Если будет скидка, я куплю творог в супермаркете.

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Breakdown of Если будет скидка, я куплю творог в супермаркете.

• в: in
• быть: to be
• купить: to buy

Questions & Answers about Если будет скидка, я куплю творог в супермаркете.

Why does Russian use если будет (future) in the if-clause? In English we usually say If there is a discount... (present tense).

Russian commonly uses the future tense in real, possible conditions about the future:

• Если будет скидка, я куплю... = If there is/there will be a discount (later), I’ll buy... Both parts can be future because the whole situation is future-oriented. Using present here would sound unnatural in standard Russian.

What exactly is будет here, and how is it formed?

Будет is the 3rd person singular future form of быть (to be).
It agrees with скидка (singular), so you get (что?) скидка — (что) будет.

Can I say Если скидка, я куплю... without будет?

Yes, in informal speech you may hear Если скидка, ..., meaning roughly If there’s a discount....
But the more neutral/standard written version is Если будет скидка, ..., especially when you mean a discount that may appear in the future.

Why is there a comma: Если будет скидка, я куплю...?