A2, in pre-intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study. Direct preparation for Cambridge A2 Key (KET) and B1 Preliminary (PET) Writing, where general-truth statements and “what happens when…” prompts appear regularly. Part of the Conditionals & Wishes collection — the natural next step is First Conditional: Real Possibilities, which moves from general truths into real future scenarios.
