Week 45 – Hypothetical situations (intro)

Week 45 – Hypothetical situations (Second Conditional intro, B1‑)

Theme: Talking about unreal or unlikely situations in the present/future and their imagined results.

Main grammar & functions:

• Second Conditional for unreal/hypothetical situations now or in the future:
  • If + Past Simple, would + verb
  • If I had more time, I would travel more., If I won the lottery, I’d buy a house.
• Expressing dreams, wishes, and imaginary situations.

CEFR link:

B1‑: Can talk about imaginary situations and give simple explanations of what would happen (CEFR: “Can describe dreams, hopes and ambitions,” “Can express hypotheses and conditions in simple terms.”)

1. Lesson objectives (for students)

By the end of the week, students can:

1. Use If + Past, would + verb to talk about unreal or unlikely situations.
2. Talk about imaginary choices (money, job, city, abilities, etc.).
3. Ask and answer "What would you do if…?" questions.
4. Distinguish basically between real First Conditional (If I study, I’ll pass) and unreal Second Conditional (If I studied more, I would pass more easily).

2. Grammar focus (with Ukrainian‑speaker notes)

a) Form of the Second Conditional

Basic pattern:

• If + Past Simple, would + verb
  • If I had more money, I would travel a lot.
  • If she lived near the sea, she would swim every day.
  • If we didn’t work so much, we would have more free time.

Contractions:

• would → ’d:
  • I’d travel, you’d travel, he’d travel, etc.

Irregular Past:

• be → were/was, have → had, go → went, do → did, etc.
  • Common chunk: If I were you, I’d… (teach as a fixed phrase; "If I was you" is common in spoken English too).

Ukrainian issues:

• Using will instead of would:
  • If I had more money, I will travel → would travel.
• Mixing real/unreal usage – accept some confusion at first; focus on clear model sentences and meaning.

b) Meaning – unreal / imaginary

Explain in simple terms:

• We use the Second Conditional for things that are not true now or unlikely:
  • I don’t have much money → If I had more money, I would travel.
  • I don’t live in Canada → If I lived in Canada, I would ski a lot.

Contrast with First Conditional (real future):

• First: If I study, I will pass the exam. (real plan)
• Second: If I studied every day, I would pass easily. (imaginary, not real habit now).

Emphasise reality:

"Past form" in the If‑clause does not mean past time – it means unreal here.

3. Vocabulary & topics

Useful contexts for imagination:

• money: win the lottery, have a lot of money, be rich/poor
• place: live in another country/city, live by the sea, live in the mountains
• job/study: have your dream job, not have to work, study at a famous university
• abilities: speak perfect English, be very good at maths, be a famous singer/footballer
• big changes: change your life, move abroad, start a business

Common questions:

• What would you do if you won the lottery?
• Where would you live if you could live anywhere?
• What job would you do if you didn’t need money?
• If you had more free time, what would you do?

4. Lesson skeleton (60–90 minutes)

1) Warm‑up – Quick "What would you do if…?" (10–15 min)

• Ask fun questions to the whole class:
  • "What would you do if you had a million dollars?"
  • "What would you do if you could speak any language?"
• Accept any answers; reformulate with If + Past, would + verb where needed.

2) Presentation – Model sentences & contrast (15–20 min)

1. Put sentences on the board in pairs:

• • Reality now: I don’t have much money.

Imaginary: If I had more money, I’d travel a lot.

• • Reality now: I live in a small town.

Imaginary: If I lived in a big city, I’d go to concerts every weekend.

2. Highlight form: If + Past, would + verb.
3. Elicit meaning: not true now, just imagination.

4. Optional contrast with First Conditional:
   • If I get a bonus, I’ll travel. (real)
   • If I had a lot of money, I’d travel. (unreal / wish).

3) Controlled practice – Complete & transform (15–20 min)

• Give half‑sentences and let students complete with their own ideas:

• • If I had more time, I would…
  • If I lived near the sea, I would…
  • If I didn’t have to work so much, I would…
  • If I were rich, I’d…

• Then give real → unreal transformations:
  • "I don’t have a car. I walk everywhere." → If I had a car, I’d drive everywhere.

Students write 4–6 sentences, then share a few in pairs.

4) Speaking practice – Question cards (15–20 min)

Students ask and answer "What would you do if…?" questions.

1. Prepare question cards:
   • win the lottery / live in another country / meet a famous person / have more free time / be the president / speak perfect English, etc.
2. In small groups, students pick a card and ask others:
   • "What would you do if you won the lottery?"
3. Encourage longer answers with at least 2–3 sentences using would:
   • "If I won the lottery, I’d buy a house and I’d travel around the world."
4. Rotate cards to cover different topics.

5) Freer practice – My imaginary life (15–20 min)

Students write and share a short text about an imaginary situation.

1. Choose one of:
   • "If I had a lot of money…"
   • "If I could live anywhere…"
   • "If I could change one thing in my life…"
2. Students write 6–8 sentences using Second Conditional.
3. In pairs or small groups, they read their texts; classmates can ask follow‑up questions using What would you do if…?

5. Homework / revision ideas

Choose 1–2:

1. Dream paragraph
   • Students write 8–10 sentences starting from one of the prompts above, using If I… I would… / I wouldn’t….

2. Advice with "If I were you…"
   • Provide 2–3 problem situations (from Week 41).
   • Homework: students give advice using:
     • If I were you, I’d… + verb.

3. Question list
   • Students prepare 5 "What would you do if…?" questions for the next lesson, to use in a mingle or small‑group activity.