"If I have time, I'll call you." An Introduction to Conditionals.
I’d like to explain what "Conditional" means.
All Conditionals in English contain TWO Sentences (or Clauses):
The Condition (with IF)
...and...
The Result.
To be extremely clear, all conditionals contain TWO clauses, and:
The Condition is a DEPENDENT CLAUSE.
The Result is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE.
We can put the two clauses in a Conditional Sentence in this order:
If + Condition................. , Result..............................
Example:
If I have some time later, I will call you and we can go out.
...or....
Result........................ if + Condition.......................
Example:
I will call you and we can go out if I have some time later.
The meaning of both examples above is the same!
The main thing that you have to be careful about when you're making a Conditional in English is: The Condition (the IF clause) has a special grammatical form you must use; and the Result also has a special grammatical form that you must use.
Take a look:
We CAN say: I'll call you later IF I have some time.
We CAN ALSO say: IF I have some time later, I'll call you.
We CAN'T say: IF I will have some time later, I will call you.
We CAN'T say: I will call you IF I will have some time later.
Why CAN'T we say: "If I will..."?
There is a rule that you CAN'T use "will" or any other Future form in a Dependent Clause. This is always true, so it is also true when you are making Conditionals (the IF Clause is Dependent, remember?)
It is very possible to use WILL (and other Future forms) in the Result Clause of a Conditional, like in these examples. The underlined parts are the Results, and they contain Future:
I will be so happy if I pass the test.
She will get a raise if her boss gives her a good review.
If I finish work early, I'll call you.
If I get that raise at work, we are going to buy a new car.
However, it is never possible to use WILL (or any other Future forms) in the IF Clause of a Conditional. It may sound a bit scary and complicated, but try not to worry about it too much. Even if you make a mistake and say "If I will have time, I will call you"...everyone will still understand what you mean because the meaning is totally clear!
