Assignment 4: Language

Write conditionals about your school

Look at these sentences written by a teacher in Taiwan. Notice how each sentence has a ‘condition’ and a
‘result’.

Generally always true (zero conditional)

If I have time, I do my preparation at least one day before I have to teach.
Possible future (first conditional)
I’ll do a fun review lesson with some language games if my students do well in their test next week.
Unlikely future or hypothetical (second conditional)
If we had longer holidays, I would feel more relaxed.
Hypothetical past (third conditional)
My student wouldn’t have won the spelling competition if he hadn’t studied every day.
Think about your own working life at your school. Make some notes in the table.

Generally always true

Make notes – think about the condition and the result

1 If I wake up late, I’m late for work.

2 I get a headache if I use the computer too much.

3 I feel good the next day if I go to bed early.

Possible future

Make notes – think about the condition and the result

4 If you study hard today, you will get better result.

5 If I have enough money, I’ll buy a LCD projector for my teaching lesson.

6 I’ll reward my students with small gifts if they do well in their examination.

Unlikely future or hypothetical

Make notes – think about the condition and the result

7 If I were not a teacher, I would wake up late every day.

8 If I were not asked to stay back for extra classes, I would feel happier.

9 If I were the Principal, I'd reduce the school fees.

© The British Council, 2011

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
 Hypothetical past

Make notes – think about the condition and the result

10 If only I’d had more extra time, I would have finished all my work.

11 My students wouldn’t have passed the exam if they hadn’t studied hard.

12 If only I’d had gone to university, I would have studied French.

Use the notes you made above to write 12 true sentences about you using conditionals.

Add your sentences to the box below:

Zero conditional
1. I always ask for directions if I get lost.
2. If I don’t sleep well, I am really cranky in the morning.
3. My daughter passes her exams if she works hard.

1st conditional
1. If I go to Turkey again, I'll buy you a souvenir from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.
2. If it rains, I’ll take a cab.
3. If the plane arrives late, we'll miss our connecting flight.

2nd conditional
1. If I were an animal. I’d be a tiger.
2. If I were rich, I’d travel around the world.
3. If there were no police officers, there would be so much crime in the streets.

3rd conditional
1. If I had drunk coffee last night, I wouldn’t have slept well.
2. If I had worked harder at school, I would have got better grades.
3. If we had left earlier, we wouldn’t have missed the plane.

© The British Council, 2011

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.