Conditionals with F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Ligia Farnezi Relva Caroline Cristiane SallesThiago Toffani

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Gramática Pedagógica

Professor: Deise Prina Dutra

Class Regular school class; Teenagers (2nd year of High School) Intermediate level; From thirty-five to forty students.

Conditionals

We decided to focus on imaginative conditionals. They can be divided in two different subtypes: the hypothetical and the counterfactual conditionals.

We want to show the students that the use of this structure can be related to the speaker feeling of an impossible event or state (counterfactual conditionals) or the feeling of a unlikely yet possible event or state (hypothetical conditional).

Examples We got our authentic example from the

sitcom “Friends”. We got a scene from the 1st season.

Input The following question would be written

on the board:

1. What would you do if you were omnipotent?

Explain the word omnipotent and ask students to think about their answers, but not to share them.

Input After that, we would

show them the following scene :

Input After this scene, the students would get a

sheet with the scene script and spaces for them to fill in with the conditional sentences said. For that, the video would be shown two more times. Thus, they would also practice their listening skills.

Correct the paper sheet

The one with George Stephanopoulos

MONICA: Alright. Phoebe?PHOEBE: Okay, okay. ___________________ omnipotent for a day, ____________ want, um, world peace, no more hunger, good things for the rain-forest...And bigger boobs!ROSS: Yeah, see.. you took mine. Chandler, what about you?CHANDLER: Uh, ___________________omnipotent for a day, ___________________ myself omnipotent forever.RACHEL: See, there's always one guy. (MOCKING) "______________________________________, ___________________ for three more wishes."(ENTER JOEY)ALL: Hey Joey. Hi. Hey, buddy.MONICA: Hey, Joey, what ______________________________________ omnipotent?JOEY: Probably kill myself!MONICA: ..Excuse me?JOEY: Hey, if Little Joey's dead, then I got no reason to live!ROSS: Joey, uh- OMnipotent.JOEY: You are? Ross, I'm sorry..

Language Analysis

Explore with the students the context of the use of the sentences, using the following questions:

Was it a formal or informal situation? Were they talking about something possible or

impossible to happen? What was the structure used? Was it the same for all

sentences? What was the verb tense used? Why do you think they said “I were”? Is it correct? Isn’t it

“I was”. Are they talking about the past, present or future?

Language Analysis If students don’t come up with correct

answers, the teacher should explain the answers and then, write on the board the form used in the scene:

IF + Subject + simple past / Subject + subjunctive form (would, could)

Output Ask 10 to 12 students to say what they

would do if they were omnipotent. Write some of the answers on the board.

Language Analysis

The situation they were talking about is impossible. Write on the board 3 more sentences in the second conditional:

If I won the lottery, I would buy a house. If I were taller I would be a basketball player. If I had time, I would visit you.Ask students to classify those sentences in two columns:

Impossible / Hard but not completely impossible Explain that we use the same structure for both

meanings.

Output Divide the class in pairs or trios. Show them

some pictures and ask them to imagine: they have something they don’t really have; they are someone they are not; or they can do something they really can’t do. They should exchange their answers with

another pair, who would check the sentences and then give them to the teacher.

Language analysis The language analysis was done before the

production activity so that students could feel more confident to do the it and become aware of the structure they were studying. First, they had a fun contact with the language (which will probably increase motivation. First because it is a famous sitcom that many of the students may have watched and second because it is a fun topic to be discussed among friends). Then, the teacher should be responsible for focusing more on the form, stating it clearly so that no doubt remains.

Conclusion This way, the teacher has the opportunity to

check the students' comprehension of the subject. In case they make mistakes, the teacher will be able to notice and work on them later with an accuracy-based activity.