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The garage where Silicon Valley began: the second conditional for imagined situations

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches the second conditional for imagined situations through the Palo Alto garage where Hewlett and Packard started out.

Grammar
If + past simple, then would or 'd + base form for what isn't true now (If I had a garage and $538, I'd build a robot.), with every person, wouldn't and didn't.
Topic
The HP garage in Palo Alto, now a California landmark, and start-up words such as founder, investor, customer, workbench and drill press.
Activities
Episode notes to read, the hosts' Mug Bet and a listener's message to hear, self-checking drills, a start-up chat and open-box questions.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: got a garage?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: start-up storiesVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: one garage, two friends and $538

    • Look at the picture: a garage in Palo Alto, CaliforniaPictureUnlock
    • Read the episode notesArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: the Mug Bet and the snack robot

    • Listen to Riley and DariusListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to The Listener's Take: JonahListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: If I had $538, I'd…

    • Study the scheme: If I had…, I'd…Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: the past simple and wouldFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: every personFill in the tableUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: our dream start-up

    • Choose the right replies: plan a garage start-upChatTry it
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: the past simple and wouldFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the sentence with the same meaningQuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a school newsletterChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the hosts answer JonahDrag and dropUnlock

32 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Business 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

  • founder
  • start-up
  • product
  • customer
  • investor
  • garage
  • workbench
  • drill press
  • business partner

Grammar: the second conditional for imagined situations

The second conditional pairs an imagined situation with its result: If I had a garage and $538, I'd build a robot. The speaker has neither, so the sentence is a dream about now. Around a famous garage start-up, learners build the if-clause on the past simple, add would or 'd for every person, and keep would out of the if-clause.

If I had a garage, I'd build…

The second conditional: an imagined situation now or in the future, and its result.

If + past simple, then would + base form

The if-clause uses the past simple, and the result uses would, 'd or wouldn't + the base form: If she lived there, she wouldn't sell the house. The past form talks about now or the future: If I had $538 means I don't have it right now.

The form

If + subject + past simple,subject + would / 'd / wouldn't + base form

If I had a garage and $538, I'd build a robot.

If Darius had a snack robot, it would bring him chips.

If she lived there, she wouldn't sell the house.

A past form, but not the past

If I had $538 is about now or the future, and it's imagined: I don't have $538 right now. 'd after the subject in the result means would: I'd, you'd, he'd, she'd, it'd, we'd, they'd. The negative is wouldn't.

Would and 'd for every person

Would is the same for I, you, he, she, it, we and they, and its short form 'd joins any subject: it'd bring, we'd need, they'd tinker. The negative is wouldn't: he wouldn't fix it.

PersonIf + past simple……would + base formShort forms
IIf I had a garage,I would build a robot.I'd build · I wouldn't build
youIf you lived in Palo Alto,you would walk past the garage.you'd walk · you wouldn't walk
heIf he found an old radio,he would fix it.he'd fix · he wouldn't fix
sheIf she owned a bakery,she would sell cookies.she'd sell · she wouldn't sell
itIf it (my robot) worked,it would bring me snacks.it'd bring · it wouldn't bring
weIf we started a company,we would need a name.we'd need · we wouldn't need
theyIf they knew how,they would tinker with old radios.they'd tinker · they wouldn't tinker

Negatives, a question and the comma

In the if-clause, the negative is didn't + base form: If we didn't have a garage, we'd work in the kitchen. A question puts would before the subject: What would you build if you had $538? A comma follows the if-clause only when it comes first.

Negatives and a question

FormExample
not in the result: wouldn't + base formI wouldn't quit school if I won a prize.
not in the if-clause: didn't + base formIf we didn't have a garage, we'd work in the kitchen.
a question: would + subject + base formWhat would you build if you had $538?

The comma

When the if-clause comes first, put a comma after it: If I had a garage, I'd build a robot. When it comes second, use no comma: I'd build a robot if I had a garage. The meaning is the same.

No would after if

The if-clause never takes would: If I had a garage, not If I would have or If I'd have. And don't mix the forms: If I had $538, I'd build a robot, not …I will build, and not If I have $538, I would…

Never use would after if

Use the past simple after if: If I had a garage (not: If I would have, not: If I'd have). After would, use the base form: I'd build (not: I'd built, not: I would to build). Don't mix the forms: If I had…, I'd… (not: If I had…, I will… and not: If I have…, I would…).

Common mistakes

  • If I would have a garage, I'd build a robot.

    If I had a garage, I'd build a robot.

    past simple after if

  • If I had $538, I will build a robot.

    If I had $538, I would build a robot.

    had … would, not had … will

  • If I have $538, I would build a robot.

    If I had $538, I would build a robot.

    with would, use had after if, not have

  • I would to build a robot.

    I would build a robot.

    would + base form, no to

In the studio and in Jonah's garage

  • If Riley had a garage, she'd build a fact-checking machine.
  • If someone said something strange, the machine would ask, “Source?”
  • If Darius's robot brought chips near the microphones, Riley would unplug it.
  • If Footnote had a garage, she'd sleep in it all day.
  • If Jonah had more space, he'd fix ten bikes at a time.
  • Jonah would open a bike shop if he had a little money.

More lessons on this grammar: Second conditional lessons and exercises

Try the second conditional exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 6 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • imagine what isn't true now with If + past simple and would + base form: If I had a garage and $538, I'd build a robot.
  • use 'd and wouldn't with every person: If he found an old radio, he'd fix it. I wouldn't quit school if I won a prize.
  • keep would out of the if-clause: If we didn't have a garage, we'd work in the kitchen, never If we wouldn't have…
  • plan a dream start-up with a friend: What would you build if you had $538? If my parents gave us their garage, we'd build it there.

Lesson 1 opens Start-up stories, unit 1 of English B1.2 · Changemakers, in which the B1.1 podcast hosts tell stories of people who changed something. It builds on A2.2 lesson 15, where the first conditional joined if and will, and on the past simple of A2.1 lessons 1 and 2, now used inside the if-clause. Lesson 2 adds questions, short answers and If I were you. A company that began in a garage with $538 invites a question every student can answer: what would you build?

Students spin a wheel of questions about garages, tools and small businesses, then learn twelve words, from tinker to business partner, with pictures and audio. They read the episode notes on the garage at 367 Addison Avenue, from a drill press in a rumble seat to a coin toss for the name, then hear Darius lose another Mug Bet and a listener, Jonah, describe fixing bikes in his parents' garage, both AI-voiced. Five self-marking exercises follow the scheme, including a fill-in table for all seven persons. To finish, students plan a plant-watering robot in a chat and open boxes about what they would invent.

All ten homework tasks check themselves. The first four practice the words: a match, an anagram, a gap-fill and a memory game. The other six are a choice of forms, gaps for the past simple and would, word order, a same-meaning quiz, a school newsletter column and the hosts' reply to Jonah with words to drag in.

Grammar:
second conditional · If + past simple, would + base form · 'd = would · imagined situations
Topic:
Silicon Valley · Palo Alto · start-ups · Hewlett and Packard · garages · inventions · California landmarks · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Start with a guess: before the episode notes, ask how much money Hewlett and Packard started with. Students read for the answer, $538, then hear Darius get it badly wrong in the Mug Bet.
  • Put the real and the imagined side by side on the board: I don't have a garage. / If I had a garage, I'd build a robot. Students see that the past form talks about now.
  • Play the hosts' dialogue twice: first for the two inventions, the fact-checking machine and the snack robot, then for every would and 'd, which students mark by raising a hand.
  • End with a one-line investor round: each pair presents its chat start-up as If you gave us $50, we'd…, and the class votes for the idea it would put money into.

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The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Start-up stories

    the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides

    1. Lesson 1 · you're hereThe garage where Silicon Valley beganThe second conditional for imagined situations
    2. Lesson 2Would you sell lemonade to save bees?Second conditional questions and If I were you
    3. Lesson 3Pitch it to the Sharks!First vs second conditional: a real plan or a dream?
    4. Lesson 4A bakery that hires anyone?Adding ideas: also, too, as well, either and besides

  2. Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

    the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous

    1. Lesson 5Can you cross a city without going outside?The present simple passive
    2. Lesson 6A park on top of a freeway?The past simple passive
    3. Lesson 7Can a desert city catch the rain?The passive with modals
    4. Lesson 8Can an old railroad become a park?The present perfect and present continuous passive

  3. Unit 3 Food for the future

    comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out

    1. Lesson 9Why did Carver tell farmers to plant peanuts?Comparative and superlative adverbs
    2. Lesson 10Lettuce from space?The future passive with will be
    3. Lesson 11Why do corn, beans and squash grow together?Verbs with dependent prepositions
    4. Lesson 12What happens to dining-hall leftovers?Phrasal verbs with up, away and out

  4. Unit 4 Memory and learning

    reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands

    1. Lesson 13Can you train your memory?Reported statements with say and tell
    2. Lesson 14He got better but never rememberedReported statements about the past
    3. Lesson 15Can a TV show teach the alphabet?Reported questions
    4. Lesson 16Can you learn a new skill at 70?Reported requests and commands

  5. Unit 5 Customs and manners

    degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do

    1. Lesson 17To tip or not to tip?Adverbs of degree before adjectives and adverbs
    2. Lesson 18They'd already started without me!The past perfect: had + past participle
    3. Lesson 19What should you do at a powwow?Past perfect vs past simple
    4. Lesson 20How do you accept a lei?Make vs do: collocations to learn

  6. Unit 6 Art and design

    relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why

    1. Lesson 21Art that moves in the airRelative clauses with whose
    2. Lesson 22A heart that sells a stateNon-defining relative clauses
    3. Lesson 23What would you paint on a city wall?Relative clauses without who, which or that
    4. Lesson 24Why does the sign say Hollywood?Relative adverbs: when, why and where

  7. Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

    verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather

    1. Lesson 25A day on, not a day off?Verb + -ing or verb + to
    2. Lesson 26The house that welcomed a neighborhoodGerunds as subjects and after prepositions
    3. Lesson 27A walk that lasted 24 hoursStop, remember, forget and try + to or -ing
    4. Lesson 28Head, heart, hands and healthPrefer, would rather and would prefer

  8. Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

    possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

    1. Lesson 29Could you climb a fourteener?Possessive 's, s' or of
    2. Lesson 30It must be here somewhere!Must and can't for deduction
    3. Lesson 31How did Houdini get out?Might, may and could for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A capital with no road inThe meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

What is the second conditional?
The second conditional describes an imagined situation and its result, something that isn't true now or isn't likely: If I had a garage and $538, I'd build a robot. The speaker has no garage, so it's a dream. The B1 lesson The garage where Silicon Valley began on edio.ai teaches it with the Palo Alto garage where Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard began their company.
How do you form the second conditional?
Use if + past simple, then would + base form: If she owned a bakery, she would sell cookies. Would stays the same for every person and is often short: I'd, he'd, they'd. The negative is wouldn't in the result and didn't + base form in the if-clause: If we didn't have a garage, we'd work in the kitchen.
What are some examples of the second conditional?
Here are six from The garage where Silicon Valley began: If Jonah had more space, he'd fix ten bikes at a time. If Footnote had a garage, she'd sleep in it all day. If someone said something strange, the machine would ask, “Source?” If it worked, it would bring me snacks. If we started a company, we'd need a name. I wouldn't quit school if I won a prize. Each one imagines something that isn't real.
What's the difference between the first and second conditional?
The first is for a real, likely future; the second is for something imagined. If you invest, you'll get ten percent is a real offer, while If we had a store, we'd sell more is a dream. Lesson 1 teaches only the second; the course sets the two side by side two lessons later, in Pitch it to the Sharks!, a B1 lesson on edio.ai.
Is it "If I had" or "If I would have"?
It's If I had, because would never follows if. Would belongs in the result: If I had a garage, I'd build a robot, not If I would have a garage or If I'd have a garage. The drills in The garage where Silicon Valley began catch two more slips: If I had $538, I will build… and I would to build.
What is the HP garage?
It's a small garage at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, California. In 1938, two Stanford friends, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, began part-time work there with $538 in working capital, part of it the value of a used drill press. They made their partnership official on January 1, 1939. Today the garage is California Historical Landmark No. 976, the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley.”
What business vocabulary should B1 students learn?
Start with the words for who starts, funds and buys: a founder starts a company, a business partner runs it with you, an investor puts money into it, and a customer buys its product. A start-up is a young, small company with a new idea. In The garage where Silicon Valley began, the founders' best product was an audio oscillator, and the Walt Disney studio bought eight.
How do I teach the second conditional to B1 students?
Begin with something students don't have but would like: a garage, a free weekend, $538. Ask What would you do if you had it?, write the answers as full sentences and only then show the form. The garage where Silicon Valley began on edio.ai moves from the HP garage and the hosts' dream inventions to the scheme, gap-fills, a table for every person and word order.
What's a good game for practicing the second conditional?
Try a chain of imagined results: one student says If I had a garage, I'd build a robot, the next goes on with If I built a robot, it would…, and the chain stops when someone breaks the form. The open boxes in The garage where Silicon Valley began add prompts such as If you won a big prize, would you quit anything?
How do you practice the second conditional one-to-one?
Invent a company together, out loud: ask what it would make, where you would build it and who would buy it, then let the student ask you back. The chat in The garage where Silicon Valley began, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, works without a partner: Chuck, a friend with a tiny apartment and about $50, plans a plant-watering robot with the student, and each wrong reply hides a form mistake.
What's good homework for practicing the second conditional?
Good homework turns real facts into imagined ones: I don't have a garage, so I can't build a robot becomes If I had a garage, I'd build a robot. That same-meaning quiz is one of ten homework tasks in The garage where Silicon Valley began on edio.ai, next to gaps for the past simple and would and a school newsletter column; all of them check themselves.
Are there interactive exercises for the second conditional?
Yes: gap-fills, a table and a chat that mark every answer. Without an account, this page plays three parts of The garage where Silicon Valley began, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Riley and Darius's Mug Bet, a gap-fill with the past simple and would, and the start-up chat with Chuck. The full lesson opens with an account.
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