Quote:
1. If you heat water to 100C, it boils.
2. If Joe's late, he's stuck in traffic.
3. If a large vessel has opened a way, it is easy for a small one to follow.
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We agree on #1: zero conditional.
To recap on other points of agreement: a zero conditional
a) requires a present tense in each clause;
b) can take 'when' instead of 'if';
c) presents a 'universal law'; or, by extension, what the speaker believes to be a 'universal law'.
Usually, with a zero conditional, you would expect the IF clause to contain the condition (the cause), and the main clause to contain the result (the effect). However, we've also suggested that although #2 presents the effect (lateness) before the cause (being stuck in traffic), #2 may also be regarded as a variety of zero conditional: 'if P, it's because Q'.
On the other hand, you don't accept #3 as a zero conditional. This I find interesting. #3 meets requirements b) and c); moreover, it presents the cause before the effect, in the way of a regular conditional. It's true that the tense of the IF clause is the present perfect; but some grammatical sources (Collins Cobuild, for instance) accept a present perfect in a zero conditional.
What kind of conditional
is #3, in your opinion?
MrP