Regrets

Click here to see the activities.
Click here to watch the video.
Click here to check your answers and see the video script.

Crowdwish

Just (1)wishful thinking? 
Ever wished you could have (2) a dream come true? Now maybe you can, with the start of a new website, CrowdWish. Users post their wishes to the site and every day people vote on the best wish, then CrowdWish grant the winning wish. 
Sounds (3) too good to be true? If the wish is something that can’t be completely granted, such as, ‘I wish people would smile more’ CrowdWish will do something practical to at least take (4) a step in the right direction. For example, to grant this wish, they put up funny signs in the London Underground. If the wish is for a product of some sort, CrowdWish will find a company happy to donate the item in return for the free publicity. See? It works (5) like magic! 
Bill Griffin, the founder of CrowdWish, started the website in January 2014, and it seems to be (6) going from strength to strength, with thousands of people signed up already. 

VOCABULARY Match the definitions below (a-f) with the idioms in the text (1-6). Check your answers in "comments".
A Becoming more and more successful 
B When you cannot believe something is as good as it seems. 
C Very effective and successful. 
D The belief that something you want to happen will happen, even though this is not actually likely. E A wish or hope becoming reality. 
F Beginning to make a positive change.

VIDEO Watch the video (up to 5.24) of Bill Griffin, the founder of Crowdwish, talking about his website and number the following sections as you hear them. Check your answers in "comments".

□ The belief that the more people work together, the more likely they are to get what they want. 
□ The idea that if you want something, so will someone else. 
□ An example of how CrowdWish responded to a serious wish. 
□ The importance of doing something real and practical about the wishes. 
□ The idea that everyone, rich or poor, has dreams, wishes, hopes and desires. 
□ An example of how CrowdWish responded to a funny or ‘tongue in cheek’ wish. 



GRAMMAR Read the grammar explanation. 
What we wish is always contrary to existing facts. To show that it is unreal, the tense moves back one step. 

• I don’t know my neighbours very well – I wish I knew my neighbours better. 
• I can’t take my family on a road trip across America- I wish I could take my family on a road trip across America. 
• I’m so tired– I wish I were less tired (Note that we often use ‘were’ not ‘was’ in hypothetical constructions) 

We also do this for past wishes, or regrets:

• I didn’t work hard at school – I wish I had worked harder at school. 

When we want someone else to change their behaviour, we use ‘would’. 

• I wish the Nigerian government would do more about the missing schoolgirls. 
• I wish people would smile more. 

Rewrite the sentences using wish. Check your answers in "comments".

1 I want you to stop being late. I wish…………. 
2 I don’t have any money. I wish…………… 
3 I’ve lost my wallet. I wish………. 
4 He isn’t in my class. I wish………… 
5 Please sit down. I wish… 
6 I broke my leg skiing. I wish…. 

Click here to see the script of the video.

Third conditional

Click here and learn when to use the third conditional.



Watch and listen to Anne tell a story about mistakes that could have cost someone's life! Then complete the questions which focus on the third conditional.


Watch the video of Steve Jobs' 2005 Standford Commencement Address. Click here to do three listening comprehension activities and one exercise about the third conditional (the key is included in the same document).




Click here to see the video with the text.

Regrets

Click here to listen to six people talking about regrets.

More regrets. Listen to Anne telling a story about mistakes that could have cost someone's life (third conditional).

Mixed conditionals

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Click here to see some examples and do an exercise.

I wish

• If there is one thing you could change in your body, what would it be? 
•  If you could change something about your personality, what would you change? 
• If you could change something about your life, what would it be? 
• If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be? 

• Two things you wish you had done when you were younger. 
• Two things you wish you hadn’t done when you were younger.

Annoying habits

I.  Annoying office habits. Click here. Have a look at the vocabulary. Listen and take notes. Then listen and read the script.

II. Watch the video and takes notes. Click here to read the script.

Conditional sentences

I. Watch this video and complete the sentences (you will need one or two words in each gap). Check your answers in "comments".

If you could change anything in the world, what would you change?

·         I don’t know ______________________. I like everything about the world right now but...

·         I would change that  there would be no ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________ and I wish there would be no ______________________!

·         Stop focusing on the look of ______________________,

·         ______________________we travel

·         The level of technology. I ______________________ robots to be taking over the world - that kind of situation.

·         I would have ______________________, because we don't have that yet

·         For our skin colour, preference, and everything

·         I would want everybody to treat each other equal.

·         Inequality in terms of people who are ______________________, and have no place to ______________________and other people who have so much ______________________, they don't know what to do with it.

·         And everyone just be able to like, ______________________whenever they want. They won't have to ______________________or they won't have to work for it. It would just like grow out of the ground.

·         Probably change currency because all everybody wants now is ______________________.

·         Change rich people to ______________________

·         Just ______________________. California weather I adore

·         Can it be big? Can I say like income ______________________?

·         Prison system in ______________________?

·         Eliminate the invention of the gun.

·         People’s ego investment in being right

·         Stigmatism of mental ______________________.

·         I don't know what I ______________________

·         so... nothing can be stolen

·         Over using social media as a way to ______________________

·         As ______________________ as we are, we don't listen to each other

·         This incredible inability to ______________________, and listen to someone who doesn't ______________________ with you

·         I would try to get rid of a lot of bad ______________________. I think people believe in too many things and they don't believe in ______________________.

·         Like I wish people noticed other people more

·         More ______________________, people need more patience

·         Change the amount of ______________________ that's in the world

·         People are so ______________________ sometimes; the loud ones

·         I would rather have them be ______________________ like it was, back in the day. It was better back then.

·         It sounds so generic, but ______________________. I just want the wars to stop

·         Be like ______________________

·         I want to change, like to ______________________ and joy

·         ______________________? I don't know?

·         Well, I actually think I know of one thing, if...there was a way, like, to get ______________________ back. I would make that, I don't know how that be and I would change the ______________________. Hey, they can change the world! A lot!

II. Click here to do an activity with a song. 

III. Go to lyricstraining.com and practise your conditional sentences with songs like "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton or "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol.