Introduction
I just got back from a wonderful trip, however I spent more money than I had anticipated. If I had known how expensive the UK was, I would have gone to a different country. Has anything similar ever happened to you?
Grammar 1
When do we use this grammar?
(If I hadn't spent all my money, I would have bought more souvenirs.)
(If you had been on time, we could have left together. If I had gone to university, I would have studied History.)
We call this the third conditional. When do we use the third conditional?
("third conditional", talks about things in the past that did not happen. "Third conditional" sentences are hypothetical or unreal. >>>" if + past perfect + would have + past participle" ) What language would you have studied, if you hadn't decided to study English? Why?
For example:
If I had not studied English, I would have studied French.
Third conditional: An unreal condition in the past with an unreal result in the past. Neither of these things happened.
There exists a mixed conditional.
(If you had brought an umbrella along, we wouldn't be standing in the rain now.)
(If I had gone to the doctor, I wouldn't be sick right now.)
What do these sentences mean? How does the main clause change?
("mixed conditional" expresses the present results of an unreal situation in the past >>> "if + past perfect + would + infinitive" )
For example: If I had studied Spanish, I would be living in Spain now.
If I hadn’t applied for this job, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.
Mixed conditional: An unreal condition in the past with a different result in the present. The first event didn’t happen. The second clause shows a different result in the present.
Controlled Practice 1
(Pic of a bankrupt company)
What happened to this company? Why do you think it went bankrupt?
How could they have prevented the bankruptcy?
Using the third conditional we can perhaps speculate on how the company could have avoided bankruptcy.
For instance,
(The company fired their best employees so they went bankrupt. >>> If the company hadn't fired their best employees, they wouldn't have gone bankrupt.)
The company didn't expand, so they couldn't keep up with the competition.
(If the company had expanded...)
The company had poor customer service, therefore they lost many customers.
(If the company had had better customer service...)
The company didn't advertise, so they couldn't increase visibility.
(If the company had advertised more...)
The company was located in a bad area, so they couldn't attract enough customers.
(If the company had been located in a...)
The company management was too conservative. They needed new ideas.
(If the company management hadn't been so conservative...)
The company didn’t develop any new products.
(If the company had developed more new products...)
The company received a lot of bad publicity. Many customers were unhappy.
(If the company hadn’t received bad publicity...)
The quality of the company’s products was poor.
(If the quality of the company’s products hadn’t been so poor...)
Complete the following sentences.
If Diego hadn't stolen the watch... (prison)
If Diego hadn't stolen the watch, he would not be in prison.
If she had gone on a diet... (fat)
If she had gone on a diet, she would not be so fat.
If the store had increased prices... (sales)
If they had increased prices, sales would drop.
If he had failed the entrance exam... (university)
If he had failed the entrance exam, he would not be in university now.
If I had studied Chinese instead of English... (China)
If I had studied Chinese instead of English, I would be living in China now.
If John hadn’t eaten that steak... (ill)
If John hadn’t eaten that steak, he wouldn’t be ill now.
If my sister hadn’t gone to the beach... (sunburnt)
If my sister hadn’t gone to the beach, she wouldn’t be sunburnt now.
If I had worn a coat and scarf... (a cold)
If I had worn a coat and scarf, I wouldn’t have caught a cold.
Language in Use 1
(Pic of a man begging for money) Describe this picture. What kind of situation is he in? How do you think he got himself into this situation? How could it have been different?
Imagine these things happened to you. Explain how you might have avoided these situations using the conditional.
You just returned from Hawaii and the weather was terrible.
You just finished eating at a French restaurant and the bill came to $500.
Your illegally parked car was towed away by the police.
Your co-worker refuses to return money which you lent them.
Your friend forgot to look into you house while you are away and it gets broken into.
You download some movies from the Internet and get a computer virus.
Grammar 2
"Wish" is also used to express the conditional.
(The teacher wishes the students would stop talking./I wish that dog would stop barking.) What does "wish" express in these sentences?
("wish" expresses a desire that does not exist right now in the present. A wish is a desire to change a real situation into an unreal one. The unreal situation is expressed in the simple past.).
What do the following sentences tell you:
(The man wishes that his wife wouldn't work so hard./I wish you would stop talking. It is disturbing me.)
Is there anything you wish you could have changed, concerning... (where you live; about your job; your English)
Controlled Practice 2
Make sentences using "wish". For example:
(Italian prices are too expensive. >>> I wish Italian prices would be cheaper.)
She is a lazy worker. She will undoubtedly fail.
(I wish she would work harder, then she would succeed.)
He lies all the time.
The neighbors are too noisy.
The police won't tell us what happened.
My children never listen to me.
This bus is always late.
My aunt usually forgets my birthday.
You always mumble when you speak on the phone.
It hasn’t rained all month. My garden is dying.
I can’t concentrate. I have a headache.
My boss always asks me to do overtime. I get home very late.
Have you ever done anything which you wish you hadn't done?