Situation: We are a parts supplier. Most of our customers take a day or two to decide and prepare orders. It is often difficult for them to do things quickly. Today is the deadline for orders for next week. We still have excess capacity for orders received today. In an email we sent this message to our customers:
- If you order tomorrow, we will deliver in two weeks.
- If you ordered by 5 today, we would deliver in one week.
Questions
- Is this message to our customers about the past?
- Is the ordering in the future? Is the delivery in the future?
- Are the products going to be delivered for sure?
- What has to happen first before we will deliver? This is the condition.
- What word in the first part of the sentence shows you it is a condition? What is the result of meeting the condition?
- Do we think the chances of getting an order today are the same as tomorrow?
- How do you know from the sentences A &B which is more likely?
- Look at the verbs “order” and “deliver” in the two sentences.
- What tenses are they?
- What is the rule for making a conditional sentence when it is very possible that the condition will be met?
- What is the rule for making a conditional sentence when it is not likely that the condition will be met?
First conditional indicates something is likely to happen / possible.
| If + present simple | will + base |
| If you order by tomorrow If we order 100 |
we'll deliver in 2 weeks. will you give us 5% discount? |
Second conditional shows that something is unlikely / possible but not probable.
| If + past simple | would + base |
| If you ordered 500 If we ordered 500 |
we would deliver in 4 weeks. Could you give us 20% discount? |
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