I promise that you will definitely speak English better if you learn to use conditional grammar in context. This means - how real English speakers use it in real situations.
Meet Amy who has just finished school and wants to go travelling before starting university. Here is her situation in a table.
The sentences above refer to REAL and LIKELY situations in Amy's FUTURE.
The sentences below refer to UNREAL and UNLIKELY situations in Amy's PRESENT.
Can you see the difference between the sentences?
You can also swap the clauses around - change the order of the ideas but then you need to remove the comma. For example:-
I will come if you want me to.
I'll get sunburnt if I lie in the sun for too long.
I could reach that top shelf if I were taller.
I would eat that chocolate cake if I didn't feel sick.
And don't forget ZERO conditional when you explain cause and effect for a situation that is always true. Just use PRESENT SIMPLE in both clauses :)
Water boils when it reaches 100 C.
Water freezes when it reaches 0 C.
I get angry when you leave a mess.
Now, let's practise using conditional grammar for your speaking test - maybe for IELTS.
Examiner asks you .... | ... you answer like this. |
| Absolutely! Without a vision, you lose your way. What I mean is unless you have a dream, you have nothing to work for and you might get demotivated. Take my father for example. If he didn’t have the goal to become a doctor, even though his family was poor, he would have given up. But his dream kept him going. LISTEN and SPEAK with me. |
2. In what ways can these aims be achieved? | There are so many ways to achieve your goals. But probably the most important one is .. you know … stay focused, and with deadlines. If you don’t keep a diary or calendar with deadlines, it will be much harder to achieve your dreams. LISTEN and SPEAK with me. |
3. What factors are necessary to lead to a happy life? | Well, I reckon that if you have your health and your family, you can be happy. I know money can bring happiness, but only if you have your health and the love of family and friends, can you enjoy your wealth. LISTEN and SPEAK with me. |
Did you only READ the answers above, or did you SPEAK them out loud to practise? Make sure you listen to the audio files in the table and speak with me. You can do it! Try to match my speed, my stress, my pausing.
Now, you must watch my You Tube video lessons on conditional grammar. Why? So you can listen and speak with a native speaker in context. I know you can do it! I'm here to help.
Go to my speaking channel to get IELTS-specific video lessons very cheaply.
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