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Order your books on Amazon!This activity helps students understand and practice conditional sentences, which describe possible or imaginary situations and their results.
Students will explore the structure and meaning of zero, first, second, and third conditionals through examples, guided practice, and interactive tasks, building accuracy and fluency in both writing and speaking.
Student Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Conditional Sentences ESL Activity Preparation
Prepare a chart outlining the four main types of conditional sentences, including their structure and example sentences (e.g., If it rains, the ground gets wet for zero conditional).
Create a worksheet with incomplete conditional sentences for students to complete using the appropriate tense. Also, prepare a matching activity where students pair conditional clauses with their logical results.
Print a list of real and imaginary prompts (e.g., If I won the lottery… or If you heat ice…) for group discussion or writing practice. Use color-coded cards to differentiate between “if” clauses and result clauses to support visual learners.
Conditional Sentences ESL Activity Guidelines
Begin the lesson by reviewing the purpose of conditional sentences: to express real or imagined situations and their consequences. Present each type one by one:
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Zero Conditional: If + present simple, present simple (general truths).
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First Conditional: If + present simple, will + base verb (real future possibilities).
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Second Conditional: If + past simple, would + base verb (imaginary situations).
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Third Conditional: If + past perfect, would have + past participle (past unreal situations).
Provide examples and explain when each is used. Then, give students a worksheet with mixed sentences to complete or correct. For instance:
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If I study hard, I ___ (pass) the test. → will pass (First Conditional)
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If he had arrived earlier, he ___ (catch) the train. → would have caught (Third Conditional)
After checking answers, conduct a matching activity. Distribute “if” clause cards and result clause cards. Students must walk around the room and find their matching sentence halves (e.g., If it’s sunny tomorrow / we’ll go to the beach).
Next, move on to a creative speaking or writing task. Assign each student a prompt like If I were invisible for a day… or If I hadn’t missed the bus… and ask them to finish the sentence and explain.
Encourage students to use different types of conditionals in a conversation or a short story.
Follow-Up ESL Activities
As homework or a follow-up task, students can write a short paragraph or dialogue using at least three different types of conditionals.
Alternatively, play a conditional chain game (or other ESL Word Chain Games) in class where students continue each other’s sentences (e.g., If I had a dog, I would take it to the park… If I went to the park, I might see my friend…).