Unit 6 · Environment & Society · Lesson 27
What If We…
Learn how to talk about imaginary situations and past decisions that still affect us today. You'll use mixed conditionals to reason clearly about 'what if' — and sound genuinely fluent.
Warm-up · §1
5 minGet talking
If you could change ONE global rule tomorrow, what would it be?
Name one decision (small or big) that still affects your life now.
If humans hadn't invented cars, how would the world be different today?
Grammar focus · §2
8–10 minSecond, third & mixed conditionals
Quick rule
2nd = imagine now/future. 3rd = imagine past. Mixed = past condition → present result.
Pattern builder
Second conditional
If + past simple, would + verb
e.g. If we banned it, life would change.
Third conditional
If + past perfect, would have + past participle
e.g. If we'd acted, we wouldn't be here.
Mixed — past → present
If + past perfect, would + verb (now)
e.g. If we had acted, the planet would be healthier now.
Mixed — present → past
If + past simple, would have + past participle
e.g. If she cared, she would have voted.
Compare
| Form | Time | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Second | Imagine now/future | If we banned cars, cities would be quieter. |
| Third | Imagine past | If we had acted then, we wouldn't be here now. |
| Mixed | Past condition, present effect | If they'd built it, we'd have power now. |
Examples
- →
If we banned single-use plastic tomorrow, life would change overnight.
- →
If governments hadn't ignored the science, we wouldn't be here now.
- →
If they had built the wind farms ten years ago, we'd have cheaper energy today.
- →
If I lived closer to work, I wouldn't need a car.
- →
If she had studied engineering, she'd be designing renewables now.
Common mistakes
If we would ban plastic, life would change.
✓ If we banned plastic, life would change.
No 'would' in the if-clause.
If we hadn't acted, we would be here now.
✓ If we HAD acted, we wouldn't be here now.
Match the logic of the sentence — check what you actually want to say.
If I would live closer, I wouldn't drive.
✓ If I lived closer, I wouldn't drive.
Second conditional uses past simple after 'if'.
Memory tip
Ask two questions: 'When is the CONDITION?' and 'When is the RESULT?' If they're in different times, you need a MIXED conditional.
Natural English
Native speakers contract heavily: 'I'd', 'we'd', 'they'd'. Practise 'If we'd acted then, we'd have cleaner air now.' — two contractions in one sentence.
Deep dive (full explanation)
Second conditional imagines an unreal present or future ('If we banned cars, cities would be quieter'). Third looks back at an unreal past ('If we had acted in the 1990s, we wouldn't be in this mess'). Mixed conditional links a past action to a present result ('If we had acted then, the planet would be healthier now'). Choose based on WHEN the condition and the result are.
Question 1.'If we ___ single-use plastic, life would change.'
Question 2.'If governments ___ ignored the science, we wouldn't be here.'
Question 3.'If they had built wind farms then, we ___ cheaper energy now.'
Question 4.Which is a MIXED conditional?
Question 5.'If I lived closer, I ___ a car.'
Build the sentence → spot the natural chunks → say it aloud → reply like a real conversation.
1.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
2.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
Quick check 1.'If we ___ single-use plastic, life would change.'
Quick check 2.'If governments ___ ignored the science, we wouldn't be here.'
Vocabulary · §3
5–7 minWords & phrases to own
to hypothesise
to suggest an idea as a possible explanation.
a scenario
a possible situation or set of events.
a trade-off
accepting one bad thing to get one good thing.
in hindsight
looking back, knowing what we know now.
a knock-on effect
an indirect result of an action.
a game changer
something that transforms a situation completely.
wishful thinking
believing something because you want it, not because it's likely.
a missed opportunity
a chance you didn't take.
to bring about
to cause something to happen.
to backfire
to have the opposite effect from what was intended.
Activate it now
Use the new phrases immediately.
- Make it yours#1
Name one 'missed opportunity' from your life — in hindsight, what would you do differently?
missed opportunityin hindsight - Your view#2
Is 'we can fix the climate in ten years' realistic or wishful thinking?
wishful thinkinga game changer - Discuss#3
Describe a policy where the knock-on effects were worse than the original problem.
knock-on effectto backfire - Complete#4
Finish: 'The biggest trade-off in going green is ___.'
a trade-off - Rank#5
Rank possible 'game changers': cheap solar, plant-based meat, carbon tax, electric flight.
a game changerto bring about
Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.
Pronunciation · §4
3–4 minContractions in conditionals
Fluent speakers contract heavily. 'If we had' → 'If we'd'. 'Would have' → 'would've' (sounds like 'wuh-duv'). Don't overpronounce — it makes you sound less natural, not more educated.
- If we'd acted sooner, we'd have cleaner air.
- I would've voted if I'd known.
- They'd be here by now if they'd left earlier.
- If I'd studied that, I'd be working there today.
Reading · §5
8–10 minThe Decade We Wasted
Listen to the passage
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
In hindsight, the 2010s look like a missed opportunity. Scientists were clear. The technology existed. Public opinion was shifting. If governments had acted decisively, we would be living in a very different world today. Imagine it. If countries had invested in renewables at the same rate they invested in fossil fuel subsidies, we would already have cheap, clean electricity in most of the world. If we had phased out combustion engines by 2020, urban air would be cleaner and childhood asthma rates would be lower. If aviation had been taxed properly, high-speed rail networks would have been built across every continent. But this is wishful thinking. What actually happened was a decade of half-measures. Ambitious targets announced with cameras present, then quietly missed. Policies designed to change everything, then watered down until they changed almost nothing. And yet — here's the harder truth — the 2020s are the new 2010s. If we spend this decade the way we spent the last one, the 2030s will look back and ask the same question: what were they waiting for?
Question 1.How does the writer describe the 2010s?
Question 2.What happened to ambitious targets?
Question 3.What would we have now if countries had invested differently?
Question 4.What warning does the writer end with?
Q1.The writer says technology in the 2010s wasn't ready.
Q2.The writer thinks the 2020s risk repeating the 2010s.
Q3.According to the text, aviation was taxed properly in the 2010s.
Listening · §6
8–10 minA student and a lecturer discussing 'what if' history (about 1:30)
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Show transcript
Lecturer:Let's play the counterfactual game. If the 1997 Kyoto Protocol had been binding, where would we be?
Student:Emissions would be much lower by now, I think.
Lecturer:Probably. And if the US had ratified it, others would have followed.
Student:So it's not just a technology problem — it's political.
Lecturer:It's both. But if governments took it seriously, the technology would already be ready.
Student:In hindsight, the 2010s look wasted.
Lecturer:They do. And every decade we waste has knock-on effects for the next one.
Student:So is there any 'game changer' left, or is this just wishful thinking?
Lecturer:Cheap storage. If solar and battery costs keep falling, that changes the whole equation.
Student:So we're not out of options — just running out of time.
Lecturer:Exactly.
Question 1.What conditional starts the discussion?
Question 2.According to the lecturer, if governments took it seriously, ___
Question 3.What does the lecturer name as a possible game changer?
Question 4.The student's conclusion?
Exam skills · §7
5 minStrategy focus — Hypothesising in Speaking Part 3
Task
Part 3 sometimes asks: 'What would happen if…?' Weak answers stay in the present tense. Strong answers commit to the hypothesis with correct conditionals.
Strategy
Signal your hypothesis clearly: 'Hypothetically…', 'Imagine if…', 'Say for the sake of argument…'. Then use second or mixed conditional consistently for the rest of the turn.
Example
Hypothetically, if we banned domestic flights tomorrow, the immediate effect would be chaotic. But long-term, high-speed rail would fill the gap. In hindsight, if we'd invested in it fifteen years ago, we wouldn't even be having this conversation now.
Practice · §8
8–10 minFill in the blank
Question 1.If we ___ plastic tomorrow, life would change overnight.
Question 2.If governments ___ acted in the 90s, we wouldn't be here now.
Question 3.If I lived closer, I ___ a car.
Question 4.In ___, the whole decade looks wasted.
Question 5.The policy backfired — a real ___ effect.
Question 6.Cheap batteries could be a real game ___.
Q1.Fill: 'If we ___ (act) sooner, we wouldn't be here now.'
Q2.Fill: 'If she had studied engineering, she ___ (design) renewables now.' (contract if you can)
Q3.One-word: 'looking back' = in h___.
Writing · §9
5 minPut it in writing
Your task
Write a 130–170 word 'What If' essay: choose ONE decision (personal, national or global) that could have gone differently. Use at least TWO third or mixed conditionals and FIVE items of Unit 6 vocabulary.
Your answer
Show model answer
What If We Had Built the Rail In hindsight, one of the most obvious missed opportunities in my country was the decision, twenty years ago, to expand motorways instead of rail. If governments had invested that money in high-speed rail, our cities would be very different today. We wouldn't be sitting in traffic for two hours a day. Domestic flights, which now dominate short-haul travel, would be almost pointless. Air quality in urban centres would be measurably better, and childhood asthma rates would probably be lower. There would have been trade-offs, of course. Rail is expensive to build, and some communities would have lost land. But the knock-on effects — cleaner air, less congestion, lower emissions — would have paid back several times over. It's tempting to call this wishful thinking. But the technology existed, the money existed and the demand existed. What was missing was political will — and it still is.
Speaking · §10
10–15 minMake it a real conversation
ROLEPLAY — The 'What If' Chat. Your teacher or partner asks: 'If you could change ONE decision from the last twenty years — personal, national or global — what would it be and why?' Answer in 60–90 seconds using at least THREE conditionals (mix second, third, mixed) and FOUR Unit 6 vocabulary items.
Useful phrases
- • In hindsight, ___
- • If we had ___, we'd probably ___ now.
- • The knock-on effect would have been ___
- • It's not wishful thinking because ___
- • The trade-off would have been ___
- • Realistically, if I ___, I wouldn't ___
- FriendIf you could change one decision from the last twenty years, what would it be?
- You_______________
- FriendWouldn't that have been very expensive?
- You_______________
- FriendIsn't that just wishful thinking now?
- You_______________
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Optional teacher-led activities for group settings. ~18 min total
Homework · §11
Take-homeTake it home
Write the 150-word 'What If' essay about a decision that could have gone differently.
Record a 90-second voice note: 'If I could change one thing about my last five years, I would…' Use three conditionals.
Write true sentences using: in hindsight, knock-on effect, game changer, wishful thinking, backfire, trade-off.
Rewrite five of your own sentences using MIXED conditionals (past condition → present result).
Recap · §12
2–3 minWhat you've learned
- You can use second, third and mixed conditionals to hypothesise about change.
- You can talk about missed opportunities and knock-on effects with B2 vocabulary.
- You can commit to a hypothesis and sustain it across a full turn.
- You're ready for Lesson 28 — 'City Living' with the passive voice.