First and Second Conditional

Unit
38 if I do … and if I did …
A Compare these examples:
(1) LISA: Shall we take the bus or the train?

JESS: If we take the bus, it will be cheaper.
For Jess, it is possible that they will take the bus,
so she says:
If we take the bus, it will be … If we take the bus,
LISA JESS it will be cheaper.
(2) Lisa and Jess decide to take the train. If we took the bus, it would be cheaper.
Later, Jess talks to Joe.
JOE: How are you going to travel?
JESS: We’re going to take the train. If we took the bus,
it would be cheaper, but the train is quicker.
Now Jess knows they are not going to take the bus,
so she says:
If we took the bus, it would be … JOE JESS
B When we talk about something that will not happen,

or we don’t expect that it will happen, we use
if + past (if we went / if there was etc.).
But the meaning is not past:
What would you do if you won a lot of money?
(I don’t really expect this to happen)
If there was an election tomorrow, who would
you vote for?
(there will not be an election tomorrow) If I won a lot of money …
I’d be surprised if they didn’t come to the party.
(I expect them to come)
Compare if I find and if I found:
I think I left my watch at your house. If you find it, can you call me?
but
If you found a wallet in the street, what would you do with it?
C We do not normally use would in the if-part of the sentence:

I’d be very scared if somebody pointed a gun at me. (not if somebody would point)
If we went by bus, it would be cheaper. (not If we would go)
In the other part of the sentence (not the if-part) we use would (’d) / wouldn’t:
I’d be (= I would be) scared if somebody pointed a gun at me.
I’m not going to bed yet. I’m not tired. If I went to bed now, I wouldn’t sleep.
What would you do if you were bitten by a snake?
Could and might are also possible:
If I won a lot of money, I might buy a house.
(= it is possible that I would buy a house)
If it stopped raining, we could go out.
(= we would be able to go out)
will ➜ Units 21–22 if and when ➜ Unit 25D would ➜ Unit 36 if I knew ➜ Unit 39
76 if … was/were ➜ Unit 39C if I had known ➜ Unit 40
Unit
Exercises 38
38.1 Complete the sentences. Choose from:
did dropped found happened lost was went
1 If you found a wallet in the street, what would you do with it?
2 Be careful with that vase. If you dropped it, it would break into small pieces.
3 This notebook is very important to me. I’d be very upset if I lost it.
4 I don’t expect to lose my job but if that happened , I’d have to find another one.
5 We’re thinking about our holiday for next year. If we went to Italy, would you come with us?
6 I don’t think he’ll fail the exam. I’d be very surprised if he did .
7 If there was a fire in the building, would you know how to put the fire out?
38.2 What do you say in these situations?
1 Of course you don’t expect to win the lottery. Which do you say?
a If I win the lottery, I’ll buy a big house.
b If I won the lottery, I’d buy a big house. ✓ (b is correct)
2 You’re not going to sell your car because it’s old and not worth much. Which do you say?
a If I sell my car, I won’t get much money for it.
b If I sold my car, I wouldn’t get much money for it.
3 You often see Sarah. A friend of yours wants to contact her. Which do you say?
a If I see Sarah, I’ll tell her to call you.
b If I saw Sarah, I’d tell her to call you.
4 You don’t expect that there will be a fire in the building. Which do you say?
a What will you do if there is a fire in the building?
b What would you do if there was a fire in the building?
5 You’ve never lost your passport. You can only imagine it.
a I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose my passport.
b I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my passport.
6 Somebody stops you and asks the way to a bank. Which do you say?
a If you go right at the end of this street, you’ll see a bank on your left.
b If you went right at the end of this street, you’d see a bank on your left.
7 You’re in a lift. There is an emergency button. Nobody is going to press it. Which do you say?
a What will happen if somebody presses that button?
b What would happen if somebody pressed that button?
38.3 Complete the sentences.
1 I’d be very scared if somebody pointed (somebody / point) a gun at me.
2 I can’t afford to buy a car. If I bought (I / buy) a car, I’d have to borrow the money.
3 If you had a party, who would you invite (you / invite)?
4 Don’t lend James your car. If he asked (he / ask) me, I wouldn’t lend him mine.
5 I don’t think Gary and Emma will get married. I would be (I / be) amazed if they did.
6 If somebody gave (somebody / give) me $20,000, I’d have (I / have) a long holiday.
7 Would you be (you / be) nervous if you met (you / meet) a famous person?
8 What would you do (you / do) if you were (you / be) in a lift
and it stopped (it / stop) between floors?
38.4 Write sentences beginning If … .
1 We’re not going to take the 10.30 train. (we / arrive too early)
If we took the 10.30 train, we’d arrive too early.
2 We’re not going to stay at a hotel. (it / cost too much)
If we stayed at a hotel, , it would cost too much.
3 There’s no point in telling you what happened. (you / not / believe)
If I told you what happened, you wouldn’t believe me.
4 Sally has no plans to leave her job. (it / hard to find another one)
If she left her job, it would be hard to find another one.
5 Kevin is not going to apply for the job. (he / not / get it).
If he applied for the job, he wouldn’t get it.
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Unit

(1) LISA: Shall we take the bus or the train?

B When we talk about something that will not happen,

C We do not normally use would in the if-part of the sentence:

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