Zero Conditional Exercises

The zero conditional describes general truths, scientific facts, and habitual results — things that are always true when the condition is met. We use it for laws of nature ("If you heat ice, it melts"), personal habits ("If I drink coffee late, I can't sleep"), and instructions with guaranteed results ("If you press this button, the machine starts").

Unlike the first conditional (which talks about specific future possibilities), the zero conditional talks about things that happen every single time the condition is true. Both clauses use the present simple tense, and you can often replace "if" with "when" without changing the meaning: "When you heat ice, it melts." The zero conditional is one of the simplest conditional forms and is usually the first one English learners study because its structure mirrors basic cause-and-effect logic. It appears in Cambridge A2 Key and B1 Preliminary exams, often in gap-fill and matching tasks where you must distinguish it from the first conditional.