Aims

• To analyse three structures relating to hypothetical meaning

• To experience and review the structure of a language presentation

• Identify possible learner difficulties

Learner Problems: in each case what is the learner getting wrong?

• ‘If he wears a hat, he goes to town’

• ‘You heat ice, it melts.’

• If I could choose a city to live in, I’ll choose Paris.

• If I will be rich I would buy a plane

• If I would seen him I had told him

• If I hadn’t been killed, I wouldn’t be here.

First conditional express a possible condition and a probable result.

It’s a real possibility

• ‘If he wears a hat, he goes to town’

• ‘You heat ice, it melts.’

• Using present simple when should use present continuous

• Omitting the ‘if’ or ‘when’ for universal truth.

Second conditional express speculation and a probable result. Probable,

unlikely or even impossible in reality

• If I could choose a city to live in, I’ll choose Paris.

• If I will be rich I would buy a plane

• Mixing past forms (conditional for unreal) with future form (will for real condition), ie mixing 1st and 2nd conditional

• Struggling with using a past tense for a future meaning

Third conditional express imaginary situations about the past.

Impossible as unchangeable

• If I would seen him I had told him

• If I hadn’t been killed, I wouldn’t be here.

• Confusing ‘I’d’ for I would and I had.

• Confusing positive and negative sentences. They want to say ‘I was not killed’