Julijana Siljanovska

The Second Conditional

Level and number of students: 15 students, high intermediate/advanced
Lesson Duration: 60 min
Aims/Objectives: By the end of the class, SWBAT…
- Use the second conditional to effectively express hypothetical, unreal situations about
themselves
- Recognize and identify the dependent and independent clause in the second conditional
- Identify which tense/form is used in each clause

Assumptions:

Students are familiar that there are four conditionals and have practiced the Zero and First
conditionals and have been briefly introduced to the second conditional before. They can use
Past Simple and understand how it is formed and the meaning. Students know what clauses are.
They know the meaning, form, and use of the modal “would” and have a strong knowledge of
commonly used verbs.

Anticipated Problems:

They will mix up the tenses and the form from the second conditional with the ones they have
learned before. For this, write the form of the second conditional on the board so they can
clearly see it each time they practice it.

Materials: empty coffee cup, whiteboard, various color markers, 15 copies of Handout A, pens/pencils

Warm up (2 min):

Enter the classroom pretending to be tired. Say that if you slept more, you would be happier. If
you started drinking more coffee, you would have more energy (turn the empty coffee cup
upside down). Ask a student, “If I tried running in the morning, do you think I would feel
better?”

Intro (5 min):

Remind them that there are 4 types of conditionals: zero, first, second, and third. Give an
example of the zero and first and say what they are used for. Ask if students can give you more
examples of the zero and first. Say that the lesson today will be on the second conditional. Say
what the second it is used for.

Presentation (15 min):

Ask a student to read text A from the handout out loud. Other students pay attention and
identify and underline all conditional clauses. After the student is done reading, ask volunteers
to read each of the underlined sentences. Ask what conditional they think it is. If they say
second, ask why they think it is the second. If correct, write it down on the board.
 1. Write “If I won the lottery, my life would change” on the board.
2. Form: Use a red marker for the dependent if-clause, and a green marker for the conditional
independent clause. Identify the form and the tense used for each clause. Write “Past Simple +
would+ base verb” under the sentence.

Write: If I had more coffee, I would not be as tired.

Past Simple + would+ not+ base verb.

Talk about why it is called “dependent” and why “independent” clause.

Reminder: “A dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) contains a subject and verb. However, a
dependent clause does not constitute a complete sentence and cannot stand alone. Dependent clauses often begin
with subordinating conjunctions like since, although, because, and while. (e.g. When we came home…)”

Independent clauses do not start with a conjunction like “if” and do need anything added to them to make sense.
“I would join a club”, “my life would change” do not require further explanation.” (Divine 2019)

3. Meaning and Use: explain when the second conditional is used (for a hypothetical, unreal
possibilities, Ortiz 2019). Make sure the students know that past simple is what (If I had…) hints
that the conversation is hypothetical:
“If I had more coffee…” But I did not and don’t think that I will; I simply want to discuss
imaginary possibilities if I HAD more coffee.

4. Give other examples (if there is time!).

If I won a billion dollars (which I will most likely not, but imagine I did), I would buy an island.
If Lisa had more time (which she does not, she is a full-time student), she would go on vacation.
If Tom talked louder (but he does not, Tom is generally very quiet), they would be able to
understand him better.

Practice (20min):

Activity 1: (Kinesthetic) Matching

The students will need to form 2 groups (A and B). Group A is given pieces of paper with either
the dependent clause, Group B with the independent clause. They go around the room and try
to find the correct independent clause that goes with their dependent. After they are all paired
up, each pair reads the complete sentence.

Activity 2: Fill in the blanks

The students go back to their seats and individually work on Text B: Fill in the blanks. After they
are done, they take turns in reading: while one reads, the others pay attention if their answer is
correct.

Production (15 min):

Activity 3: Writing and reading

On the back side of the handout, each student must individually write a 5-6 sentence paragraph on
the topic, “If I won a million dollars, I would…”. Instruct them to get creative and come up with a
unique way to spend the money. Each student needs to read their paragraph out loud.
Activity 3.2: Speaking

After each student is done reading, the next one to get up is to say something they would do if
they were in the place of the previous student (using “if I were you… I would have …”).

*At the end of the Production stage, they will have to vote which one was the most creative answer. The
winner gets a million dollars (see materials).

Review (2min):

Have a student volunteer to briefly say the main ideas about the second conditional. If no one
volunteers, give them hints (mention the clauses), and ask again. Ask which tense is used in the
if-clause, and which in the independent clause.

Homework (1min):

Go to the library and find 5 examples of the second conditional in an interesting book. Write
down the name of the book, and copy the sentences, identifying which part is the dependent,
and which is the independent clause. Circle the verbs and the form in each clause.

References:

Ortiz, A., Weidner, D., Mroz, M., Bandy, S., & Walker, W. (2019). The Fundamentals of Teaching English
as a Foreign Language. Chicago: International TEFL Academy Press.

Divine, B., Nkouaga, J., Duncan, K., Cruz, Q., & Walker, W. (2019). Grammar Fundamentals for Teaching
English as a Foreign Language: A Teacher’s Reference. Chicago: International TEFL Academy
Press.

Second Conditional Reading – Grammar Readings. 360Learning Inc: www.learnenlgish-online.com.

Materials

15 copies of:

Handout A

Text A: Circle and identify the conditional clauses.

I can imagine what my life would be like if I won the lottery. Wow! I could do so many things,
and my life would be so different. I would love the chance to change my life with the money. If I won,
the first thing I would do is buy a big, new house. I live in a small apartment, and I have always dreamed
of living in a big house in the country. If I had all that money, I could buy anything I wanted. I don’t have
a car right now, so If I were rich, would buy a new car. Or, I might even buy a new motorcycle. I like
motorcycles, and I can imagine myself driving down the highway with the wind in my hair. If I had a
motorcycle, I would ride it to school. (learn-englishonline.com, modified from original)

Text B: Fill in the blanks

Of course, I if I ___ (win) the lottery, I _______ (give) some of the money to charity. I _______
(donate) my money to a charity that helps sick children. Also, if any of my friends ____ (need) anything, I
_____ (help) them pay for it. I know many people that have student loans, and If I ____ (can), I _______
(help) them pay the loans back. That would make them very happy. Plus, if I _____ (get) a lot of money, I
____ (save) some of it in the bank. (learnenglish-online.com, modified from original)

1x

Sentences for activity 1 (cut down the middle)

Give to group A ---------------- Give to group B

If I had long hair I would not cut it

If John did not wear a black shoes he would not be all in black.

If Art joined the team, there would be more of us.

If we had snow, we would build a snowman.

If she wore her glasses to class, she would be able to read the assignment.
If I had my car with me I would drive to your house

If they did not play on our team, they would not play on any team.

If the sun shone any brighter, we would put more sunscreen.

If the movie were better, it would get better ratings.

If the weather was any colder, I would put my jacket on.

If the manager said it was okay, I would wear jeans to work.

If the restaurant served pizza, we would stay and eat there.

If my eyes did not hurt, I would keep on playing video games.

If Samantha sang that song louder, she would get a louder applause.

If the house was not destroyed, we would buy it and move in tomorrow.