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Unit 21: When and if
Unfinished conditional sentences

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  1. 1 Go beyond intermediate with our new video course
  2. 2 Reported speech in 90 seconds!
  3. 3 If or whether?
  4. 4 5 ways to use 'would'
  5. 5 Let and allow
  6. 6 Passive voice
  7. 7 Unless
  8. 8 Mixed conditionals
  9. 9 The zero article - in 90 seconds
  10. 10 The indefinite article - in 90 seconds
  11. 11 The. That's right - the! Learn all about it in 90 seconds
  12. 12 The continuous passive
  13. 13 Future perfect
  14. 14 Need + verb-ing
  15. 15 Have something done
  16. 16 Wish
  17. 17 Word stress
  18. 18 Different ways of saying 'if'
  19. 19 Passive reporting structures
  20. 20 The subjunctive
  21. 21 When and if
  22. 22 Inversion
  23. 23 Phrasal verbs
  24. 24 The future
  25. 25 Modals in the past
  26. 26 Narrative tenses
  27. 27 Phrasal verb myths
  28. 28 Conditionals review
  29. 29 Used to - review
  30. 30 Linking words of contrast

Session 1

Who said grammar was all hard work? It can be sweet when our presenter Dan's involved… Watch him explain the differences between if and when and gobble some tasty candies.

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    Activity 1
  1. Activity 1

Activity 1

If and when

If and when. When and if. Both are, of course, very common words in English, but using them can sometimes be confusing. But never fear, Dan's here with some sweet grammar tips to make sure you know the important differences between them!

Watch the video and complete the activity

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Hi guys. Dan for BBC Learning English here. This week I'm going to teach you about the difference between if and when. And of course, all in 90 seconds. We're going to do the whole thing using this timer, this coin and these two delicious piles of sweets.

Are you ready? Here we go.

Now. Do you like sweets? I love sweets. I've had a sweet tooth since I was a child. The problem is that when I get two delicious piles of sweets I can never make up my mind which one I want to eat first. It drives me mad.

And so, to help me decide, I've brought along a coin. Now, in English we call this side of the coin heads, and this side of the coin tails. What I'm going to do is spin this coin. Now, if the coin lands on heads I'm going to eat these delicious sweets. And if the coin lands on tails, I'm going to eat these delicious sweets. It's win-win! I literally can't lose. This is superb. Are you ready?

I can say if because at the moment, both oportunities are still possible. And if is used for a possible outcome in the present or future. It's often used with conditionals.

Now I spin the coin.

When the coin stops, I'll know what to do. I can say when because when is for certainty. I know the coin will stop spinning eventually.

Have you got it?

Let's have a look. It's tails. I'm going to eat this delicious pile of sweets.

Alright? Did you get the difference between when and if? That's good. When and if can be used for a variety of different tenses and a variety of different situations.

For more information have a look on our website at bbclearningenglish.com for a full transcript... CLOCK BEEPS... perfect timing as usual... a full transcript and exercises on what to do.

I've been Dan; you've been fantastic. I'm going to eat these sweets. Excuse me.

Summary

The main difference is to do with certainty. Compare these:

1) If the coin lands on tails, I'll eat these sweets.

2) When the coin stops, I'll know what to do.

In the first sentence, we don't know what will happen. The coin could land on heads or tails. Both consequences are possible, so we use if.

But in the second sentence, we are certain that the coin will stop. It's a question of when it stops, not if it stops.

To do

When you feel ready – try these questions to test your understanding!

Sweet success!

3 Questions

Dan's got his sweets, but how well did you understand his point? Test yourself in our quiz. No sweets provided if you get them all right, unfortunately. In some answers both 'if' and 'when' are grammatically possible, so choose the answer that follows the advice that Dan gave in the video.

Congratulations you completed the Quiz
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
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End of Session 1

That's it for this session. We hope you enjoyed it. Now, where are the sweets...?!

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Session Grammar

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Session Vocabulary

  • heads
    the side of a coin with a head or face on it

    tails
    the other side of a coin

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