Learnship 05 - 2023/09/05

Posted on 2023-09-05 Edited on 2025-02-12

Homework

These are the main condition forms.

Type	Situation	Result
zero	if + present	present
	if you hand in work late,	you make a bad impression
first	if + present	will + infinitive
	if we lose the contract,	we’ll be in trouble
second	if + past tense	would + infinitive
	if we lost the contract,	my job would be on the line.
third	if + past perfect	would have + infinitive
	if we’d got the contract	we would have made a lot of money

Zero conditionals

Use zero conditionals when the relationship between the situation and result is always true or always the same; there is no element of chance or doubt.

If we hit our targets, we get a bonus.
We can also use two past tenses, to talk about something that always used to be true.

We got time off in lieu if we worked weekends.
Informally, we can use this structure where a first conditional would be more appropriate in a formal situation.

If we lose the contract, we’re in trouble.

First conditional

Use the first conditional when a situation is very likely to have the result given.

If you arrive late, you’ll miss the first part of the meeting. ;
The present continuous and present perfect are possible in the if-clause.

If Jenny’s working on this project, she’ll learn a lot of useful stuff.
If Amit’s broken his leg, you’ll have to give the presentation.
Other modal expressions such as can, may, be going to are possible in the result clause.

If we don’t gain market share, we may be in a sticky situation.
I’m going to change distributors if Kikibo don’t get their act together.

Second conditional

Use the second conditional when a situation is hypothetical or imagined.

If taxes rose, we would consider relocating.
The second conditional is also useful to make suggestions, offers, warnings, etc. more distant and polite.

If you arrived at meetings on time, we’d get much more done.
Might and could are also possible in the result clause.

We could save hundreds of hours if we adopted the new system.

Mixed conditionals

It is possible to use the if-clause of a second conditional (if + past simple) with the result clause of a third conditional (would + perfect infinitive). This is an example of a mixed conditional.

If you cared more about your work, you would have been promoted years ago.

Note that here we are talking about a general hypothetical situation, with an imagined past result.
More often we use the if-clause of a third conditional (if + past perfect) with the result clause of a second conditional (would + present / continuous infinitive).

If I had got the job, I would earn €100,000 by now. (would + present infinitive)

If I had got the job, I would be commuting for four hours a day. (would + continuous infinitive)

Note that here we are imagining something that didn’t happen in the past, with a present result.

Passives

Passive forms are possible in all types of conditional sentence, in either clause.

If the contract is lost, we’ll be in trouble.

If we adopted the new system, hundreds of hours could be saved.

Other words instead of if

In many conditional sentences, when can replace if. This makes a situation sound more likely. The same is true of every time.

When we hit our targets, we get a bonus.

Every time we hit our targets, we get a bonus.
In zero, first, and second conditionals, we can use unless to mean ‘except if’ or ‘if not’.

Unless we keep our contract with Zimiercz, we’ll be without a Polish partner company.
Participles such as providing, provided, assuming, and supposing, and phrases such as on the condition that and as long as, can also replace if.

Providing the building goes well, our new offices will be ready in May 2012.

As long as the pound stays strong, our projections will be realistic.

Exercise

Match 1-10 to a-j

If we appear to have green credentials, ethically-minded customers are more likely to buy our products.
If I remember to copy you in on the email, you should have got it some time yesterday.
If we raise dividends, we keep shareholders happy.
We’ll be able to minimize damage, providing you stick to the measures I’ve put in place.
In their culture, if you’re introduced to someone, you shake hands with them.
We may lose market share, if Kirput and Sinderzy merge.
If everyone turned off their computer at night, we would save the equivalent of two directors’ salaries.
If we don’t start providing incentives, no one will want to move to the new offices.
If I had take the job at Kurwenal, I would never have met my wife.
If he’s been at work all night, his concentration probably won’t be 100%.

Correct these sentences using the clues in brackets

If I know Chris’s email address, I’d give it to you. (I don’t know it.)

If I knew Chris’ email address, I’d give it to you.
If we disagreed, we say so. (This is how it worked in my last job.)

If we disagreed, we would say so.
If John turns up on time, I am amazed (It’s very unlikely.)

If John turns up on time, I’ll be amazed.
If we hadn’t changed suppliers, we wouldn’t had so many outstanding orders. (We have a lot of them.)

If we hadn’t changed suppliers, we wouldn’t have so many outstanding orders.
If the directors have had a pay rise last year when we had our bonuses cancelled, a lot of people would have left the company. (The directors didn’t have a pay rise and people didn’t leave.)

If the directors had had a pay rise last year when we had our bonuses cancelled, a lot of people would have left the company.
If they offer you the job, would you take it? (It might happen.)

If they offer you the job, will you take it?

Choose the correct words to complete the sentences

If we don’t keep the staff happy, then they will start looking for new jobs.
If I hadn’t taken the course, I would never have had these new opportunities.
In Japan, if your boss ever makes a suggestion, never disagree with him directly.
If everyone turns off their TVs at night, then they will reduce their carbon footprint.
If I’d wanted you to go, I would have told you.

Type in the correct words to complete the conversation

A: What’s the situation?

B: Well, if we accept the offer, we might lose our independence.

A: And if we don’t?

B: Well, we will probably struggle to break even this year.

A: Right, I see.

B: If we’d moved production overseas, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.

A: But if we had moved it, we would have had other problems to deal with.

We can mark a condition without using an if-clause. Using a dictionary if necessary, put the conditional expressions from these sentences into one of the three categories below.

Assuming the information is correct, we have to reconsider our plans.
Given clear weather and good winds, the flight may arrive early.
Providing (that)/provided (that) everyone is available, the next meeting will be on Monday.
Start slowly; otherwise, you won’t be able to make it to the end.
Suppose your computer crashes, how will you get your files out of it?
Supposing you won the lottery, what would you do?
You can keep playing your music as long as/so long as no-one complains.
What if I sent the file by email — could you look at it before tomorrow’s meeting?
With a little help, we could make this school a much better place.
Without your advice, I wouldn’t have known how to do it.

A: Simple condition (‘if this is the case’): 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9
B: Exclusive condition (‘only if this is the case’): 3, 7
C: Exceptional condition (‘if this is not the case’): 4, 10

Choose the correct answer to complete the following statements, all of which were made using the conditional during a meeting at Floralope. Then listen to the meeting and check your answers.

If the IT system is updated, you’ll be more efficient in terms of your customer admin.
Provided we check out the feasibility of these options thoroughly, I’m convinced we can find a system upgrade that will work for us.
There’s no point in investing in a system upgrade if we don’t have the space, the personnel, or the finances to carry it through.
If we’d invested in our production facilities five years ago, like we wanted to, we would have knocked down the old building and had one purpose-built.
If training isn’t on the agenda, we should forget the whole idea.
If we made them our key users, we could gradually train up the rest.
How would it work if you took on some younger people?
If you’d recruited more young employees at the start, they would have had some IT knowledge from school.
If we only had a couple of people initially who could use the system, how could they cope with the extra work?
If we hadn’t invested in the system, we’d be way behind the competition.
Assuming we decided to commit to the full amount, we could also look at ways to save money in other areas.
If we work more efficiently with our customer, our reputation can only improve too.

Business Language Coaching - Session 5 - Choosing The Focus Word

build on our work on pausing and intonation by diving more deeply into word stress
be able to deliver presentations in a clear & dynamic way

Starting Point

What were your takeaways from our last session on voice power? Have you had any opportunities to put any of the learning points into practice?

Work in opposing teams. You are going to re-enact two dramatic presentations from the classic business movie Other People’s Money.

The scene:

Andrew Jorgenson is the patriarchal chairman of New England Wire and Cable. Once highly successful, his company has not kept up with new technology and both revenues and share price are down. Lawrence Garfield, known to his enemies as ‘Larry the Liquidator’, a corporate financier and one of the major stockholders, is trying to persuade the other stockholders at the annual general meeting to vote him in as the new chairman, so he can carry out his plan to sell off the company’s considerable assets before its share price falls any further. Of course, this will mean the closure of the firm and the loss of thousands of jobs.

Work together annotating this famous movie scene using the points below. Then rehearse and read it aloud.

TODO: listen to the audio and mark

The company is dead. | I didn’t kill it. Don’t blame me. | It was dead when I got here. | It’s too late for prayers. For even if the prayers are answered, and a miracle occurred, and the yen did this, and the dollar did that, and the infrastructure did the other thing, we would still be dead. | You know why? Fiber optics. New technologies. Obsolescence. We’re dead all right. We’re just not broke. And you know the surest way to go broke? Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market. I’m not your best friend. I’m your only friend. I don’t make anything? I’m making you money.

Listen to this dialogue. Notice which word is the focus word in each sentence.

The Lost Hat

A: I lost my hat.

B: What kind of hat?

A: It was a rain hat?

B: What color rain hat?

A: It was white. White plastic.

B: Hmmm. There was a white hat in the car.

A: Which car?

B: The one I sold!

Listen and practice this dialogue. Use a change in pitch and an extra long vowel sound to emphasize the underlined focus words.

Child at the shoe store

Child: I want some shoes.

Parent: What kind of shoes?

Child: The beautiful kind!

Parent: Black or brown?

Child: Neither. I’m tired of black and brown. I want red shoes. Shiny red shoes.

Note: The fourth line above has two focus words, “black” and “brown”. Both focus words are emphasized.

Underline the focus words in these dialogues. Some of the statements may have two focus words.

A Traveler

Travel Agent: Where do you want to go?
Traveler: China.
Travel Agent: Where in China? To the north or to the south?
Traveler: Neither. I’ve seen the north and south. I’m going east.

Two people on the street.

Woman: What are they building?
Man: They’re building a school.
Woman: What kind of school? Elementary or high school?
Man: Neither. I think it’s a trade school.

Vocabulary/Notes

to enter* Europe
Switzerland
If I had trained to become a lawyer, I would have bought my first house in my twenties(3rd conditional)
If I had trained to become a lawyer, I would be happier now. (mixed conditional - consequence in present)
If they offered you the job would you take it?
obsolescence