Environment
Primary 6 · English
Environment
Lesson 4 of 4
20 min
Let's begin
On the last Saturday of the month, Niyonzima joins his neighbours for umuganda. They dig a ditch across the hillside and plant grass along its edge.
"Why grass?" he asks. "If we plant grass here, the rain won't wash our soil away," his mother says. That sentence is a promise about the future, and it has a special shape. Today you will learn that shape, and how Rwandans protect their land.
Use the first conditional to talk about something that can really happen in the future, and its result.
| If + present simple | will + plain verb |
|---|---|
| If we plant trees, | the soil will stay on the hills. |
| If people throw plastic into the drains, | the drains will block and the roads will flood. |
| If you turn off the tap, | you will save water. |
You can swap the two halves. When if comes in the middle, leave out the comma: The soil will stay on the hills if we plant trees.
Worked example
use the first conditional. (we / recycle / bottles) → (less rubbish / go / to the dump)
Step 1 The if-part takes the present simple: If we recycle bottles,
Step 2 The result takes will + the plain verb: less rubbish will go to the dump.
Answer: If we recycle bottles, less rubbish will go to the dump.
Careful! Never put will in the if-part. If we will plant trees is wrong.
Unless we protect wetlands, many birds will lose their homes. means exactly the same as If we do not protect wetlands, many birds will lose their homes.
The modal verbs from the last lesson fit here too: If you see a bush fire, you should tell an adult at once.
Many environment words end with the sound "shun". Most of them are spelled -tion: protect → protection, pollute → pollution, conserve → conservation, deforestation. Verbs that end in -de usually change to -sion: erode → erosion, decide → decision, divide → division.
Tip
If today, will tomorrow
The if-part is what we do now, so it takes the present: If we plant. The result comes later, so it takes will: the soil will stay. One will per sentence, and never after if.
Answer each one, then check.
Complete: If we ___ (recycle) paper, fewer trees ___ (be) cut down.
Answer: recycle, will be. Present simple after if, then will + the plain verb.
Correct the mistake: If it will rain tomorrow, we will plant the trees.
Answer: If it rains tomorrow, we will plant the trees. No will after if.
Rewrite using unless: If you do not close the tap, the tank will run dry.
Answer: Unless you close the tap, the tank will run dry.
Spell the noun that comes from erode.
Answer: erosion. Verbs ending in -de change to -sion.
Name two ways Rwandans protect the environment.
Answer: any two of: planting trees during umuganda, digging terraces, the ban on plastic bags, restoring wetlands such as Nyandungu, recycling and saving water.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
Quick check
If you ___ off the lights, you will save electricity.
