Work in pairs or small groups. Each group picks (or gets assigned) a disaster and must imagine how it happened using the third conditional.
Example:
Disaster: You got locked out of your house in your pajamas.
Third conditional:
If I had checked my pockets before leaving, I wouldn’t have forgotten my keys.
If I hadn’t gone to throw out the trash so quickly, I wouldn’t have ended up outside in pajamas.
You waved at someone, but they weren’t who you thought they were.
You accidentally sent a love letter to the wrong person.
You spilled coffee all over an important document.
You accidentally sent a text complaining about someone… to that person!
You tripped and fell in front of a huge crowd.
You went to school/work with mismatched shoes.
You called your teacher "Mom" by mistake.
You got a terrible haircut right before an important event.
You fell asleep during an important meeting or class.
You got on the wrong train and ended up in a different city.
You lost your luggage on holiday.
You missed a flight because you read the departure time wrong.
You forgot your passport at home before an international trip.
You accidentally booked a hotel in the wrong country.
You got lost in a foreign city without your phone or a map.
You rented a car, but didn’t know how to drive it.
You missed a flight and ended up in the wrong country.
You posted something embarrassing on social media by mistake.
Your phone autocorrected a message, and it changed the meaning completely.
You sent an email with a very unfortunate typo.
You forgot to mute yourself during a Zoom call and said something embarrassing.
Your computer crashed right before submitting an important project.
You accidentally liked a very old post while stalking someone’s profile.
You tried to bake a cake, but it turned into a disaster.
You put salt instead of sugar in your coffee.
You ordered food in a foreign country but had no idea what you got.
You spilled a drink all over someone in a restaurant.
You tried a new recipe, and it caught fire.
You dropped your ice cream right after buying it.
You cooked a fancy dinner, but it caught fire.
You studied the wrong topic for an important test.
You prepared a presentation but forgot your USB at home.
You called your boss by the wrong name in a meeting.
You showed up to work/school on a holiday when nobody was there.
You misunderstood the homework and did something completely different.
You tried to cheat on a test but got caught in the most embarrassing way.
General Life Disasters
You locked yourself out of the house in your pajamas.
You walked into the wrong bathroom by mistake.
You got stuck in an elevator for hours.
You mistook a stranger for someone you knew and hugged them.
You accidentally broke something very expensive in a store.
You tried to impress someone but completely embarrassed yourself.
You planned a picnic, but it started raining as soon as you arrived.