A Plan for the Weekend
Three friends, one uncertain weather forecast, and a plan that keeps changing. Read the story and watch how the first conditional does the work.
Read
Plan A, plan B, plan C
Useful words are highlighted. The conditional verbs are underlined.
We use it for a real possibility in the future: if + present simple, then will + base verb. If the weather is good, we will walk to the lake.
The order can change, and then there is no comma: We will walk to the lake if the weather is good.
Two things students often miss. Never put will after if — the if part stays in the present. And you can swap will for may, might or could when you are less sure: If it rains, we might stay home.
Unless means if not: Unless it rains, we will walk = If it does not rain, we will walk.
1A forecast nobody trusted
On Thursday evening the forecast said sun. On Friday morning it said rain. By Friday lunchtime it said both.
Karim, Lena and Sofia had been planning this weekend for a month, and now they were sitting in Lena's kitchen looking at three different weather apps. “If we keep checking,” Sofia said, “we will never decide anything.”
So they did something more useful. Instead of one plan, they made three. “If the morning is dry, we will take the early bus to the lake,” Lena said, writing it down. “If it rains before ten, we will go to the climbing gym instead. And if it rains all day, we will cook something enormous here and watch films.”
Karim laughed, but he agreed. A backup plan is not pessimism, he said. It is just how you stop a weekend from disappearing.
2Saturday, six forty in the morning
Karim woke up first and looked out of the window. The sky was gray, but nothing was falling. He sent one message to the group: “Dry. Plan A. Unless somebody objects, I will be at the bus stop at seven thirty.”
Nobody objected. They caught the early bus, and by nine they were on the trail that runs along the north side of the lake. It was cool, quiet, and completely empty. Sofia had brought a small stove, Lena had brought too much bread, and Karim had brought a jacket for everybody, “in case the wind changes.”
Around eleven the path became steep, and Lena stopped to look at the map. “There's a shortcut here,” she said. “If we take it, we will save forty minutes. But if the ground is wet, it could be slippery.” They looked at it, tested the first few meters, and chose the long way. Nobody regretted it.
3What the rain finally did
The rain arrived at four o'clock, exactly when the apps had stopped promising anything. By then they were already walking back toward the village, and it did not matter. They ran the last few hundred meters, laughing, and dried their jackets over the radiator in a small cafe while they waited for the bus.
On the way home Sofia was already talking about the next trip. “If we go again in September,” she said, “we will start even earlier. And if Karim brings that stove again, I might carry the bread.”
They never used plan B or plan C. But having them was the reason nobody spent Friday evening arguing, and the reason they were on a bus at seven thirty instead of still checking their phones. If you plan for the weather you do not want, you will usually get the weekend you do.
Check
Did you understand?
Tap an answer. You get the result and an explanation straight away. The last three questions are grammar.
1Why did the three friends make three plans instead of one?
The forecast said sun, then rain, then both — so they stopped waiting for certainty and planned for each possibility.
2What was plan B, if it rained before ten?
“If it rains before ten, we will go to the climbing gym instead.” Cooking and films was plan C, for rain all day.
3Why did Karim bring extra jackets?
He brought a jacket for everybody “in case the wind changes.” In case means we prepare for something that may happen.
4What did they decide about the shortcut?
They tested the first few meters and chose the long way, because wet ground could be slippery. Nobody regretted it.
5Because the rain came, the day was ruined.
False. The rain came at four, when they were already walking back, and they dried off in a cafe while they waited for the bus.
6Choose the correct sentence.
Never put will after if. The if part uses the present simple, and the result part uses will + base verb.
7“Unless we leave now, we will miss the bus.” What does this mean?
Unless means if not. It already contains the negative, so the verb after it stays positive.
8Complete: “If the ground is wet, the shortcut ___ slippery.” (You are not certain.)
When you are less than certain, swap will for may, might or could. Lena says exactly this in the story.
Words
Key vocabulary
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Match the words
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Great work today!
Now plan your own weekend in writing. Write five first conditional sentences: three with will, one with might or could, and one with unless. Remember that the if part never takes will.
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