Episode 0141

Hello English learners, welcome back to English Pod. My name is Marco.

That's right, we're bringing you part two of the what if series, which is a small series.

Small, and it is kind of grammar focused, but it's very, very important because you often want to talk about things that don't happen. We're calling these hypothetical or conditional statements.

Right, so there are many different types of hypotheticals or conditional statements. So today we're going to be looking at the third conditional, which is probably the hardest one because it uses a little bit of a complex grammar structure.

It's complex and we're actually talking about things that did not happen and that will not happen, right? So

It's impossible to change.

It's impossible to change these because they're things that would have happened in the past but didn't.

Wow, that sounds confusing. why don't we listen to the dialogue for the first time and then we'll be back to look at some phrases first.

Yeah, of course. Although, don't you ever wonder what could have been?

What do you mean?

Well, sometimes I think of how things could have turned out if I had done things a little differently. For example,

Like, for example, if I hadn't studied architecture, I would have become an artist like I wanted to.

I see.

Yeah, now that I think of it, I wouldn't have gotten married if I hadn't moved to this town and met Sally.

You see, everything happens for a reason. We wouldn't even have met if I hadn't been in that car accident 10 years ago.

All right, so uh two guys, you know, talking about life.

These I I imagine these guys as being, you know, middle to middle-aged or a little bit older sitting on a porch, drinking a beer, talking about what could have been.

Yeah, exactly. They're kind of thinking about the past and and the

The decisions they have made.

Yeah, exactly. All right, so uh before we start in the grammar, uh why don't we take a look at a couple of different phrases on fluency builder.

Well, Marco, this first phrase is a phrase you'll hear very often in English. Uh it's a phrase that even has philosophical roots, something we've talked a lot about when we were studying Socrates back in the in school, but uh this is the good life.

The good life.

We have the good life, or I have a good life.

I have a good life is a very common phrase, but here the good life is an idiom. So I'm living the good life. Means, you know, I have no complaints about my life.

Right, so pretty much you have all your necessities covered.

Very good. So you have the good life. Now, moving on to another phrase that's kind of also philosophical, you know, it says everything happens for a reason.

All right, so this phrase is, well, it's also pretty common. People say this when bad things happen, but they also say this when good things happen.

Yeah. So basically you're just saying that it's destiny, if this bad thing happened to you, there is a reason for it. Maybe you don't see it now, maybe not tomorrow, but maybe later you'll see why.

This often happens when people lose their jobs. Uh you say, well, you know, everything happens for a reason. Maybe losing this job will allow you to find a better job.

Mm-hmm. Or maybe go back to school and study.

Right, so everything happens for a reason, very good. And then the guy agrees and says, well, I'll drink to that.

Cheers, right?

Right? So this means we're going to touch our glasses or touch our beer bottles and we're going to, you know, think about how this is a, it's a nice thought, you know? Everything happens for a reason is positive. It's a way to say, listen, good things can happen from this.

All right. Well, pretty interesting phrases, um, you know, they're very common, I guess, like colloquial, right? So uh you can use them in everyday conversation with a friend.

All right. So all right, so let's listen to our dialogue again and then we'll come back and explain the grammar.

Yeah, of course. Although, don't you ever wonder what could have been?

What do you mean?

Well, sometimes I think of how things could have turned out if I had done things a little differently. For example,

Like, for example, if I hadn't studied architecture, I would have become an artist like I wanted to.

I see.

Yeah, now that I think of it, I wouldn't have gotten married if I hadn't moved to this town and met Sally.

You see, everything happens for a reason. We wouldn't even have met if I hadn't been in that car accident 10 years ago.

All right, so now it's time for grammar breakdown.

So in grammar breakdown, we're going to look at the two main parts of these phrases that allow us to talk about things that didn't happen. So we're talking about looking back at our life and seeing what decisions and what actions we made. And in this case, uh we have a great sentence here. If I hadn't studied architecture, I would have become an artist.

All right. So, let's look at the first part before the comma. If I hadn't studied architecture. So now we have the conditional if.

So, Marco, big question, did he study architecture?

He did.

He did. So if I hadn't studied architecture, it means I did study architecture, but if I had not studied it. Okay, so this is if I could change the past, then what would I have done?

I would have become an artist.

Okay, so he wanted to be an artist, but he didn't become an artist. He studied architecture instead.

Right. Okay. Very good. You can see the two parts here. We have one the condition, if I hadn't done this thing. And then afterwards we have the result, then I would have become an artist. So this is the hypothetical.

Very good.

Very good. And when we see the condition, you see the gram the you see the the structure of the sentence is had plus verb in past participle. So if I hadn't studied architecture. And this is called the past perfect, right? And then the the result, as you said, would have become this is the present perfect, have or has plus verb in past participle.

Let's look at another example. I wouldn't have gotten married if I hadn't moved to this town.

Okay, so we've got the same idea here, but we've got it flipped. We've got these two parts in different places and so uh he's pretty much saying, if I hadn't moved to this town, then I wouldn't have gotten married.

But what did happen?

He did move to this town and he did get married.

Exactly. So then yeah, like you say, he changed the condition and you can do this. You can put the condition in the beginning or at the end. And again, the the structure is the same. I would have gotten married, right? Have gotten, this is present perfect, have or has, depending on the subject, plus the verb in past participle, and then the past perfect or the condition, had plus verb in past participle, hadn't moved to this town.

That's a lot of grammar.

It's a lot of grammar, but it's very very it's very easy once you just start using it. Don't think too much about, okay, what do I do here? Just, you know, if you get the the rhythm and you start using it in the same way, then it kind of comes out naturally. And if you make a little mistake, there's not a big deal because even we do it, you know.

Exactly. Well, let's try a couple of examples off the top of our heads. First of all, if I hadn't moved to China, I wouldn't have learned Chinese.

Very good. So you did move to China and you did learn Chinese.

Exactly. So your turn.

All right. Um, if my parents hadn't spoken Spanish to me when I was a kid, I wouldn't have become fluent in Spanish.

Okay, so your parents did speak Spanish to you and you did become fluent in Spanish. So not bad.

Right. As you can see, you can use it not only to to think about things in the past that you can't change anymore, but just also, you know, kind of remember or say, you know, oh, if this hadn't happened, the result.

Or if I hadn't opened my big mouth, my best friend wouldn't have gotten so angry at me. Exactly. So I said something stupid and my friend did get angry and now I feel bad about it.

It happens.

All right, very good. So I hope it's clear. It does sound a little bit complicated, but this is what our website is for, right? So uh if you have questions or doubts or you want to try and plant your own ideas, you can come to the website and do it.

Exactly. So before we go, let's listen to this dialogue one last time.

Yeah, of course. Although, don't you ever wonder what could have been?

What do you mean?

Well, sometimes I think of how things could have turned out if I had done things a little differently. For example,

Like, for example, if I hadn't studied architecture, I would have become an artist like I wanted to.

I see.

Yeah, now that I think of it, I wouldn't have gotten married if I hadn't moved to this town and met Sally.

You see, everything happens for a reason. We wouldn't even have met if I hadn't been in that car accident 10 years ago.

All right. We're back. So Catherine, any other regrets maybe in your life apart from uh opening your mouth?

Any other regrets?

If my parents had spoken Spanish to me as a kid, I would have learned, but instead, I just learned English and that's all.

Well, your mom your mom is uh half uh Swedish, right?

Half Swedish, half Czech.

So and she never spoke any of these languages to you?

She no, she didn't speak Swedish or Czech. Her parents spoke English as their common language. But she grew up speaking Italian and German. But she didn't speak to me in those languages. And then as an adult, she forgot some of them. And so, um, because my dad was my dad, well, they're both Americans now, but my dad's American. Uh, they just spoke English to me.

Wow. But now you speak Italian, so do you ever try and talk to your mom in Italian?

Sometimes. Um, my grandmother's Italian is much better, so I my grandmother's completely fluent. So I speak to her in Italian. And um, and German as well. She's fluent in German too and I studied German at school, so.

See this is the interesting thing now so many people are speaking so many languages and before if you spoke another foreign language it was a big deal. But now it's like a requirement. You have to at least uh dominate your own native language and a foreign language, right? So if you're native language is uh English, you at least have to speak Spanish or Chinese or some other language.

Right. And actually, once you've been able and actually, once you mastered uh two or three different languages, then the fourth and fifth just becomes easier.

Actually, it's true. It sounds it sounds funny when you hear it because you're like, how could it be easier to learn more? But your brain starts to understand patterns better, right? And so it just becomes more natural for you.

It just picks up patterns from the two or three other different languages that you dominate, so you just it's a weird it's a strange how the brain works.

Makes connections, yeah.

All right, guys, so that's all for today. Be sure to visit our website Englishpod.com. As we said, any questions or comments or uh you want us to correct your uh your grammar of this lesson, uh you can visit us there and we'll see you guys next time.

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

To think about.

Wonder.

A person who designs buildings.

Architect.

To end up like.

Turn out.

To ruin or destroy something, like a car.

Wreck.

Used to express a realization.

Now that I think of it.

A feeling of guilt.

Remorse.

To feel sad or sorry about something.

Regret.

To think deeply about something.

Ponder.

A happy and relaxed life.

Good life.

To think fondly about the past.

Reminisce.

An alternative scenario.

Could have been.

The art and science of designing buildings.

Architecture.

A sudden event that is not planned.

Accident.

Let's try that faster.

A person who designs buildings.

Architect.

A feeling of guilt.

Remorse.

To end up like.

Turn out.

A happy and relaxed life.

Good life.

To feel sad or sorry about something.

Regret.

An alternative scenario.

Could have been.

The art and science of designing buildings.

Architecture.

To think about.

Wonder.

Used to express a realization.

Now that I think of it.

To ruin or destroy something, like a car.

Wreck.

To think deeply about something.

Ponder.

To think fondly about the past.

Reminisce.

A sudden event that is not planned.

Accident.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Wonder.

I wonder what Mike is doing in his room.

I think he's building a time machine or something.

Wonder.

I wonder why Debbie kicked her husband out of the house.

Wonder.

We often wonder and ask ourselves why we continue to spend money on useless things.

Turn out.

Our house turned out beautifully.

The architect is very talented.

Turn out.

I'm curious to see how everything will turn out in the next few days.

Turn out.

It turns out Bob was right.

I really do have a drinking problem.

Now that I think of it.

Actually, now that I think of it, I do have a lawnmower you could borrow.

Now that I think of it.

Wait, now that I think of it, you owe me $100.

Now that I think of it.

Now that I think of it, I should have behaved better at the party.

Regret.

You can't live your life with regrets.

Stay positive and optimistic.

Regret.

Do you have any regrets in life?

Regret.

I regret to inform you that your dog will never walk again.

If I hadn't gone skiing, I wouldn't have broken my leg.

If Ellie had studied harder, she would have passed the exam.

They wouldn't have missed their flight if they had left home earlier.