8B Grammar 1 Conditionals in the past

1 Read the stories and answer the question.

• What do the three stories all have in common?

2 Read the sentences about the stories. Choose the correct alternatives to complete them.
A After a morning of last-minute sightseeing on holiday, my partner and I jumped into a taxi. We asked the
driver to stop by our hostel on the way to the airport and both ran in to grab our suitcases. A big mistake!
When we came out, the taxi had disappeared, along with our small rucksacks, which contained cash and
some souvenirs. Luckily, I’d insisted we keep our passports in a money belt. It was impossible to find the
driver, as we couldn’t even remember what company the taxi was from.
1 If one of us had stayed in the taxi, we our things.
a wouldn’t have lost b would have lost
2 It worse if we had kept our passports in our rucksacks.
a had been b would have been
3 If we the taxi number, we might have been able to trace the driver.
a had noted b noted
4 If we hadn’t been leaving that day, we the incident to the police.
a had reported b could have reported
B I was taking my first exam at university and I couldn’t believe how many pages there were. I flipped to the
back: ten questions! I knew the material, but I only managed to answer seven questions. After the exam,
my friend told me that it said on the front that we only had to answer three of the questions. Oops!
From then on, I was very careful to always read exam instructions!
1 If I the instructions carefully, I wouldn’t have written so many answers.
a would read b had read
2 If I hadn’t tried to write so many answers, I more time on each question.
a couldn’t have spent b could have spent
3 If my friend hadn’t pointed it out, I my mistake!
a might not have realised b might realised
4 I so careful with instructions now if I hadn’t had this experience.
a wouldn’t have been b wouldn’t be
C I was watching a film at my friend’s house. After it finished, I realised that I had knocked over my black coffee
on their new cream carpet. Despite our best efforts to clean it, we couldn’t remove the mark. My friend said
it didn’t matter, but I could tell she was really annoyed. Now I can’t drink black coffee anymore because it
reminds me too much of that incident!
1 If I wasn’t so careless, I over my drink.
a wouldn’t have knocked b would have knocked
2 If I the spill straight away, we might have been able to remove the mark.
a would notice b had noticed
3 If their carpet hadn’t been a light colour, the mark so obvious.
a couldn’t have been b wouldn’t have been
4 I might still drink black coffee if I so guilty about ruining the carpet.
a didn’t feel b felt

3 Think of a story about a mistake which could have been avoided. Write conditional sentences about
how the situation could have been different.

I lost my keys at the beach once. If I had closed my bag properly, they wouldn’t have fallen out.

4 Work in groups and compare your stories and conditional sentences.

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 8B Grammar 2 Conditionals in the past

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1 2 3
If you hadn’t come What might your If you had found
to class today, name have been if some money on the
what would you be you had chosen it way to class, what
doing now? yourself? would you have
done with it?

4 5 6
If you hadn’t studied If you hadn’t decided If the weather had
what you did, what to take this class, been different on the
other subject might what would you weekend, would it
you have chosen? have done instead? have changed your
plans?

7 8 9
How would your life If you could have got If you could have
be different if you up at any time today, gone anywhere on
had been born fifty what time would holiday last year,
years earlier? you have chosen? where would you
have chosen?

11 12
10
If you hadn’t been If you had been
How might your life
able to get to class invited to star on a
have been different
the usual way today, TV show as a child,
if you had had more
how else could you would you have
siblings?
have got here? done it?

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