What would you do…?

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What Would You Do?

Second Conditional + Advice

🟢 CLASS 1

Everyday Dilemmas

📦 Grammar Box

The Second Conditional

We use the second conditional for imaginary or hypothetical situations.

✅ Form

If + Past Simple, would + infinitive

Examples

If I found a wallet, I would give it back.
If I had more time, I would travel more.
If my friend lied to me, I would feel upset.
If I were you, I would apologise.

Short form

would = ’d

I would help. → I’d help.
She would say no. → She’d say no.
We would wait. → We’d wait.

Negative

would not = wouldn’t

I wouldn’t keep the money.
He wouldn’t lie to his friend.
We wouldn’t ignore the problem.

Questions

What would you do if you found €50?
Would you tell the truth?
Would you help a stranger?
Would you apologise?

Useful phrase

If I were you, I’d…

If I were you, I’d tell the truth.
If I were you, I’d talk to him.
If I were you, I wouldn’t wait.

💬 Useful Language

I’d probably…
I definitely wouldn’t…
It depends.
It depends on the situation.
If it was serious, I’d…
If I were in that situation, I’d…
I see your point, but…
I agree up to a point.
In my opinion…
Personally, I think…

⚖️ The Wallet, the Message and the Lie

Most people like to think they are honest, but real life is sometimes complicated. Imagine this: you are walking home after work and you find a wallet on the street. There is money inside, but there is also an ID card. What would you do? Would you take it to the police, contact the owner, or keep walking?

Now imagine another situation. You send a private message to the wrong person. The message is not terrible, but it is embarrassing. Would you apologise immediately, pretend nothing happened, or invent an excuse?

Finally, imagine that a friend asks your opinion about something important. You know the truth may hurt them. Would you be completely honest, or would you protect their feelings?

There is not always one perfect answer. In many dilemmas, we need to think about honesty, kindness, consequences and respect. The important question is not only “What would you do?” but also “Why would you do it?”

👀 Activity 1 — Read and answer

  1. What does the text say about real life?
  1. What is inside the wallet?
  1. What could you do with the wallet?
  1. What happens in the second situation?
  1. What could you do after sending the wrong message?
  1. Why can telling the truth be difficult?
  1. What four things do we need to think about?
  1. What is the most important question?

✅ Activity 2 — Choose the correct option

  1. If I ______ a wallet, I’d look for the owner.
    a) find
    b) found
    c) would find
  2. If my friend lied to me, I ______ angry.
    a) feel
    b) felt
    c) would feel
  3. What ______ you do if you sent a message to the wrong person?
    a) do
    b) would
    c) did
  4. If I were you, I ______ apologise.
    a) would
    b) did
    c) am
  5. I ______ keep money that wasn’t mine.
    a) wouldn’t
    b) didn’t
    c) don’t
  6. If someone took my idea, I ______ to them privately.
    a) talked
    b) would talk
    c) talk
  7. She ______ tell the truth if it helped her friend.
    a) would
    b) did
    c) was
  8. If we had more time, we ______ discuss it more carefully.
    a) will
    b) would
    c) did

🔀 Activity 3 — Put the words in order

  1. found / what / you / would / do / if / a wallet / you
  1. would / I / the owner / contact
  1. if / I / were / you / apologise / I’d
  1. wouldn’t / I / the money / keep
  1. say / would / something / you
  1. if / friend / lied / my / to me / I’d / upset / feel

🗣️ Activity 4 — What would you do?

Ask and answer.

  1. What would you do if you found a wallet?
  2. What would you do if you sent a message to the wrong person?
  3. What would you do if you received too much change in a shop?
  4. What would you do if you saw someone cheating in a game?
  5. What would you do if you forgot an important birthday?
  6. What would you do if you broke something in a friend’s house?
  7. What would you do if you heard a friend lying?
  8. What would you do if you got an invitation you didn’t want to accept?

Answer starters

I’d probably ____________________________________.
I definitely wouldn’t ____________________________.
It depends on __________________________________.
If it was serious, I’d ____________________________.
If I were in that situation, I’d ____________________.
I’d choose that because __________________________.

💭 Activity 5 — Personal questions

  1. Are you usually direct or diplomatic?
  1. What is more important: honesty or kindness?
  1. Is it ever okay to lie?
  1. Is it better to be honest or to avoid conflict?
  1. What would you do if a friend was always late?
  1. What would you do if someone took credit for your idea?
  1. What would you do if you received an expensive item by mistake?
  1. What would you do if a friend asked for your honest opinion?

⭐ Fast Finishers

Complete the sentences.

  1. If I found €100, I’d ____________________________________.
  2. If my friend was always late, I’d _________________________.
  3. If I sent a message to the wrong person, I’d _______________.
  4. If I were the teacher, I’d ________________________________.
  5. If I had more free time, I’d ______________________________.
  6. If I could change one thing in my city, I’d ________________.

🔵 CLASS 2

Difficult Decisions

📦 Grammar Review

Second Conditional

If + Past Simple, would + infinitive

If I had a problem, I would ask for advice.
If she told the truth, people would respect her.
If they apologised, I would forgive them.

Negative

I wouldn’t ignore the problem.
She wouldn’t say anything cruel.
They wouldn’t keep the money.

Questions

Would you apologise?
Would you tell the truth?
What would you do?
What would happen next?

💬 Advice Language

You should…
You shouldn’t…
You could…
You might want to…
The best thing would be to…
It would be better to…
I don’t think you should…
In my opinion, you should…

⚖️ Three Difficult Decisions

Three people are talking about difficult decisions.

Marta says, “If my friend asked me for my honest opinion, I’d try to be kind but clear. I wouldn’t say something cruel, but I wouldn’t lie either. Sometimes people need the truth, but they don’t need it in a brutal way.”

Ben has a different problem. “If a colleague took credit for my idea, I’d speak to them first. I wouldn’t start a big argument in front of everyone. But if they did it again, I’d talk to the manager.”

Lina is thinking about money. “If a cashier gave me too much change, I’d give it back. Maybe they would have problems later. I know some people would keep it, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”

All three people have different situations, but their answers have something in common: they want to solve the problem without creating unnecessary conflict.

👀 Activity 1 — Read and answer

  1. What would Marta do if her friend asked for her honest opinion?
  1. What wouldn’t Marta say?
  1. What problem does Ben have?
  1. What would Ben do first?
  1. What would Ben do if it happened again?
  1. What would Lina do with the extra change?
  1. Why wouldn’t Lina keep the money?
  1. What do the three answers have in common?

✅ Activity 2 — True or False

  1. Marta would be honest but kind.
    True / False
  2. Marta would say something cruel.
    True / False
  3. Ben would immediately argue in front of everyone.
    True / False
  4. Ben would speak to his colleague first.
    True / False
  5. Lina would keep the extra money.
    True / False
  6. Lina wouldn’t feel comfortable keeping the money.
    True / False

🎯 Activity 3 — Choose the correct answer

  1. Marta would try to be…

a) cruel but funny
b) kind but clear
c) silent and angry

  1. Ben’s problem is that…

a) a colleague took credit for his idea
b) a cashier gave him too much change
c) his friend lied to him

  1. If Ben’s colleague did it again, Ben would…

a) say nothing
b) talk to the manager
c) leave his job

  1. Lina would give the money back because…

a) she wouldn’t feel comfortable
b) she doesn’t like shopping
c) she knows the cashier

  1. The three people want to avoid…

a) unnecessary conflict
b) all conversations
c) their friends

🔁 Activity 4 — Make negative

  1. I would keep the money.
  1. She would lie to her friend.
  1. They would ignore the problem.
  1. He would send the message again.
  1. We would say nothing.

❓ Activity 5 — Make questions

  1. You would apologise.
  1. He would tell the truth.
  1. They would help the stranger.
  1. She would talk to her boss.
  1. You would accept the invitation.

🗣️ Activity 6 — Personal questions

  1. What would you do if you found a wallet?
  1. What would you do if a friend was always late?
  1. What would you do if you received too much change?
  1. What would you do if someone took credit for your idea?
  1. What would you do if you forgot an important birthday?
  1. What would you do if you broke something in someone’s house?
  1. Are you usually direct or diplomatic?
  1. What is more important: honesty or kindness?

🧠 Activity 7 — Dilemma Council

Choose one dilemma.

Dilemma A

Your friend is always 30 minutes late.
You like them, but you are tired of waiting.

Dilemma B

A colleague uses your idea in a meeting and doesn’t mention your name.

Dilemma C

You receive an expensive item by mistake in an online order.

Dilemma D

A friend asks, “Do you like my new haircut?”
You don’t like it.

Dilemma E

You are invited to a dinner, but you really don’t want to go.

Group answer

  1. The problem is ____________________________________.
  2. If we were in this situation, we’d ____________________.
  3. We wouldn’t ____________________________________ because ____________________________________.
  4. The person should ________________________________.
  5. The person shouldn’t ______________________________.
  6. Our final advice is: ________________________________.

🎟️ Exit Ticket

If I had to give advice today, I’d say:

🏠 Homework

Part 1 — Complete the second conditional

  1. If I found a wallet, I __________ give it back.
  2. If my friend lied to me, I __________ feel upset.
  3. If I __________ more free time, I’d travel more.
  4. If she __________ the truth, people would respect her.
  5. If we were you, we __________ wait.
  6. I __________ keep money that wasn’t mine.

Part 2 — Choose the correct option

  1. What would you do if you ______ a mistake?
    a) make
    b) made
    c) would make
  2. If he apologised, I ______ him.
    a) forgive
    b) forgave
    c) would forgive
  3. If I were you, I ______ honest.
    a) would be
    b) was
    c) am
  4. She wouldn’t be angry if you ______ politely.
    a) explain
    b) explained
    c) would explain

Part 3 — Personal answers

  1. What would you do if you received too much change in a shop?
  1. What would you do if your friend was always late?

⭐ Challenge

A Difficult Decision

Write a short paragraph.

Use:

✅ 3 second conditional sentences
✅ should / shouldn’t / could
✅ because / however / in my opinion

Starter

If I were in this situation, I would ________________________________.

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