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In English grammar, the following pattern is regarded as a wrong pattern.

My parents will send me to a mental hospital if I will kill someone.

ErikE
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Display Name
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    "My parents will send me to mental hospital if I kill someone" and "My parents will send me to mental hospital if I will kill someone" parse differently. The latter implies that you'd be sent to the mental hospital if you follow their wish to kill someone; the former says they'll send you there if they find out. –  Dec 14 '10 at 08:12
  • My mental model says different. My sentence mean: Even though I just have a plan to kill someone, my parent will send me to a mental hospital. I might be wrong. – Display Name Dec 14 '10 at 08:21
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    In this case, you could say "My parents will send me to a mental hospital if I want to kill someone." – Eldroß Dec 14 '10 at 08:24
  • That last one sounds a bit off... think of it this way, the example sentence is invertible: "If I will kill someone, my parents will send me to a mental hospital" versus "If I kill someone, my parents will send me to a mental hospital". Here the difference in intent is even more glaring. –  Dec 14 '10 at 08:28
  • I am also interested in J.M. comment, how can you infer that the parents wish me to kill (based on my sentence given above)? – Display Name Dec 14 '10 at 08:30
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    See, the "will" implies determination. To use another example, there's a difference between "I will drown" and "I shall drown". Probably you want to use "shall" if no determination comes into play. –  Dec 14 '10 at 08:31
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    xport: as I said, look at the inverted form of the sentence. "If I kill..." versus "If I will kill..."; the latter has definite intent, while the former may or may not. –  Dec 14 '10 at 08:33
  • @J.M., according to Toefl books, the if-clause cannot contain "will". Do you agree? – Display Name Dec 14 '10 at 08:39
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    No, because "If I will..." and its variant "If I'll..." crop up somewhat frequently in usage. I don't know who wrote your TOEFL book... –  Dec 14 '10 at 08:42
  • I don't remember the book. It will be my homework to find out the author name. :-) – Display Name Dec 14 '10 at 08:58
  • See my reply to an earlier question – Colin Fine Dec 14 '10 at 14:01

1 Answers1

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The sentence "My parents will send me to a mental hospital if I will kill someone" is not grammatically wrong, but it sounds awkward and probably does not convey the meaning you have in mind. The meaning of "if I will kill someone" can vary with context:

  • "if it is true that I will kill someone"
  • "if I intend to kill someone"
  • "if I agree to kill someone"

None of these options works particularly well for the sentence in question. Compare with the following sentences, which (to my ears at least) sound perfectly normal:

  • "If you won't clean up your room, I won't let you have any dessert."
  • "If you'll be good, I'll give you a present."
  • "If the machine won't work, I won't waste my time trying to use it."
  • "If you'll just listen to what I have to say, I think you'll change your mind."

But I take it you mean "My parents will send me to a mental hospital if I kill someone", which can be re-worded as "In the event that I kill someone, my parents will send me to a mental hospital". This is known as "first conditional". Not all languages do this the same way. In Latin, for example, this is called "future more vivid" and takes the form "future + future" instead of English's "present + future".

Mitch Schwartz
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    You've expressed it better than I seem to have. +1. –  Dec 14 '10 at 09:05
  • Thank you @Mitch and @J.M. I get new useful info from both of you. – Display Name Dec 14 '10 at 09:17
  • @Mitch - I bet my life you have kids. – sje397 Dec 14 '10 at 11:24
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    @sje397 Sorry to disappoint and cost you your life, but I actually don't have kids! But I can see why one would think so. :) @J. M. Are you Filipino? I'm half Filipino. Salamat! – Mitch Schwartz Dec 14 '10 at 12:03
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    The sentence, "If you'll be good, I'll give you a present." sounds wrong to me, but I'm not sure why. "If you're good..." sounds better. – Steve Melnikoff Dec 14 '10 at 12:23
  • @Steve How about, with more context: "If you'll be good for the next five minutes, I'll give you a present. Will you be good for the next five minutes?" -- child responds "Yes" and you give the present now, with the understanding that the child has agreed to be good for the next five minutes. – Mitch Schwartz Dec 14 '10 at 12:30
  • @Mitch: Yes I am. Mabuti naman ako dito, at salamat rin. :) @Steve: that's a perfectly fine sentence you have. :) –  Dec 14 '10 at 12:32