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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.

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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.
    – user730
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 8:12
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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
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 8:24
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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.
    – user730
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 8:31
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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.
    – user730
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 8:33
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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...
    – user730
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 8:42

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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".

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    You've expressed it better than I seem to have. +1.
    – user730
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 9:05
  • Thank you @Mitch and @J.M. I get new useful info from both of you.
    – Display Name
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 9:17
  • @Mitch - I bet my life you have kids.
    – sje397
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 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
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 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
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 12:23

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