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What would you do if…? The second conditional for interview questions

Teach the second conditional with this B1 English for IT lesson plan on hypothetical interview questions: What would you do if…?

Grammar
If + past simple, would + base verb (If I didn't know the answer, I'd ask a colleague.), with could, might, If I were you and first versus second.
Topic
A technical interview for a junior Android job at a fictional payments startup, with words such as coding test, think aloud and job offer.
Activities
The story of FizzBuzz, an interview guide, an interview to follow, self-checking drills, a practice chat and role cards, then three written answers and a recording.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: The Interview Room

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words for job interviewsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2The Story: Fizz, Buzz, You're Hired?

    • Read the story of FizzBuzzArticleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer about the storyQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3At Work: Kestrel's Interview Guide

    • Read Kenji's interview guide and the commentsReal-life documentTry it
    • True or false? Check the interview guideTrue or falseUnlock
    • Match the interview questions and the good answersMatchUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Listen: No FizzBuzz Today

    • Listen to Iryna's interview with TariqListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer about the interviewQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Grammar: What Would You Do If…?

    • Study the scheme: the second conditionalGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct option to complete the interview answersChoose the optionUnlock
    • Rewrite the facts as imaginary situations: fill in the gapsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the gaps: first conditional if it's likely, second if it's imaginaryFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Drag the words into Tariq's interview answerDrag and dropUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Speak Up: Your Mock Interview

    • Choose the right replies to KenjiChatTry it
    • Open a box: take a role and run a mock interviewOpen the boxUnlock

  7. Chapter 7Homework: Your Interview Answers

    • Read your phrase bankReal-life documentUnlock
    • Do you remember? Choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Is the sentence correct? True or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Write your answers to three interview questionsWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record a mock interview answerSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

25 exercises in 7 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • a technical interview
  • a hypothetical question
  • a scenario
  • a strength
  • a weakness
  • a job offer
  • think aloud
  • hire
  • turn down

Grammar: the second conditional for interviews

Hypothetical interview questions describe situations that haven't happened: What would you do if the app crashed? Answering them, learners use the past simple after if and would in the result, add could and might, give advice with If I were you, and keep likely situations for the first conditional.

Second conditional: imaginary situations

Talk about situations that are not real or not likely: If + past simple, would / wouldn't + base verb.

If + past simple, would + base verb

The if clause takes the past simple, though it talks about now or the future, and the result takes would or 'd + base verb: If the app crashed, I'd ask support for the logs. Either clause can come first.

If + past simplewould ('d) / wouldn't + base verb

If the app crashed, I'd ask support for the logs.

What would you do if you didn't know the answer?

Questions, negatives, could and might

Questions start with What would you do if…?, and negatives use didn't and wouldn't: If I didn't know, I wouldn't guess. Could adds ability and might a maybe: If I got two offers, I might choose the smaller team.

UseFormExample
An imaginary situationIf + past, would + verbIf the app crashed, I'd ask for the logs.
A negativedidn't + verb / wouldn't + verbIf I didn't know, I wouldn't guess.
A questionWhat would you do if + past?What would you do if a test failed?
Abilitycould + verb (= would be able to)If we hired Tariq, he could learn from Wes.
Maybemight + verb (= perhaps would)If I got two offers, I might choose the smaller team.
AdviceIf I were you, I'd + verbIf I were you, I'd think aloud.
bewere for every personIf the reviewer were right, I'd change the code.

If I were you: were or was?

If I were you, I'd think aloud gives advice. In careful English, were goes with every person (If the reviewer were right…), while was is common in everyday speech. The typed gaps accept both, but an interview email should say were.

were or was?

In careful English, use were for every person: If I were you… If the reviewer were right… In everyday speech, many people say was (If I was you…). Both are OK in this lesson's typed gaps, but write were in an interview email.

Likely or imaginary?

A situation you expect takes the first conditional: If the test fails, I'll fix it today. One that isn't real, or isn't likely, takes the second: If I had more time, I'd learn iOS too. Hypothetical interview questions belong to the second.

Likely: first conditional

  • If the test fails, I'll fix it today.
  • If the build breaks, I'll tell the team.

Imaginary: second conditional

  • If the app crashed, I'd ask for the logs.
  • If I had more time, I'd learn iOS too.

Answers from a technical interview

The examples come from a technical interview for a junior Android role, ending with the candidate's own question: If I got the job, who would review my code?

  • If I were still stuck, I'd ask a senior developer.Tariq's next step
  • If you didn't know an answer in a meeting, what would you do?Iryna's hypothetical question
  • If the reviewer were right, I'd change the code.were with he / she / it
  • If I got the job, who would review my code?Tariq's question
  • If a candidate called a variable “data”, would we still hire them?Wes's joke

Typical mistakes

  • If I would know the answer, I'd tell you.

    If I knew the answer, I'd tell you.

    no would in the if-clause

  • If I will have time, I would help.

    If I had time, I would help.

    past simple after if, not will

  • I would to ask a colleague.

    I would ask a colleague.

    would + base verb, no to

  • If I knew, I will tell you.

    If I knew, I would tell you.

    a past if-clause takes would, not will

More lessons on this grammar: Second conditional lessons and exercises

Try the second conditional exercises

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More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 12 auto-checked exercises
  • 3 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 2 real-life documents
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 1 picture
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • ask and answer hypothetical questions: What would you do if a test failed on one phone model only? First I'd…
  • build the form without the classic traps: If I knew, not If I would know; I'd ask, not I would to ask
  • give advice with If I were you, I'd…, and tell a likely situation from an imaginary one
  • take part in a mock interview with a technical and a behavioral part, as the candidate or the interviewer

Lesson 24 closes Your next job, unit 8, and with it English for IT B1 · Inside the Team. As the unit's third lesson, it carries the work task, a mock interview with a technical and a behavioral part. It builds on the first conditional of lesson 12 (If we cache this, it will…), and its homework reviews the used to of lesson 22 and the past perfect of lesson 23.

Students spin a wheel about interviews and learn twelve words with pictures and audio, from coding test and whiteboard interview to hire and turn down. The story is FizzBuzz, a children's counting game that became a well-known coding test after blog posts by Imran Ghory and Jeff Atwood in 2007. At work, a tech lead's interview guide sets out four stages, no coding tests and five hypothetical questions, with the panel's comments, and learners match questions with good answers. The listening (AI-voiced) is the interview itself, with a junior Android candidate who thinks aloud. Four self-checking drills follow the scheme, including facts rewritten as imaginary situations.

In the chat, a tech lead swaps seats with the student for a practice interview; role cards then set up a mock interview for a developer, tester, designer or support job. Homework opens with a phrase bank; a quiz and true-or-false sentences reviewing the unit's grammar and a memory game check themselves, and three written interview answers and a recorded one go to the teacher.

Grammar:
second conditional · If I were you
Topic:
job interviews · hypothetical questions · FizzBuzz · mock interview

Teaching tips

  • Put the guide's five questions on cards: one learner draws a card and thinks aloud with First I'd…, then I'd…, and the partner asks And if that didn't work? twice.
  • Turn facts into imaginary situations on the board: We don't have a test phone becomes If we had a test phone, I'd reproduce the crash. Learners then rewrite three facts about their own team.
  • With an in-company group, use the questions you really ask: managers bring two from their own interviews, juniors answer with I'd…, and everyone listens for clear steps, good questions and honesty.
  • One-to-one, swap seats halfway: the learner answers three questions, then interviews you and has to ask one follow-up with If…, would you…?

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The whole course: English for IT B1 · Inside the Team

24 lessons at B1 for people who build, test or run software, in American English. Learners follow Iryna, a junior developer, through her first year at Kestrel Cloud, a fictional payments startup: standups, tickets, code review, chats across time zones and job interviews. Each lesson is built around a true story from software history.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Hello, team

    roles, stacks and first days: the present simple, the present perfect with for and since, question forms

    1. Lesson 1How big is a two-pizza team?Present simple for jobs and responsibilities
    2. Lesson 2Your first "Hello, World"Present perfect with for and since
    3. Lesson 3Write your personal READMEQuestion forms for getting to know colleagues

  2. Unit 2 The daily standup

    updates and blockers: the present simple and continuous, just, already and yet, have to and need to

    1. Lesson 4Why is it called a scrum?Present simple vs continuous and state verbs
    2. Lesson 5Done, not done yetPast simple, present perfect and going to for updates
    3. Lesson 6Help, I'm blocked!Have to, need to, don't have to and can't

  3. Unit 3 Bugs and tickets

    clear bug reports: the past continuous, imperatives and the zero conditional, quantifiers

    1. Lesson 7The first actual bugPast simple and past continuous for bug stories
    2. Lesson 8Steps to reproduceImperatives and the zero conditional for bug reports
    3. Lesson 9The email that couldn't go 500 milesQuantifiers in bug tickets

  4. Unit 4 Code review

    kind, useful comments: -ed and -ing adjectives, modals for suggestions, the first conditional

    1. Lesson 10What's a nit?-ed and -ing adjectives in review comments
    2. Lesson 11Could we maybe…?Modals for suggestions in code review
    3. Lesson 12Your first pull requestThe first conditional and unless in code review

  5. Unit 5 How it works

    explaining systems step by step: time clauses, the passive, relative clauses

    1. Lesson 13What happens when you type a URL?Time clauses with as soon as, until and once
    2. Lesson 14How is a barcode read?The present and past simple passive
    3. Lesson 15Draw it, then say itDefining relative clauses

  6. Unit 6 Remote and async

    chat, email and time zones: polite requests, future forms, the present perfect continuous

    1. Lesson 16Just say what you needPolite requests and indirect questions
    2. Lesson 17Your 9 a.m. is my noonFuture forms for plans across time zones
    3. Lesson 18Write it downPresent perfect continuous for status updates

  7. Unit 7 Users and clients

    user stories and plain explanations: verb + to or -ing, reported speech, comparisons

    1. Lesson 19As a user, I want…Verb + to or verb + -ing
    2. Lesson 20"The client said it was broken"Reported speech for client calls
    3. Lesson 21Explain it in ten hundred wordsComparisons for plain explanations

  8. Unit 8 Your next job

    resumes and interviews: used to, the past perfect, the second conditional

    1. Lesson 22A resume that shows resultsUsed to for your career path
    2. Lesson 23Tell me about a time when…The past perfect for STAR stories
    3. Lesson 24 · you're hereWhat would you do if…?The second conditional for interviews

Questions about this lesson

What is the second conditional?
The second conditional is if + past simple, then would + base verb, for situations that are imaginary or unlikely: If the app crashed, I'd ask support for the logs. The past form doesn't mean the past here; it shows the situation isn't real. Questions put would before the subject: What would you do if a test failed? In speech, would often shrinks to 'd, and would not to wouldn't.
How do you use "If I were you"?
Use If I were you, I'd… to give friendly advice: If I were you, I'd think aloud in the interview. It imagines being the other person, so it follows the second conditional: were, then would or wouldn't + base verb. The result never takes will, so If I were you, I'll… is wrong. A homework quiz in What would you do if…?, a B1 English for IT lesson on edio.ai, offers If I am you as one trap.
What are some second conditional examples?
Here are second conditional examples from a job interview: If I couldn't reproduce the crash, I'd ask for a screen recording. If I didn't know an answer, I wouldn't guess. If I got two job offers, I might choose the smaller team. If I got the job, who would review my code? Each one has a past form after if and would, could or might in the other half.
Is it "If I was" or "If I were"?
Both are used, but If I were is the careful, standard form: If I were you, I'd ask a senior developer. In the second conditional, were works with every person (If the reviewer were right, I'd change the code), while If I was is common in everyday speech. In an interview, an email or any formal writing, choose were.
Can you use "would" after "if"?
Not in the second conditional: the if clause takes the past simple, not would. Say If I knew the answer, I'd tell you, not If I would know the answer… Would belongs in the result, with a base verb and no to: I would ask a colleague, not I would to ask. The chat on this page, from What would you do if…? on edio.ai, starts with If I would freeze as a wrong reply.
Is it "If the test fails, I'll…" or "If the test failed, I'd…"?
Both are right, for different situations. Use the present and will for something you expect: If the test fails, I'll fix it today. Use the past and would for something imaginary or unlikely: If I had more time, I'd learn iOS too. Don't mix the halves: If I knew, I will tell you is wrong; it's If I knew, I would tell you.
What is FizzBuzz in a coding interview?
FizzBuzz is a tiny coding test based on a counting game: print the numbers from 1 to 100, but Fizz for multiples of 3, Buzz for multiples of 5 and FizzBuzz for both. Blog posts by Imran Ghory and Jeff Atwood in 2007 made it a well-known first check that a candidate can write code, though it can't find a great programmer. Many interviews also ask What would you do if…? to hear how a person thinks.
How do you answer "What would you do if…?" interview questions?
Think aloud in steps that start with I'd: First I'd ask support for the phone model and the logs. Then I'd try to reproduce it. Add a plan B (If I were still stuck, I'd ask a senior developer) and be honest about limits: I wouldn't guess. Clear steps and good questions count for more than one right answer. The interview in What would you do if…?, a B1 English for IT lesson on edio.ai, models it.
What are hypothetical interview questions?
Hypothetical interview questions ask what you would do in an imaginary situation, so they use the second conditional: What would you do if the app crashed for one merchant only? If you disagreed with a reviewer, what would you say? If you got two job offers, how would you choose? They show how a person thinks, while a coding test checks skills. An interview guide in What would you do if…? on edio.ai lists five for a junior developer.
How do I teach the second conditional to B1 adults?
Give it a real use: interview questions. Model one answer that thinks aloud (First I'd…, then I'd…), then let pairs ask each other about their own work, such as What would you do if the build broke before a release? Correct If I would… on the spot. Bring in the first conditional for contrast only once the form is safe.
What's good homework for practicing the second conditional?
Good homework is written answers to real interview questions, such as What would you do if you found a serious bug the day before a release? Each answer needs I'd… and one full If I…, I'd… sentence. In What would you do if…?, a B1 English for IT lesson on edio.ai, a quiz, true-or-false sentences and a memory game check themselves; three written answers and a recorded one go to the teacher.
Are there interactive exercises for the second conditional?
Yes: rewrite gaps and chat replies that check themselves show at once whether the form is right. Without an account, this page plays four parts of What would you do if…?, a B1 English for IT lesson on edio.ai: an interview guide with the team's comments, a technical interview for a junior Android job, a gap-fill that turns facts into imaginary situations, and a practice interview in a chat. The other exercises are locked.
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