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ESL forum > Ask for help > Which one is correct ?    

Which one is correct ?



Pretty3
Saudi Arabia

Which one is correct ?
 
                 Hi,
How r u doing ?
I hope u r ok.
Which sentence is right ?
 
1- People, animals and plants will die if they don �t have water.
2-
People, animals and plants would die if they didn �t have water.
I would say no. 1 is correct. 
What about you ??
What would you say ??
Thanks a lot.

26 Dec 2011      





sona21
Czech Republic

People, animals and plants die if they don�t have water.

zero conditional :-)

26 Dec 2011     



maoopa
China

Hey!
"People, animals and plants will die if they don �t have water."

"People, animals and plants die if they don �t have water."

&

"People, animals and plants would die if they didn �t have water."

Are correct. It just depends on the style and the personality of the speaker, or the type of text within the sentence is. What we can do is open the discussion to figure out the contexts that best fit each utterance. 

Cheers,

Mauro

26 Dec 2011     



youness
Jordan

 
Hi dear,
 
I think both sentences are wrong in use ( You should use zero conditional because it is fact )
So, It is better to say
People, animals and plants die if they don �t have water.
 
Both parts are in simple tense.
 
Best wishes

26 Dec 2011     



feyzali
Turkey

Hi Pretty3,
 
This sentence must be in zero conditional. Because this is general truth that if we dont have water, we don �t live :)
 
so both if clause and main clause parts must be in present simple tense..
 
Take care

26 Dec 2011     



maoopa
China

Hey my grammarian friends,

What if you were asking a thought-provoking question to your students? Something like "what would happen to animals, people and plants if they didn �t have any water?"

...Or in the case you added a time clause or time phrase like in a controlled experiment where you are asked to write/come out with a plausible hypothesis? I believe here the use of will is perfectly fine. "What will happen to rats (animals: just a tiny variation) if they didn �t have water for 5 hours?"

The beauty of language as it is lays on its flexibility. It �d be awkward to say that there is only one possible answer in this case.

Besides, I think this sentence, as most grammar exercises, lacks contexts. I stand still on my position: conditionals 1, 2, and 3 are very well valid options.

Cheers,

Mauro

26 Dec 2011     



Pretty3
Saudi Arabia

Thanks a lot .
 
 
what about the sentence in this context :
 

        Water is the most important thing.     People, animals and plants would die if they didn�t have water.

Nearly , three quarters of the world is covered by it. There are two kinds of water: fresh and salt water. Also, there are many sources of water like dams, rivers and lakes. We use it for cooking, drinking and irrigation. Polluted water , too much water and too little water are problems of water.

I think it is not right.

 
What do you think?? 

26 Dec 2011     



maoopa
China

Hey Pretty3, in this case the author is referring to a hypothetical situation, something that is not real or factual at the moment but may eventually occur. 

I believe it �s right.

Cheers,

Mauro

26 Dec 2011