Uislinced sissd on) eonelietons 40 zero, first and| second conditionals;, other ways to introduce a condition A _ Context listening [2 simon Brown has just inherited $10,000 from his grandfather and is talking to his father about what to do with it. Look at these pictures. What would you do with the money? [1] Listen to the recording. Which of the things in the pictures do Simon and his father talk about? Do you agree with Simon or his father? | Match the first and second halves of these sentences from the recording. [org Listen again and check your answers. 1 Unless you invest it properly, ... IET invest it, ... If I went travelling, ... If you were to spend a year travelling around the world, ... If you own a car, .. It would be great ... You won't lose any money ... ‘As long as you get a second-hand one, ... eu Anh wn you'd probably need an awful lot more money than this! if I could drive to work instead of travelling on the bus. you won't earn much interest. provided that you think of it as a long-term investment. € you should still be able to invest some money as well. £ Td lose a year of study. g you also have to pay for insurance and road tax every year. h Lwon’t be able to access the money quickly. |) Look at the sentences in Exercise 3 above. Which words or phrases have a similar meaning to if? Do any of the sentences talk about events in the past? Rete 144PRU eg Conditional sentences talk about a condition (usually introduced by if) and a possible result or consequence. The ifclause can be before or after the result clause. We use a comma between clauses when the #f-clause comes first. Either clause can be positive or negative. 1 Zero conditional ‘if + present tense, + present tense [fyoui /iewt water 10 100°C, # boils. Present tense + if present tense Waver boils if yu heat to 100°C. We use the zero conditional to talk about something that is a general truth or fact (if has a similar meaning to every time): Ifyou own a car, you also have 1v puy for insurance and registration every year. If itis no longer a fact we use the past tense: When I was a child, if I helped my mother, she gave me extra pocket money. 2 First conditional ‘f+ present tense, + williwon's (might/could/going to) + verb [/'| invest mny money, fr will grow ‘will/won't (might/couid/going to) + verb + if + present tense — My money will grow if | invest fh We use the first conditional to talk about something we feel is a probable future result: Ifyou leave your money in the bank, you won't earn any interest and it may lose value over time. ‘We can use might, could, or may instead of will to suggest something is less probable: If I invest it, I might lose it all or can to mean sometimes: Ifyou travel at rush hour, the trains can be very crowded. (this sometimes happens) 3 Second conditional if + past tense, would(n') (might/could) + verb If'| invested my money, it would grow. ‘would(n't) (might/could) + verb + if + past tense My money would grow if | invested *. We use the second conditional to talk about imaginary, impossible or unlikely situations in the present or future. The past tense does not refer to past time: If I went travelling, wouldn’t have any money left over. A With the verb be we can use was or were with I/he/she/it: That's what I would do if I were/was you. We can use was/were + to-infinitive to refer to unlikely actions in the future: If you were to spend a year travelling around the world, you'd probably need an awful lot more money than this! 54 Other words to introduce a condition We can use other words such as when, provided that, in case, so/as long as and unless instead of ifn zero, first and second conditional sentences. wher, as soon as We use when and as soon as instead of if to show that something is more likely: Till give you a lift into town éf I finish my work in time. (= am not sure if I will be able to give you a lift) Tl give you a lift into town when/as soon as I finish this work. (= I will give you a lift) unless We use unless to show a negative condition, with a similar meaning to if... not You won't earn much inzerest unless you invest it properly. (= if you don't invest it properly) provided/ providing that; so/as long as ‘These phrases can be used instead of if for emphasis. Provided/providing that are more common in written than spoken English: You won't lose any money provided that you think of it as a long-term investment. (= if you think) As long as you get a second-hand car, you should still be able to invest some money, (= if you get) In case We use in case to talk about precautions. Compare: You should keep this reference number in case there are any problems. (= keep the reference number because there might be problems later) You should quote this reference number if there are any problems. (= quote this reference number at the time of any problems) A We don’t usually start a sentence with in case. 5|Meee une ee {EP Match the beginnings (1-8) and the endings (a-h) of these sentences. 1 If 1 win the competition, ..<. a welll give you the job. 2 If you boil milk, ..... b if you don’t get accepted at Macquarie 3. What will you do ...... University? 4 What happens to the engine ..... © Filtake you somewhere nice to celebrate. 5 If I get all my work done in time, . d if you put diesel fuel into a petrol driven 6 I might buy a new laptop computer ...... car? 7 If you agree to enrol in the diploma €_ it forms a skin on the top. COURSE, sana. f Pll be home by six o'clock tonight. 8 If you put the sofa there, ..... & you won't be able to open the cupboard. h if my boss allows me to work from home sometimes. (©) Fintin the gaps in the extracts below using the verbs in brackets in the correct form. 1 My parents ..would. Jove. (love) it if I... (become) a doctor but I’m not sure I'd be able to face all those years of study. Also if I (be) a doctor, I . (hate) all those hours you have to work. 2 These days I use the Internet more and more to do my shopping. If... (not/have) my computer, I __..-........ (not/know) what to do. I buy clothes, books and DVDs online as well as holidays. If you (not/find) what you want in the shops, you .... (find) it on the Internet. I'm going to Barcelona in a few weeks and I’m going to buy my ticket on the Internet because it (save) me about £50 if . (do) it that way. 3 This production of Shakespeare’s play ..-cunun. (Surprise) you, unless you _ (be used to) seeing all the charactets being played by just two people! 4 Eggs are best kept at a cool room temperature, so I don't keep my eggs in the fridge. If I (keep) them in the fridge 1 (take) them out half an hour before cooking. However, not everyone has somewhere cool to keep eggs. If you cussinurannen (Not/have) a cool place to store them in your home, you .. (have to) use the fridge, but just remember to take them out in time.[EY Decide if the underlined verbs are correct or not. Tick (/) them if they are right and correct them if they are wrong. Teacher: Student: Teacher: Student: Teacher: Student: Teacher: Student: ‘Teacher: Student: Isit better to have one special friend or lots of good ones? I think that if you have lots of friends, you 1 will be lucky. However, I feel that everyone should have someone special. If you 2 won't have a special friend, you won't have someone to talk to at difficult times in your life. When do people make most friends? Well, everyone makes friends when they are at school. If you 3 are in an environment where everyone is your own age, you 4 would probably make friends. Do you think that friends need to be similar ages? Well, generally friends from school are similar ages. But when you 5 started work, for example, you meet people of different ages. If you get on well with someone and you 6 will have a lot in common, then age 7 won't be important. Do people need to have things in common to be friends? Well, yes. If you 8 like the same things, you will probably ; get on well. But having said that, I have a very good friend who is completely different from me. She loves sport and I hate it. If you asked me why we were friends, 19 am not able to say! Maybe it’s just chance ~ if you are in a certain place at a certain time you 10 become friends, but if you 11 will meet the same person at a different time in a different place it 12 didn’t happen. What different roles do friends play in people's lives? Well, your friends are the people you choose to be with. And if you 13 will need help, you often turn to your friends. It works the other way too. When your friends need you, you 14 will help them. |Likelihood based on conditions 1. [© Underline the correct words. a 2 3 4 a No 0 o 10 Pil put my umbrella in my bag in case / provided shat it rains later. Unless / As long as you pay me in advance, I'l buy the tickets for you. P'm going to get fat if / unless I stop eating so much chocolate. You must follow the instructions accurately in case / unless you want to risk damaging the machine, When I travel on planes | always put my toothbrush in my hand luggage in case / if my suitcase gets lost. Ice skating is fun as long as / when you are willing to fall ever a lot! Dear Mr Brown, I am writing to inform you that your library books are overdue. Provided that / When you return them immediately, you will not be fined. Pve just signed the contract for the job in Indonesia, starting in April. When / If I move there, I'll have to sell my car. I wouldn’t stay out in the sun too long as long as / if 1 were you. I don't really like going to parties unless / as long as I know most people there.