Learn how to form conditional sentences in the English language
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: Hoping for English Forgiveness. In this lesson, you’ll learn about Conditional sentences and Gaming. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place at work during break. |
| Braden: And it’s between Cody and June. |
| Barbara: The speakers are co-workers but they are friends as well so they will be speaking casually. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Cody: If you could help me with this, I'd sure be grateful. |
| June: Sure. But what is that? |
| Cody: It's a teddy bear that I need to wrap for my girlfriend. |
| June: Oh. Uh, supposing I'm not very good at wrapping things, what would you say? |
| Cody: No worries. I'm not very good at it either. It's the thought that counts. |
| June: That's what they say. |
| Cody: I decided to give this to say "sorry" for forgetting that we were going to the movies last night. |
| June: I know. She called me and was pretty upset. What were you doing that made you forget? |
| Cody: Playing World of Warcraft. |
| June: Ah! Yeah, I'd be pretty mad too. If I'd have been stood up by my boyfriend because of a video game, I'd have been pretty angry as well. |
| Cody: If it hadn't been for that game, I wouldn't have forgotten. |
| June: Okay. I'll help you. But let's do it on break... |
| June: I think it turned out well. It's not the best wrapped present in the world, but it's good. She'll be happy you cared. |
| Cody: I hope so, I know that she likes teddy bears. I hope she forgives me. If she hadn't helped me get the job, I wouldn't be working here now. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Gaming. |
| Barbara: Gaming has become a worldwide phenomenon. Driven particularly by English speakers, gaming has become a multibillion dollar industry. |
| Braden: Usually the word “gaming” refers to online games as opposed to console games like the PlayStation three or the Xbox. |
| Barbara: One of the largest and most popular online games is called World of Warcraft. As of February 2012 World of Warcraft had more than 10 million paying subscribers worldwide. |
| Braden: Gaming has also become a social problem. Many people retreat into their games and forget about the “real world.” |
| Barbara: As seen in the dialogue this can cause problems in a person's relationships. We're not going to tell you one way or the other what we think but this is a hotly debated subject. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we'll look at is... |
| Barbara: grateful [natural native speed] |
| Braden: feeling or appreciation of kindness; thankful |
| Barbara: grateful [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: grateful [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| wrap [natural native speed] |
| Braden: enclose in paper or other flexible material |
| wrap [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| wrap [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: suppose [natural native speed] |
| Braden: guess, assume that something is the case |
| Barbara: suppose [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: suppose [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| complained [natural native speed] |
| Braden: express dissatisfaction or annoyance about a state of affairs or an event |
| complained [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| complained [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: sales [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the activity or business of selling products |
| Barbara: sales [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: sales [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| strategy [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a plan of action or policy |
| strategy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| strategy [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: break [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a pause in work or during an activity or event |
| Barbara: break [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: break [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Barbara: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase “it’s the thought that counts.” |
| Braden: This is an expression used when something doesn’t go right. For example, usually when you give a gift, you want to make it new, special, and perfect. Most importantly you want the person to like what the gift you gave. |
| Barbara: Sometimes, even with the best intentions, the gift you give, isn’t what the person wanted, isn’t new, gets broken, or any number of other negative possibilities. In situations like this, where your intention was better than the actual result, you can say it’s the thought that counts. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: it’s the thought that counts (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: it’s the thought that counts (fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next phrase is “stood up.” |
| Braden: To get stood up means that someone made an appointment with you and then didn’t show up. The idea is that you were standing there waiting for them to arrive but since they never arrived, you were left standing. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: stood up (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: stood up (fast) |
| Braden: Great! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next phrase is “on break.” |
| Braden: Which refers to a period of time while you’re at work but you do not have to work. The idea is a break in rhythm. |
| Barbara: So when someone says they are “on break” it means they are in that period of time when they aren’t working. More on breaks later. |
| Braden: Just remember that it’s “on break” not “in break” or “at break.” Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: on break (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: on break (fast) |
| Braden: Excellent! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
| Braden: So, Barbara, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is alternative ways to form conditional sentences |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase… |
| Barbara: Supposing I'm not very good at wrapping things, what would you say? |
| Braden: You’ve already learned the standard forms for the conditional tenses in English. There are, however, a number of alternative conditional forms. Let’s look at three of them. |
| Barbara: First let’s look at “going to.” “going to” is often used to replace “will” in the first conditional. This is often done to emphasize a certain result. |
| Braden: For example, "If you apply to that school with your excellent marks, you're going to be accepted!" |
| Barbara: In the present perfect, the first conditional is used to focus on the completion of an action. For example, "We'll meet for lunch if you've finished your work." |
| Braden: Next we’ll look at the Happen to / should happen to forms. These two forms emphasize the chance nature of the conditional. In this way, the conditional, which is still true, is even less likely to occur. |
| Barbara: For example, "If they happen to come to town, we'll have party." |
| Braden: Next we have the “Provided (that), as long as” forms. “Provided (that)” and “as long as” are used instead of “if” to show specific conditions that must be met in order for something to happen. |
| Barbara: For example, "Provided he finishes his studies, he'll find an excellent job." |
| Braden: Now we’ll look at alternative forms for the second conditional. First we have the form “Were to.” If followed by the subject, “were to” emphasizes the hypothetical character of the statement. For example, "If I were to buy a new car, what would you say?" |
| Barbara: Second we have “If it were not for” which emphasizes that one event depends on another for completion. This form is often used to show the negative results without a certain person or thing. |
| Braden: For example, "If it were not for his decision, this company wouldn't exist." |
| Barbara: Last we have “Supposing” which is used in place of “if” to emphasize the imaginary. It is more commonly used in everyday speech. For example, "Supposing he came to visit you, what would you do?" |
| Braden: To wrap things up let’s cover the third conditional. |
| Barbara: First we have the “But for” form which replaces “if not” and is followed by a noun. It is usually used in formal speech. |
| Barbara: For example, "But for our savings, we wouldn't have been able to make the payments." A older country song uses the line, “but for the grace of God go I.” |
| Braden: Second we have “If it hadn't been for” which emphasizes that one event depended on another for completion. This form is often used to show what the negative result would have been without a certain person or thing. |
| Barbara: For example, "If it hadn't been for Jack, we would have failed." |
| Braden: Lastly, we have something like a mixed conditional. |
| This is when a result clause uses the conditional to express present hypothetical results based on a past action. |
| Barbara: For example, "If she hadn't helped me, I wouldn't work here now." |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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