First Conditional sentence with would

Question

Grammatically, when we construct a first conditional sentence, the if-clause is followed by a result clause with a "will" in it. However, in many formal texts written by native English speakers, I see that the result clause contains would instead of will. I have been searching for a grammar lesson explaining this for more than a year but of no avail. Could you please help me understand what is going on in such a structure? Here is an example from one of my textbooks:

If we continue in this fashion, letting the paint colors get progressively lighter with each successive choice experiment, she may express indifference at each step. Yet, if we offer her a choice between the darkest shade of gray and the final (almost white) color, she would be able to distinguish between the colors and is likely to prefer one of them.

Karel · Answer

British English has 0-3rd + mixed and separate conditionals. American English tends to be less formal does not separate it to such a degree. Although, “would” is normally attributed to less of a possibility (2nd Con.) In your example, you can substitute “will” for “would” and get the exact same meaning that she will likely be able to tell the difference between such different shades. This would fill the purpose of a 1st conditional.

Answered by Karel on November 30, 2020

First Conditional sentence with would

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