CELTA

Language Awareness: Conditionals

A Warm-up
1 Work in pairs. Match the beginnings (1-10) with the endings (a-j) of these song lines.

1 If I was your girlfriend... A ... the love I would’ve shown.

2 If you ever leave me... B ... what a wonderful world this would be.

3 Where would you be... C ... I don’t want to be right.

4 If you don’t know me by know... D ... don’t mention my name.

5 If every day could be just like Christmas... E ... will you take me with you?

6 If I had only known... F ... you will never, never, never know me.

7 If loving you is wrong... G ... would you let me wash your hair?

8 If I could turn back time, if I could find a
way...
9 If you talk in your sleep...
10 Would I make the same mistakes...
H ... if he walked into my life today?
I ... I’d take back those words that have hurt
you.
J ... if you weren’t here with me?

B Conditional sentences
1 Read this description from a grammar reference book and answer the questions.

Conditional sentences are usually divided into three basic types referred to as Type 1, Type
2 and Type 3. Each has its own variations, but the elements are as follows:

Type 1: What will you do if you lose your job?

Asking, talking about something that is quite possible:
‘if’ + present + ‘will’
If I lose my job, I will go abroad.
Type 2: What would you do if you lost your job?
Asking/talking about imagined situations/consequences now:
‘if’ + past + ‘would’
If I lost my job, I would go abroad.
Type 3: What would you have done if you had lost your job?
Asking/talking about imagined situations/consequences then:
‘if’ + past perfect + ‘would have’
If I had lost my job, I would have gone abroad.
Longman English Grammar Alexander

1 What types express unreal (i.e. hypothetical) conditions?

Adapted from The CELTA Course: Trainee Book – Scott Thornbury and Peter Watkins
Session by Higor Cavalcante – CELTA 2019
 CELTA
Language Awareness: Conditionals
2 What is significant about the form of these ‘unreal’ types?

2 Look back at the song lyrics in A and identify:

a one example of each of the three types

b any sentences that don’t fit any of the types
c the pattern that they do follow

C Learner problems

Study these examples of learner errors. In each case, decide what the learner is getting
wrong.

a If it will rain, we will wait for you in the house.

b If you didn’t like it, you went!
c If I could choose a city to live in, I’m sure I’ll choose Florence.
d If Cleopatra would have been ugly, history had been different.

D Functions and contexts

1 Complete the table.

Model sentence Type Likely function Possible context

If you’re not careful, 1 warning Parent to child who is playing
you’ll cut yourself. with scissors.

I would’ve called you if

I’d known you were ill.

If I were you, I’d join a

gym.

If you like romance, you’ll

love this film.

I’d live in the town center

if I could afford it.

If you need anything, just

help yourself.

If you’d been here on

time, we wouldn’t have
missed the flight.

Adapted from The CELTA Course: Trainee Book – Scott Thornbury and Peter Watkins
Session by Higor Cavalcante – CELTA 2019