The Second Conditional

Posted on August 30, 2008
Filed Under conditionals, grammar, second conditional |

Presentation #1

Preparation: Picture of old, old man.
Picture of young, armed thug.

Show Ss picture of old man. Elicit name and adjectives and abilities & board them.

With help from students draw a night sky and some city elements on the whiteboardto place the old man in a dangerous side street at night.

Introduce the thug. Elicit name and his abilities/disabilities, and ask Ss what he’s going to do.

Ask what the old man can do to save himself.
Ask: Is he young? “No.”
Ask: If he was young, what would he do? Board the answer: “If he was young, he would kick that guy’s butt.”
Highlight that he isn’t young.

Have Ss make similar sentences using the list of adjectives/abilities previously boarded. And drill.

Highlight grammar structure, negatives and questions.
Have students board questions and ask them in pairs.

What would he do if he knew karate?
What would he do if he could run fast?
What would he do if he wasn’t partially paralysed with Multiple Sclerosis?

Have Ss tell others what they would do
…if they were the old man.
… if they were the thug.
… if they were a neighbour who saw what happened.
… if they were the old man’s son or daughter.
…if they were a policeman.

To avoid any confusion, highlight that they aren’t any of these people.

Second Conditional – Presentation #2

H/O Picture of s.o. doing a lowly job (street cleaner, “Rag and Bone Man” etc - one can be found in “Images”.

Elicit What’s his job?
Is he happy?
Why? Why not?

Discuss Ss speculate on man’s life from series of prompts (maybe on H/O) eg
-What time does he get up?
-What are his friends like?
-What’s his favourite drink?
-Has he got a TV / car etc…

WB Draw man asleep in bed with dream bubbles coming from his head. Inside bubble eg
-$1,000,000
-a yacht
-posh car
-beautiful girlfriend

Ques What’s he doing? Dreaming
What’s he dreaming about? (As above)

Has he got a yacht? No
Has he got a lot of money? No
Does he want a lot of money? Yes
Etc…..
Target sentence

If he had a lot of money he would buy a yacht

This can be elicited / given from cues
Or: handout words cut up on card and Ss rearrange words to make the sentence

Highlight Form of 2nd conditional

More sentences: H/O more cut up sentences and ss reorder

Negatives: If I didn’t have a lot of money, I wouldn’t buy a car.
Highlight form negative
Drill: Ss drill through with sentences on floor

Questions:

WB “If I wrote a book, I’d write about my life”

Elicit Q. If you wrote a book, what would you write about?

H/O Gap-fill type questions which Ss complete with correct form
Eg
“If you ________ a book, what ______ you write about?” (Verbs can be given as verb 1)

Speaking Ss can then ask and answer the questions as a mingle activity or in pairs

Practice ideas “Tears in Heaven”
Brainstorm Eric Clapton. Do as gap-fill where Ss insert “If, would and past simple verbs as appropriate”

“Imagine”
Pre-teach vocab then Ss insert into song.
Give prompts form song which Ss complete using second conditional eg
“If there was no war…………”
“If there was no heaven……..”
etc…
Ss can then go on to discuss the issues (in groups) using prompt cards eg
“What causes the most wars?”
“What does living for the day mean? Is it a good I idea?”

Advice
Revise “should” for advice, then replace with “If I were you I’d…….”
Can be tied in with “might” in the context of giving advice to a tourist coming to Istanbul.
“If I were you I’d bring an umbrella because it might rain” etc.

What would you do …?

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb and add two questions of your own. Then ask and answer.

1 ……. you ……… (find) a spider in your bed?

2 ………. your mother ………….. (become) a stripper?

3. ………. you ……… (fall) in love with your best friend’s boy/girlfriend?

4. ………. you …… (have) an aeroplane?

5. …….. you ……. (see) a ghost?

6. …….. you ………. (jump) out of the window?

7 …….. you …………. (wake) up one morning and ………………. (find) an alien with two heads in your bed?

8 ………… you ………..

9. ………. you ………….

Another activity for second conditionals:

1) Think up some “Scruples” type questions e.g. Would you keep a wallet if you found it in the street? Would you pose nude for $5,000? etc.
2) Make a table with three columns: Question/Me/My partner. Write out the first couple of questions in full, but use prompts for the rest and leave a couple of blanks for the students to write their own questions. Photocopy and distribute.
3) Students read the questions and write yes or no in the “Me” column. They then decide what they think their parter will answer and write yes or no.
4) They then ask and answer the questions with their partners and win a point for each correct prediction. Highest score wins.