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I was taught that future simple shows a sequence and future continuous shows that something started before something else.

1 When you come, I will cook something.

2 When you come I will be cooking something.

1 I start cooking after you come.
2 I start cooking before you come.

I saw one conditional example on this site "If you come I will be fixing my bike". I'm confused because people said that it means that after they come I start fixing not before. Why is that? Does future continuous work differently in conditionals or because future continuous can have a very similar meaning to present continuous and it means the same as "If you come I'm fixing my bike"?

Lambie
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Daba
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    If you come I will be fixing my bike" should probably be interpreted to mean 'If you come you will find that I will be fixing my bike at that time" – Michael Harvey Mar 25 '24 at 12:23
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    @daba Your understanding is correct. Whoever told you that is wrong. "will be fixing my bike" talks about a time in the future when the speaker is in the process of doing some activity. In other words, I will be in the process of fixing my bike. I will have already started fixing my bike before the person comes, and I will continue fixing it. – Billy Kerr Mar 25 '24 at 13:03
  • @Billu Kerr. What about this? 1 "If you don't change your decision, we will be protesting in the street." 2 "If you don't change your decision, we will protest in the street." Is 1 wrong because we start our protest after not before the decision? – Daba Mar 25 '24 at 14:50
  • @Daba: that's a different use of will be X-ing. It's not at a particular time (it's an if, not a when), so the question of before or after doesn't really arise. This is the use of be protesting to mean that it will be going on for some time, or perhaps that it will be a regular occurrence. – Colin Fine Mar 25 '24 at 18:47
  • Could you please punctuate your sentences so they work properly. Thanks. – Lambie Mar 25 '24 at 19:30

1 Answers1

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Typically, a conditional sentence presents a hypothetical situation and its predicted outcome in a cause-and-effect relationship:

If you touch the stove, you will burn yourself.

The hypothetical situation (touching the stove) directly causes the effect (burning yourself).

However, it is quite colloquial for people to use what looks like a conditional structure to express both a piece of information and a hypothetical reason why the listener might be interested in that information, without there being a strict cause-and-effect relationship between the two clauses:

If you are hungry, there are cookies over there.

This is not really a proper conditional. It is not true that the situation (my being hungry) causes the effect (cookies appear over there). The cookies exist whether I am hungry or not! Instead, this sentence provides some information (there are cookies over there) and a hypothetical reason why you might be interested (in case you are hungry).

The conditional you've provided is an example of this "false" conditional. It is providing a piece of information (I will be fixing my bike, continuously for a period of time) and the reason why you might be interested in this information (in case you come looking for me during that time).

Canadian Yankee
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