Session 24
April 30, 2026 · Intermediate
- Conditional sentences (real, hypothetical & past regret)
- Business & government vocab
- Useful expressions
1 Corrections
How you said it, the natural version, and why. These are your own sentences.
How you said it
If you work hard, you will ~~make~~ good results.
The natural version
If you work hard, you will get good results.
"Get results" is the correct collocation — we say get, achieve, or produce results, not make.
How you said it
They are responsible of our problems.
The natural version
They are responsible for our problems.
"Responsible" always takes the preposition "for," not "of."
How you said it
After the regime falled.
The natural version
After the regime fell.
"Fall" is an irregular verb: fall → fell → fallen. Never add -ed to irregular verbs.
How you said it
All people don't feel that they live in a country.
The natural version
Nobody feels like they live in a real country.
Use "nobody" or "no one" for negative universal statements — "all people don't" is not natural in English.
How you said it
They don't feel as a stable country.
The natural version
They don't feel like a stable country.
Use "like" (not "as") when comparing to a noun or situation.
1b Already right
These needed no correction at all.
If I had 8 days in a week, I would work more.
Correct — great use of the Type 2 conditional for a hypothetical situation!
If I had woken up earlier, I wouldn't have missed the appointment.
Correct — perfect Type 3 conditional expressing past regret. Well done!
2 Grammar tips
Type 2 Conditional — Hypothetical Present
If + simple past → would + base verb. Use to imagine something untrue or unlikely right now.
If I had a million dollars, I would build a hospital.
"Like" vs "As" for comparisons
Use "like" before a noun or pronoun when making a comparison.
It doesn't feel like a stable country.
Irregular past tenses
Many common verbs don't add -ed. You must memorize the past form: fall → fell, go → went, see → saw, wake → woke, have → had.
The regime fell after years of instability.
"Responsible for" — fixed preposition
The adjective "responsible" always collocates with "for." This is a fixed phrase.
The manager is responsible for the whole team.
Type 3 Conditional — Past Regret
If + had + past participle → would have + past participle. Use to imagine a different past and express regret.
If I had woken up earlier, I wouldn't have missed the appointment.
Type 1 Conditional — Real / Likely
If + simple present → will + base verb. Use when the result is genuinely possible.
If you study every day, you will improve quickly.
Negative universals: nobody / no one
Instead of "all people don't," use "nobody" or "no one" — it is more natural and grammatically correct.
Nobody feels safe walking there at night.
Collocations with "get"
Many results are "gotten" not "made" in English: get results, get a degree, get better, get paid.
If you train hard, you will get a great physique.
3 New words and phrases
5 Practice sentences
01If I work hard this month, I will finish my research paper on time.
02If I had more free time, I would travel to every country in the world.
03If I had chosen a different specialty, I wouldn't have become a doctor.
04The capital I needed to open my clinic was much larger than I expected.
05My colleague is very generous — he always helps without being asked.
06I had a gut feeling that the contract was not good, and I was right.
07The government entity refused to renew his residency without explanation.
08It's on the tip of my tongue — the name of that professor from the conference!
09The regime fell, and many foreigners started leaving the country.
10My intuition is usually right, so I trust it.
11He thinks in a very shallow way — never going deep into the real problem.
12If I had signed the contract earlier, I would have saved a lot of money.
6 Model sentences
Read these out loud three times.
If you invest your capital wisely when you are young, you will build something very profitable.
If I had had more time, I would have read every page of the contract before signing.
The regime fell, and foreigners were no longer comfortable living in the country.
My intuition told me it wasn't a stable place, and unfortunately I was right.
She is incredibly generous — it's no surprise her team is so loyal to her.
I have a gut feeling this project will be successful — my intuition is rarely wrong.
If I had gone to that meeting, I would have understood the BOT structure much better.
Nobody who lived through that period feels like it was a stable or safe time.
7 Mini-dialogue
- A
Have you ever thought about starting your own business?
- B
Yes! If I had enough capital, I would open a private medical clinic.
- A
That sounds very ambitious. Do you think it would be profitable?
- B
I have a gut feeling it would be. My intuition is usually right about these things.
- A
Would you work with the government, or stay completely private?
- B
Maybe a BOT contract — you build it, operate it, then transfer it. It's common here.
- A
You seem very curious about business. Was that always true for you?
- B
Always. If I hadn't studied medicine, I think I would have studied economics!
Read A, say B's line yourself, then check.
8 Homework
- Write 3 sentences for each conditional type — 9 sentences total: 3 Type 1 (real), 3 Type 2 (hypothetical), and 3 Type 3 (past regret). Use topics from your own life.
- Choose 6 words from the vocabulary list and write a sentence for each one about your real life or work.
- Practice saying these words out loud 3 times each, paying attention to stress: 'sergeant,' 'regime,' 'intuition,' 'physique,' 'profitable.'
- Record yourself reading the Mini-Dialogue (play both Speaker A and Speaker B), then listen back and note one thing you want to improve.
- Think of one real decision you regret and write a Type 3 conditional sentence about it. Be honest — this is just for you!
- Use 'generous,' 'shallow,' or 'curious' to describe someone you know — write 2–3 sentences about them.
9 Self-check
The Type 3 conditional (past regret) was the most challenging part of today's session. I had to use two past forms at the same time — 'had + past participle' in the if-clause and 'would have + past participle' in the result. I need to keep practicing this pattern until it feels automatic.
The word 'intuition' will be very useful for me. I often sense things before I can explain them logically, but I didn't know the right English word. Now I can use 'gut feeling' and 'intuition' naturally in conversation.
I'm wondering: can I mix conditional types in one sentence? For example, 'If I had studied harder back then, I will be more confident now' — is that correct? I should ask in the next session.