2nd Conditionals: Foods we miss while travelling

The second conditional is used to talk about ‘unreal’ or impossible things.

Examples: 

If I won the lottery I´d buy a beach house in California. 

Where would you travel if you could go anywhere in the world?

If you didn’t smoke so much you’d feel a lot better.

The structure is usually if + past simple and would + infinitive. It’s not important which clause comes first.

Look at the difference between the first and second conditionals.

·       In January: If it snows tomorrow I’ll go skiing. (It might snow tomorrow.)

·       In August: If it snowed tomorrow I’d go skiing. (It almost certainly won’t snow tomorrow.)

NOTE: Although many conditional sentences use if + will/would, conditional sentences can also use other words instead of ‘if’ – e.g. ‘when’ ‘as soon as’ ‘in case’ Other modal verbs can be used instead of ‘will/would’ – e.g. ‘can/could’, ‘may’ ‘might’.

Okay, let´s put this theory into practice. I´ll go first. The question is, which foods do you miss the most while traveling or living abroad? Use the conditionals to talk about this topic.

pancake breakfast

Here is a list of 17 Foods all Americans miss while living in Europe. In my opinion, it is spot on.

       

bagel and cream cheese

• if + past simple and would + infinitive: If it was Saturday morning in California, I would eat a typical American breakfast from my favorite diner.
• if + past simple and would + infinitive: If I could, I would have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch everyday.
• if + past simple and would + infinitive: If I had to choose, I would say I miss Thanksgiving dinner the most.



tex-mex

• I might be able to eat more authentic Mexican food if I lived in California.

• When I can, I may bring some hot sauce back to Spain with me.
• I will try to make my own bagels here, if I can.
• As soon as I go to visit, my family will have a BBQ.
• In case I can´t return this year, I will still enjoy the spanish cuisine!

With a partner, discuss the things you miss most while traveling abroad, using these structures:

• if + will/would
• when
• as soon as
• in case
• can/could
• may
• might

Why do you want to learn English?

Why do you want to learn English? We would love to know!

Watch this video from Oxford University Press and complete the personalized listening activity and quiz that I have created for you on Socrative. Socrative is an interactive learning tool we will be using often in our conversation classes at Ondas Formación.

Follow these steps to log on to Socrative.:

1. Go to m.socrative.com on your computer or smartphone 
2. Enter your teacher´s room: OndasConvo
3. Type in your name.
4. Answer the questions as best you can
5. Watch the video a second time if needed

If you haven´t got time to complete the whole quiz right now, 

let us know why you are interested in learning English in the comments section below.