Geralt. (2014). Comic. Retrieved 11/11/16 from https://pixabay.com/en/comic-cry-tears-rose-excuse-me-477451/
In this module, you are going to work with several activities in which you are going to practice the third conditional. This topic is used to talk about unreal situations in the past, which means that you exchange ideas about how things would have been different if other things had changed. In other words, you talk about an unreal past.
You might already know something about this topic, so you are going to start with a diagnostic evaluation. Here, you will be asked to answer a small exercise which might help you remember something related to this topic. Don’t worry if you can’t answer that exercise. It’s just to explore your prior knowledge.
After that, you are going to learn about the third conditional in a video presentation. You must check that presentation carefully so that you can have more information about the form and the function of the third conditional. You will also practice all the skills, which means that you will practice listening, reading, writing and speaking. It’s advisable to do all the activities in the suggested order because they have a logical sequence which will help you learn in a better.
At the end of the material, you will find a final evaluation. Answer it carefully. The result will give you information about whether you need to review the topic or not.
By the end of this topic, you will be able to use the third conditional on exchanging opinions, talking about unreal situations in the past.
Before you start working on the activities we have prepared for you, you must try to remember something you might know about "3rd conditional". In that way, you will learn new information in a better and easier way.
To do that, you are going to read some suppositions about a guy named Joseph.
He is a homeless man who used to have everything but now has nothing. He made lots of mistakes, and now he regrets all of them. If he hadn't behaved that way, he wouldn't have lost everything.
These are some of the things that would have been different if he hadn't done everything wrong.
Complete the following unreal situations in the past based on your prior knowledge. Remember that this exercise is only intended to make you remember something you might know about the topic you are working in, so don't worry if you aren't sure how to complete the ideas.
Just try and later you will learn about it.
The previous activity was intended to give you a general idea about the topic you are working. Now, you are going to watch the video “Third conditional” in order to learn how unreal past situations are expressed. Watch the video in detail, you can watch it as many times as necessary. You can pause it when you consider necessary in order to better understand the content.
Based on the video you have just watched, answer the following exercise so that you practice how to express unreal situations in past. You have to use the words in parenthesis in order to complete the ideas.
When you finish, click on “check answer”.
All these situations are about Paola. Last year, she traveled the world and she is thinking about the advantages of having visited so many places.
Remember: All of them are unreal situations in past.
Activity 1
How you ever regretted about something? People always do things they later regret and sometimes they think what would have happened if they had acted differently.
In these texts, you are going to read about some people, and then you are going to answer an exercise to practise the third conditional: Unreal past.
She had been in love with George for ages! Even before she started dating people, she had this thing for him. They lived in nearby houses, and they went to the same school, elementary, junior, high school and then college. She saw every new girlfriend George had, and what it’s worse, she knew everything about them because she was George’s best friend.
They spent time together every time they had the chance to do so, and they even knew each other’s family. Everybody said they seemed to be a couple for they were not, or at least they were not a normal one. One day, on Christmas (they spent Christmas Eve together) they laid down to watch a movie, just the same way they had done it thousands of times before and she felt especially attracted to George, she felt the beat of his heart, his breath, his skin. Suddenly, she decided to kiss him, and he kissed her back. It was an awkward moment because even though they had always been close, it was the first time they had been so close. They kept on watching the movie and after a little while they felt asleep. The following day they acted as if nothing had ever happened and even though Carmen always wanted to be a bit closer, she never tried anything again.
Now, based on the text, answer the following exercise.
Identify which person each item refers to. Have always in mind the following question:
What would have happened if these people hadn’t acted in that way?
Activity 2
As you have been checking, sometimes people do things they later regret. When they wonder how things would have changed if they have acted differently, they used the third conditional to express unreal past. In other words, they talk about hypothetical situations in the past.
In this activity, you are going to listen to some people who regret having done some things, and they are talking to their friends about it. After listening to the audio, answer the following exercise. Here you have to complete the ideas according to the listening.
Choose the most appropriate option for the following statements. At the end of the exercise, you can know your score.
Activity 3
Writing is the next activity you are going to practice in this material. You must keep in mind the objective you read at the beginning of the article, which is to use the third conditional on exchanging opinions, talking about hypothetical situations in the past.
For this activity, first, you need to read the next two situations:
Now choose one of them and write an email saying sorry for what you did and explain why it was essential to go and what would have happened if you hadn’t gone.
Write a 200-250 word text.
Before you start working, check the rubrics to be aware of the aspects which will be evaluated.
If you need to look up any word in a dictionary, we suggest you visit the Cambridge Dictionary. There you can find a word you need.
Activity 4
Now that you have seen how things would have been different if people had acted differently. It’s your turn to talk a little bit.
Think of a situation that you regret about your past or that you would have had a different result if you had acted differently.
If it’s possible, do this activity with somebody else. Pretend you are two friends talking about a regret you have. If that isn’t possible, you can do the activity by yourself.
Remember you are talking about unreal situations in the past using the 3rd conditional. So you have to use the form when you do this activity.
Write down your speech taking into account the answers from the following questions.
Don’t read your answer. The text is only a guide.
Record your speech. Your audio should last from 2-3 minutes.
Listen to the following example:
Before you record your audio, read the rubrics so that you know the aspects you need to pay special attention to.
If you need to look up any word in a dictionary, we suggest you visit the Cambridge Dictionary. You can see the definition and also the pronunciation of any word, in case you need it.
Once you are ready, you will record your speech.
At first, you were asked to complete some unreal situations in the past about a guy called Joseph.
Throughout this material, you have been practising third conditional, which is the structure you need to complete the sentences about Joseph.
Try again to complete those sentences about unreal past so that you can know if you have.
• Murphy, R. (1985). English grammar in use: A self-study reference and practice book for intermediate students: with answers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Alexander, L. (1999). Longman English grammar practice. New York: Longman.
• Beaumont, D. and Granger, C. (1992). The Heinemann English grammar. Oxford: Heinemann.
• A. Altenberg, E. and Vago, R. (2010). English grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Azar, B. (2003). Fundamentals of English grammar. White Plains, NY: Longman.