20-9-21 Inna - headstands

• Engels
• Beroepsopleiding

The lesson about HOW LIKELY IT IS THAT I CAN DO A HEADSTAND!

1.  If I practice every day, I will be able to stand on my head
   
2. If I practiced every day, I would  be able to stand on my head
   

Do these sentences have the same meaning?

Which grammatical differences do you see in these two sentences?

You will discover the answer to these questions in this lesson!

IF sentences= conditionals

When you want to tell someone they will be able to do something IF they practice regularly, you will use a sentence construction referred to as a conditional sentence.

There are 5 different conditional constructions, which indicate different levels of probability (from a fact to very improbable). In this lesson we will look at 3 of these constructions.

But first, some basic information about conditionals

• They are used to describe cause and effect.
  

• Conditional sentences have 2 parts.
  

A “IF” part (the cause)

A result part (the effect)

• These 2 are usually separated with a comma.
  
• Examples
  

If I drove, I would have gotten home earlier

If you work hard, you will be rewarded

Now forget the word conditional, and focus on why/ when we use them

zero conditional - facts / truths

If water freezes, it becomes ice.

This sentence states a fact.

The construction used is 

IF + present simple -> present simple

First conditional - likely to happen!

If I practise every day, I will be able to stand on my head

In this sentence it is very likely that I will be able to stand on head (IF I practise every day)

The construction used is:

If + present simple, .... will + verb

Second conditional-  unlikely to happen!

If I practised every month, I would be able to stand on my head

Here I'm saying it is unlikely I'll be able to stand on my head (because I only practise once a month!)

The construction used is:

IF + past simple -> would / wouldn't + verb

So, what do we need to look out for?

If you want to state a fact, you use the present simple twice.

If you want to say that it is likely something will happen, you need to use IF+ present simple.

If you want to say it is unlikely something will happen, you need to use IF + past simple

Present simple:

He / she / It: verb +s

Past simple:

Regular verbs:

verb +ED

Irregular verbs: list

Conditional sentences are composed of 2 parts (a cause part and a result part).

Up till now we looked at sentence constructions: cause ..... result.

However,, it is possible to flip this around:

"Your belly will be flatter if you exercise regularly"

"Your belly will be flatter" = result

"If you exercise regularly" = cause

We see the construction IF + present simple .... will +verb

Your belly will be flatter if you exercise regularly

Indicate whether these sentences indicate a fact / likely to happen / unlikely to happen

1. If I had more free time, I would travel more
2. If you call me, I will help you
3. If you don't brush your teeth regularly, your teeth decay
4. If you don't brush your teeth daily, your teeth will decay
5. You will improve your stability if you close your eyes during this exercise
6. If I won the lottery, I would buy a house

Indicate whether these sentences indicate a fact / likely to happen / unlikely to happen

1. If I had more free time, I would travel more = unlikely (past simple - would +verb)
2. If you call me, I will help you = likely (present simple - will +verb)
3. If you don't brush your teeth regularly, your teeth decay = fact (present simple - present simp.)
4. If you don't brush your teeth daily, your teeth will decay = likely (present simple - will +verb)
5. You will improve your stability if you close your eyes during this exercise = likely
6. If I won the lottery, I would buy a house = unlikely (past simple - would +verb)

Using other modal verbs

Up till now we used will / would in these sentences.

It is also possible to substitute will / would with other modal verbs (hulpwerkwoorden).

eg can, might, may, should, could..

If I hurry, I should be able to catch the bus

If you cook dinner, we can go for a walk afterwards

If I won a million dollars, I could stop working

Practise time!

You probably use conditional sentences in your social media posts and your teaching - to motivate the omas ;-)

Which sentences are these?

Now check whether you are saying / writing what you want to say! (ie a fact / it is likely / it is unlikely that....)

Can you give me examples?