Zero Conditional EnglishCLUB.

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Activity Sheet (page 1/2)
Intermediate

We use the Zero Conditional to talk about facts and general truths which always happen under
certain conditions. Zero Conditional sentences are made up of two clauses, an ‘if’ or ‘when’ clause,
and a main clause. If the ‘if’ clause precedes the main clause, it is followed by a comma.

If you heat ice cream, it melts. Ice cream melts if you heat it.
(If + present simple + present simple) (present simple + if + present simple)

A. Match the beginnings of the zero conditional sentences with the correct endings.

1. Water boils ...... g a. when they are small.

2. If you put metal in the microwave, ...... c b. if it doesn’t have an afternoon nap.

3. Bread tastes better ...... d c. it catches fire.

4. The baby gets grumpy ...... b d. when you put butter on it.

5. If Jim doesn’t eat every few hours, ...... f e. if you don’t turn the lights off.

6. Kids pick up languages more easily ...... a f. he gets really dizzy.

7. You waste a lot of electricity ...... e g. when it gets to 100 degrees.

B. Complete the Zero Conditional sentences below, using suitable verbs in the correct
form.

stop mix feel drop leak have be (2) earn take (2)

drink freeze not / go get (2) use work die rain

drops
1. If the temperature ...................... freezes
below zero, the lake ......................

feel
2. If I ...................... don't go to school.
sick, I ......................

is
3. When it ...................... is
winter in the UK, it ...................... summer in Australia.

gets
4. When Sara ...................... takes
home in the evening, she ...................... the dog out.

mix
5. If you ...................... have
blue and yellow, you ...................... green.

use
6. You ...................... take
less water when you ...................... showers instead of baths.

earn
7. I ...................... work
more money if I ...................... overtime.

stops
8. Your heart ...................... die
beating when you ......................

drink
9. If I ...................... get
coffee in the evening, I ...................... difficulty sleeping.

rains
10. When it ...................... leaks
heavily, our roof .......................

A freely photocopiable EnglishClub printable written by Lucy Green. © www.englishclub.com

 Zero Conditional (page 2/2)
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C. Complete the facts below using one of the verbs on the left and one of the words on the
right. Afterwards, talk with your partner and guess whether each fact is true or false.

verbs other words

make leave bite sleep have noise female left angry adults

burn turn spit lose have calories eye cheese tail skin

skin
1. If you eat too many carrots, your ...................... turns
...................... orange. True False

angry
2. When llamas get ......................, spit
they ...................... True False

loses
3. If a lizard ...................... tail
its ......................, it grows another one. True False

bites
4. If a mosquito ...................... female
you, it’s probably a ...................... True False

have
5. When babies are born, they ...................... adults
fewer bones than ...................... True False

burn
6. Humans ...................... calories
fewer ...................... when they are asleep. True False

leaves
7. When a bat ...................... left
a cave, it always turns ...................... True False

cheese
8. If you eat ...................... have
before sleeping, you ...................... nightmares. True False

make
9. Birds ...................... noise
more ...................... when it’s about to rain. True False

eye
10. Dolphins only close one ...................... sleep
when they ...................... True False

D. With a partner, create four more scientific 'facts' of your own, some true, some false,
using the Zero Conditional. You may need to do some research online. Afterwards, find
another partner and read your facts out to each other. See if you can guess which facts
are true and which ones are not.

If you heat water to 100°C, it boils. (True)

1. .....................................................................................................................................

2. If you drop an object, it falls to the ground. (True)

.....................................................................................................................................
If you mix salt and sugar, they form a new chemical compound.
3. .....................................................................................................................................
(False)
4. .....................................................................................................................................
If you freeze water, it turns into gas. (False)
E. Complete the conversation questions using the verbs below. Afterwards, take turns
asking them to your partner, using the Zero Conditional in your answers.

have get have feel have

feel
1. When you ...................... bored, what do you do to make time pass more quickly?

have to go to school or work, what time do you get up?

2. If you don’t ......................

have
3. When you ...................... a problem, who do you turn to for advice?

get
4. If you ...................... stressed, what do you do to relax?

have a day off, what do you like to do?

5. When you ......................

A freely photocopiable EnglishClub printable written by Lucy Green. © www.englishclub.com