Breakdown of Если лето будет сухое, то урожай будет плохой.
плохой
bad
быть
to be
лето
summer
если
if
то
then (in that case)
урожай
harvest
сухой
dry
Questions & Answers about Если лето будет сухое, то урожай будет плохой.
Why does the Russian sentence use будет in both halves, when English says If the summer IS dry?
In English, we use the present tense after the word if even when talking about the future. Russian is more logical here: since both the dry summer and the bad harvest are future events, both clauses use the future tense verb будет.
Do we always need the word то after the comma?
No, the word то (then) is optional in Russian conditional sentences, just like the word then is in English. You could simply say Если лето будет сухое, урожай будет плохой, and it would mean exactly the same thing.
Why are the adjectives сухое and плохой in the nominative case instead of the instrumental case?
You often use the instrumental case after the future tense of быть (to be) to show a temporary state. However, the nominative case is also very common, especially in everyday speech when stating a simple fact. Using the instrumental case here (будет сухим and будет плохим) would also be completely correct.
Why does сухое end in -ое while плохой ends in -ой?
They have to match the gender of the nouns they describe. Лето (summer) is a neuter noun, so it takes the neuter adjective ending to make сухое. Урожай (harvest) is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine ending to make плохой.
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