Mixed conditionals

What if

Conversation Questions
What if...?

• If a classmate asked you for the answer to a question during an exam while the teacher was not looking, what would you do?
• If someone's underwear was showing, would you tell them?
• If the whole world were listening, what would you say?
• If one song were to describe your life, what song would it be?
• If you bumped your car into another car, but nobody saw you do it, would you leave your name and address?
• If you could ask God any one question, what would it be?
• If you could be an animal, what animal would you be?
• If you could be a bird, what bird would you choose to be?
• If you could be a plant, what plant would you choose to be?
• If you could be a super hero, which super hero would you be?
• If you could be another man or woman for a day, who would you choose?
• If you could be another person for a day, who would you be?
• If you could be invisible for a day what would you do and why?
• If you could change one thing about your spouse or significant other, what would it be?
• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
• If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
• If you could choose how you were going to die, what would you choose your death to be?
• If you could choose to live on a different planet, which one would you choose?
• If you could commit any crime and get away with it, what would you do?
• If you could date a celebrity, who would you choose?
• If you could have only one food for the rest of your life (assuming that this strange situation would not affect your health), which food would you choose?
• If you could hear what someone is thinking for a day, who would you choose?
• If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
• If you could meet any famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
• If you could speak any other language (besides English) which language would you like to speak?
• If you could spend a day with any celebrity, who would it be and what questions would you ask that person?
• If you could take a vacation anywhere in the world for any length of time, where would you go?
  • if you could go anywhere in the world for a holiday, where would you go?
• If you could travel back in time, where would you go?
• If you didn't have enough money to get the bus home what would you do?
• If you discovered a new island, what would you name it and why?
• If you got arrested for murder, whom would you call with your telephone call from prison? And why?
• If you had an accident and you had to be at home to recover for a long time, what would you do to relieve the boredom?
• What would you do if you were at home at night alone and you heard a noise in your flat/house that seemed to be footsteps? 
  • Would you stay calm or would you panic?
• What would you do if you found the wallet of your next door neighbor who you hated?
• If you could have any car you wanted, which car would you choose? Would it be practical or flashy?
• If your car broke down on the motorway, what would you do? Would you try to fix it yourself?
• If you could solve the problem of hunger in the third world or repair the ozone, which would you do?
• If you could stop a bad habit that you have, what would you stop?
• If you could go back to any moment in history, where would you go?
• If you could be famous (a household name), what would you like to be famous for?
• If you were on holiday and you lost your passport, would you know what to do?
• If you were offered a job in another part of the country, would you be willing to take the job, assuming that the pay is very good?
• If your partner were offered a job in another part of the country, which was well paid, would you be willing to change places?
• If you were in the bank and somebody started to hold up the bank, what would you do? How would you react?
• If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
• If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, which song would you choose?
• If only one book existed, which book would you like it to be?
• If you could do any job, what would you like to do?
• If you could move anywhere, where would you like to live?
• If you found a suitcase full of $1,000,000, what would you do?
• If you found a wallet with �1,000 in it, what would you do?
• If you had 25-hour days (while everyone else continued to have 24-hour days), what would you do with the extra time?
• If you had the opportunity to be different, what would you change?
• If you had time machine, where would you go and why?
• If you had to choose between a wonderful romantic relationship that would end after only a year, or a so-so relationship that would last your entire life, which one would you choose?
• If you had to choose between love and no money or money and no love for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
• If you had to choose, would you give up your sight or your hearing?
• If you received lottery tickets as a gift at the office party, and you won $30,000.00, would you share the winnings with the person that gave you the gift?
• If you saw a robbery, would you report it?
• If you saw your zipper was down and people had noticed, what would you do?
• If you speak two languages and your spouse (husband or wife) speaks only one, will you raise your children to be bilingual?
• If you were candy, what candy would you be?
• If you were a monster, what monster would you be?
• If you were a toy, what toy would you be?
• If you were abducted by aliens, would you tell anybody? Why or why not?
• If you were American/Chinese/Mexican, how would your life be different?
• If you were asked to choose which time period you would like to live in, which century would you choose?
• If you were asked to speak to a graduating class, what would you say?
• If you were given a chance to go to the moon, would you go? Why or why not?
• If you were given a choice between being given great wisdom or great wealth, which would you choose?
• If you were given an opportunity to be born again, in which country would you like to be born?
• If you were given an opportunity to be born again, what kind of person would you choose to be?
• If you were given one million dollars, what would you buy?
• If you were given the opportunity to be born again, how would you change how you lived?
• If you were given the opportunity to mold your partner the way you wanted, how would you mold your partner?
• If you were given three wishes, what would you wish for?
• If you were God, how would you transmit or let people know your message?
• If you were going to a deserted island and could only take three things with you, what would you take? Why?
• If you were marooned on a desert island with one other person how would you survive?
• If you were invited to have tea with the Queen of England, what would say?
• If you were the leader of your country, what would you change?
• If you were the President of the United States, what problem or concern would you work on first?
• If you were told that you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?
• If you were walking through the forest and you suddenly saw a tiger, what would you do?
• If you woke up suddenly because your house was on fire, which three things would you save as you ran outside?
• If you worked for a store and you saw another employee steal something, would you tell the manager?
• If your friend could not have a child, would you carry her child for her?
• If you saw someone in public with toilet paper stuck to their shoe, would you tell them?
• If you could change one thing that you did that was bad, perhaps a crime or some wrong you did to another person, what would it be?
• If you were told you had a terminal illness and had six months to live. What three things would be most important for you to do?
• If your doctor has just told you that you have a month to live, what would you do in that stretch of time?
  • If your doctor told you that you had only one month to live, how would you use the time left?
• What if you have to sacrifice yourself for the sake of saving your mother? What would you do?
• If you could live perfectly well without sleeping, if you had no need to sleep at all, how would you spend all your nights?
• If you could be married with a foreign (man/woman), how do you think your life would change?
• If you had a chance to choose a poor (man/woman) as a (husband/wife) from your culture or a rich (man/woman) from another culture, which would you choose?
• If you got into traffic accident, what would you do first?
• If you could be God, what would you do for humanity?
• If you could receive praise from a person, what person would it be?
  • What kind of praise would you like to receive?
• If you were a color, what color would you be and why?
• If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be and why?
• If you had a time machine and you could be transported to any time, the past or the future. What time would you choose?
• If you could ask an All-Knowing Being one question about life, what would it be?
• If you could have dinner with anyone (dead or alive), who would you choose, and why?
• If you could live forever on earth as it is now, would you? Why or why not?
• If you could have a free chip put in your brain so that you would automatically be able to speak and understand another language besides English, which language would it be and why?
• If you were the Queen or King of Britain for a day, what would you do?
• If you were the President of the USA for a day, what would you do?
• If you had to spend 100 days on a desert island, what five things would you take with you and why?
• If you were down on your luck, would you seek the advice of a palm reader,
• If the U.S. attacked North Korea, what would happen?
• If you lost your bathing suit while you were swimming, what would you do?
• If you woke up one morning to find you had switched bodies with someone you know. what would you do?
• If you could have any one supernatural power (flying, being invisible), which would you choose and why?
• If you could say a sentence which the whole world could hear, what would you say?
• If you were a loin would you like to eat a man?
• If you could choose to live anywhere in the world where would you prefer to live?
• If your spouse cheated on you, what would you do?
• If you were given a choice to live as long as you want, how long would you like to live?
• If we could live for 300 years, what would the life be like?
• If you could change sexes for a day, would you? What would you do if you did swap?
• If you were a famous film star, what crazy things would you ask for in your dressing room?
• If you you could stop time, what would you do and why?
• If you you had to kill a highly religious figure to save your terminal son. Would you do it?
• If tomorrow morning when you get up, you can't find people on the streets, in the city, or in the country and later you discover you are the only human being on the earth.
• If you would have a chance would you change something in the history, risking that, your parents never will meet with each other and you never will be born?
• If you could relive any moment in your life which moment would it be and why?
• If you were given choice to live as long as you like, how long would you like to live?
• If you could change one thing about your life what would it be and why?
• What if you could relive any moment in your life which moment would it be and why?
• If you could be a character from a movie, who would you be and why ?
• If you could only see three people for the rest of your life who would it be?
• If you were an English teacher, what would you do to improve your students' English?
• If you could be famous throughout history for one thing, what would it be?
• If you had to lose an arm or a leg, which would you choose. Why?
• If you could be famous, but poor forever would you do it?
• If you could know every language in the world, but you would never be able to use your native language again, would you?
• If you woke up one morning in another country surrounded by people who spoke no english and with only the clothes you slept in, what would you do?
• If you could have the chance to re-choose your spouse, what kind would you choose?
• If you were a hotdog and you were starving, would you eat yourself?
• If electricity weren't invented yet, how would your life be different?
• If you could neglect one personal hygiene routine (shaving, brushing your teeth, cutting your nails, etc.) without any adverse effect to your image or health, what would you choose?
• If you were to be killed, what part of your body would you donate and why?
• If you went to the toilet and then discovered that there was no paper, what would you do?
• If you woke up in bed and saw a huge spider walking over you, what would you do?
• If you could have a party and invite anyone (dead or alive), which people would you invite?
• If you could eat only one food for the rest of your what food would you choose and why?
• What if your cell phone fell in the toilet, what would you do?

Conditionals in films

Wish clauses

WISH CLAUSES

Wish y if only pueden usarse de la misma forma. If only con frecuencia se usa para dar más énfasis al deseo o lamento.

FORMA	USO	EJEMPLOS
Wish + would / Could + Verb	Normalmente hace referencia al futuro. Queja sobre el presente o deseo de cambio.	- I wish he could be here tomorrow. - I wish she wouldn’t drive so fast. - I wish it would stop raining.
Wish + past simple	Lamento sobre una situación presente.	- I wish I knew her phone number. (I’m sorry I don’t know her number) - I wish Peter were / was here now. (Both forms are possible)
Wish + past perfect	Lamento sobre una situación pasada.	-I wish I hadn’t spent all my money. (I’m sorry I spent all my money) - If only I hadn’t eaten so much cake. (I really feel ill because I ate too much cake.)

And some exercises:

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/if.htm

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences

http://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate/zero-first-second-third-conditionals

Songs and conditionals

http://www.teachthemenglish.com/2015/01/4-songs-for-teaching-the-4-english-conditionals/

An excellent post to learn conditionals with songs.

4 Songs for Teaching the 4 English Conditionals

When we think about all of the grammar points that we have to teach, what would you say is the one that you dread most?

Now, I’m sure there are those among you who’ll say it’s the passive voice, while there are others out there who’ll swear it’s modal verbs. However, I’m willing to be that most of you are just like me in always having to draw a deep breath when the time comes to deal with the many weird and wonderful conditional sentences.

Let’s face it, the challenges of dealing with the form of each of the four main conditionals is nightmare enough (something is, something will be, something would be, something would have been), never mind getting on to the somewhat subtle differences in function from one conditional to the next (I attempt to deal with some of the trickiest things in the follow up to this post).

After many years of trawling through conditionals-focused grammar lessons, I’ve come up with quite a list of ways not to go about it! These aren’t the focus of today’s post, though. One extremely painless, fun and motivating way of ‘doing’ conditionals is through music. For this post, I’m delighted to be joined by Paul Mains from Language Trainers Online. Here are some suggested songs for presenting each of the four conditionals, one suggestion from me and one from Paul for each type (no, we’re not dealing with mixed conditionals today, sorry!).

Paul’s Zero Conditional: ‘Rain’ by The Beatles

The Beatles are one of my favorite bands for teaching English, as they sing slowly and clearly, and produce catchy melodies that students will remember (and regardless — they’re The Beatles!). The song Rain, in particular, is great for teaching the zero conditional, which describes general truths and scientific facts. (Note: if you’re wondering what they sing in the last line of the song, it’s simply “If the rain comes they run and hide their heads” played in reverse.)

Adam’s Zero Conditional: ‘Everytime’ by Britney Spears

She may no longer be the queen of pop, but dear Britney still has many uses in the language classroom, and exemplifying the zero conditional is one of them!

The form: We construct the zero conditional like this: if + simple present, simple present

“If we heat water, it boils.”

“When a tree crashes to the ground, does it make a sound if no one is around to hear it?”

Adam’s lyrics to analyze:

• Every time I try to fly / I fall
• Every time I see you in my dreams / I see your face

Paul’s lyrics to analyze:

• If the rain comes / they run and hide their heads
• When the sun shines / they slip into the shade

Adam’s First Conditional: ‘Time after Time’ by Cyndi Lauper

This is probably one of the most iconic tunes of the 80s, with unforgettable lyrics that make it perfect for teaching the first conditional, which expresses future events that have a decent chance of occurring.

Paul’s First Conditional: ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’ by Simply Red

An emblematic song of the 80s, the bluesy tune of If You Don’t Know Me By Now is catchy and memorable. And it has a conditional form in its very title, so it should be clear why it’s ideal for teaching the first conditional, which expresses future events that are likely to happen. It’s also good for teaching some idiomatic expressions of time, such as “by now” and “never ever”.

The form: We form the first conditional like this: if + simple present, will + main verb. (the notion of futurity can also be expressed using ‘be going to’)

“If it rains, I won’t go shopping.”

“If the train comes late, we’re going to miss our connection.”

Adam’s lyrics to analyze:

• If you’re lost / You can look and you will find me

Paul’s lyrics to analyze:

•  If you don’t know me by now / You will never ever know me

If you’re enjoying this post, you might also want to take a look at my follow up; 4 songs for dealing with tricky conditional structures.

Adam’s Second Conditional: ‘One of us’ by Joan Osborne

This is an absolute classic from the 1990s and really takes me back to my early twenties! What’s more, this is a good song to use when teaching the second conditional, which is the conditional we use to talk about hypothetical or near-impossible situations.

Paul’s Second Conditional: ‘If I were a boy’ by Beyonce

Who wouldn’t want an excuse to listen to Beyoncé during class? Her recent hit, If I Were a Boy, was so popular that it was officially produced and recorded in a Spanish-language version. Incidentally, it’s also a perfect song to teach the second conditional, which, as Adam noted, is used to talk about hypothetical or impossible situations.

The form: We construct the second conditional like this: if + simple past, would + base verb. (“would” is often shortened to a contraction, such as I’d or she’d. Other modal verbs, such as could and should can take its place, too.)

If I won the lottery, I would buy a Ferrari and a yacht.

Adam’s lyrics to analyze:

• If God had a name, what would it be?
• If God had a face, what would it look like?

Paul’s lyrics to analyze:

• If I were a boy even just for a day / I’d roll out of bed in the morning
• If I were a boy / I swear I’d be a better man
• If I were a boy / I would turn off my phone
  

Adam’s Third Conditional: ‘If it hadn’t been for love’ by Adele

The third conditional is every teacher’s nightmare to teach, as it involves  three auxiliary verbs, and is thus incredibly difficult for language learners. Fortunately, Adele is here to rescue us. This conditional seems so well suited to a lot of Adele’s musical catalog, as it focuses on situations that are impossible to change because they’ve already happened; despite what we may wish, we cannot change the past.

Paul’s Third Conditional: ‘Come back, be here’ by Taylor Swift

The third conditional: the grandaddy of all conditional constructions. Indeed, the “regret conditional” deals with situations that are impossible because they’ve already happened, and alas, we cannot change the past. It involves a total of three auxiliary verbs, and is thus notoriously difficult for language learners. And for that reason, Taylor Swift’s light, gentle voice is a perfect way to lessen the blow.

The form: We construct the third conditional like this: if + had + past participle, would + have + past participle. (“would” and “have” are often shortened to a contraction, such as ‘I would’ve’. The can also be replaced by other modals.)

“If I had seen him today, I could have told her.”

“If she had studied, she wouldn’t have failed that exam.”

Adam’s lyrics to analyze:

• I never would have hitchhiked to Birmingham / If it hadn’t been for love
• I would have been gone like a wayward wind / If it hadn’t been for love

Paul’s lyrics to analyze:

• If I had known what I know now / I never would’ve played so nonchalant.