We use these expressions to ask about an imaginary situation in the present or future, and its possible consequences:
(Just) suppose/ supposing/ imagine you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?
What if you had hurt yourself – what would have happened then?
WISHES
| FORM | EXAMPLE | MEANING |
| I wish / If only + past simple | I wish/If only I found a job. | To make a wish for the present or future. If only gives more emphasis to what we are saying. |
| I wish / If only + would + infinitive | I wish/If only the weather would improve. | To express a wish for something to change in the future. It cannot be used to refer to oneself. |
| I wish / If only + past perfect | I wish/ If only I had taken a computer course. | To express regrets about things that happened or didn’t happen in the past. It is impossible to change them now. |
Exercises:
Write sentences beginning I wish or If only.
1. I live very far from the city centre.
2. It’s very hot and I can’t stand hot weather.
3. I didn’t work hard when I was a student.
4. I didn’t bring an umbrella and it’s raining.
5. The weather is terrible and I can’t go to the beach.
6. He didn’t telephone me before he came.
What do these people wish? Write sentences with the words given.
1. I can’t find a good and cheap computer. (wish)
2. I don’t know many people at work. (if only)
3. My car is always breaking down. (wish)
4. I can’t afford to buy my girlfriend a nice birthday present. (wish)
5. I can’t go to the disco with my friends. (if only)
6. My job is so repetitive. ((wish)
Write sentences with would. Use the words given in brackets and supply any missing word.
1. My sister is so noisy. (she / not / make noise)
2. It is raining and I want to go out. (stop raining)
3. I don’t have a car and I need one. (somebody / buy me / car)
4. I’m looking for a job but I can’t find a vacancy. (somebody / give me / job)
5. Brad always leaves the door open. (not leave / door open)
6. A lot of people drop litter in the street. (not drop/ litter)
React to these situations.
1. You didn´t tell me about the concert. I didn’t go.
I wish …
2. You want to take some photographs but you forgot to bring your camera.
I wish ….
3. Your mother didn’t wake you up and you missed the bus.
I wish…
4. You haven’t tidied your room for days and you can’t find your things.
I wish…
5. Your father didn’t drive you to school and you got soaked.
I wish…
You’ve painted your room blue but now you don’t like it.
I wish…
Listening
1. Your going to listen to a radio interview with Mr. Reynold and discuss possible answers to the following questions.
a) What sort of company does Mr. Reynold work for?
b) When did he start working for the company?
c) How old is he?
2. Listen again and decide if these statements are true or false. Correct the false statements.
a) Mr. Reynold never forces anybody to retire.
b) The oldest employee at Reynold’s is 97.
c) Reynold’s pays a decent salary.
d) Employees get five week’s paid holiday.
e) All the staff are over the requirement age.
f) Mr. Reynold’s secretary Edith handed in her notice because she wanted to get married.
g) Mr. Reynold has never had any reason to fire anyone.
h) Mr. Reynold’s brother is going to run the business from next year.
Lexis Use appropriate words and expressions underlined in 2 above to complete these statements.
a) Everybody should get six ___ a year.
b) Nurses and teachers don’t get ____. The government should pay them more.
c) The official ___ should be the same for men and women.
d) If you don’t want ___ you should be able to continue working.
e) Managing directors who ____ large corporations earn far too much money.
READING
1. Work in small groups. Chech the meaning of these jobs in a dictionary. You are going to read an article entitled Nightmare jobs. Discuss the sort of bad experiences you could have in these job.
actor au pair factory worker hairdresser telesales person vet
2. Read the article and compare your ideas in 1 with the stories each story tells. Were any of your ideas similar?
Nightmare jobs
Sally: a vet What’s the worst thing that has ever happened in your job? Probably the dog that bit me. It wasn’t a big one – I don’t mind the big ones. The small ones are the worst. It gave me a very nasty bite.
Have you ever done any other jobs? Yes, I did various jobs when I was a student. One summer I did fruit-picking in France, Spain and Greece.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? I worked as an au pair for a rich family in New York. I never had a day off and I had to do everything –cooking, cleaning and shopping – and look after their horrible children. I left after two weeks and got a job as waitress in an Italian restaurant.
William: a hairdresser What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened in your job? The first time I cut somebody’s hair, I cut one side too short, so I had to cut the other side to match. When the woman saw how short her hair was, she started crying. I felt terrible.
Have you ever done any other job? Yes, I’ve done lots of stupid ones! For instance I’ve sold ice-cream on the beach and handed out publicity flyers in the street.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? Telesales! You have to telephone people and try to sell them doors and windows. Work conditions are terrible – you can’t have a break and if you want to go to the toilet, you have to ask for permission, and then they time you! Nightmare.
Rob: an actor What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened in your job? So many bad things have happened – but I think my worst moment was when I read my first bad review in the newspaper. They wrote terrible things about me, and I was so upset. Now I don’t read my reviews any more.
Have you ever done any other jobs? Oh, yes. I’ve done hundreds of jobs over the years. Before I got my first big part, I was working as a waiter.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? The worst job I’ve ever done was at an egg-packing factory. I stood for hours and hours at the end of a conveyor belt, putting eggs into boxes. It was noisy, boring, and worst of all, the smell was disgusting – I’ve never eaten an egg since.