Here is another good second conditional song. Katie Melua is a popular singer from Georgia. She had her first big hit with "Nine Million Bicycles".This song is called "If You Were a Sailboat". It is a great example of the second conditional for unreal situations. Clearly, the man she is singing about is not a sailboat. You can use this song in your classes to show how the second conditional works. The video is below. For an online listenig exercise, click on this link: If You Were a Sailboat
If I were a boy is a hit song from Beyonce. It uses the 2nd conditional to talk about what she would do if she were a boy. The lyrics use this hypothetical situation to show the differences between men and women.
It is an excellent example of using were for all subjects in conditional sentences. Below there is a video for the song, and you can see the lyrics underneath. If you would like to try an online listening comprehension activity, you can use this link: Beyonce - If I Were a Boy - Listening Comprehension Or, you can watch the video here:
If I Were A Boy lyrics If I were a boy Even just for a day I’d roll out of bed in the morning And throw on what I wanted and go Drink beer with the guys And chase after girls I’d kick it with who I wanted And I’d never get confronted for it Because they’d stick up for me If I were a boy I think I could understand How it feels to love a girl I swear I’d be a better man I’d listen to her Cause I know how it hurts When you lose the one you wanted Cause he’s taken you for granted And everything you had got destroyed If I were a boy I would turn off my phone Tell everyone its broken So they think that I was sleeping alone I’d put myself first And make the rules as I go Cause I know that she’d be faithful Waiting for me to come home (to come home) If I were a boy I think I could understand How it feels to love a girl I swear I’d be a better man I’d listen to her Cause I know how it hurts When you lose the one you wanted (wanted) Cause he’s taken you for granted (granted) And everything you had got destroyed It’s a little too late for you to come back Say its just a mistake Think I forgive you like that If you thought I would wait for you You thought wrong But you're just a boy You don’t understand (yea you don’t understand) How it feels to love a girl Someday you’ll wish you were a better man You don’t listen to her You don’t care how it hurts Until you lose the one you wanted Cause you've taken her for granted And everything you had got destroyed But you're just a boy…
Are you looking for second conditional songs for your classes? If I had a million dollars is one of the best. This song, by the Barenaked Ladies has a number of second conditional example sin the lyrics. In fact, the whole idea of the song is about hypothetical.
You may like to start out by asking your students, what would you do if you had a million dollars? You can build a nice lesson around this song.
Notice the use of "I'd" as a contraction for I would. It is very popular in spoken English to use this contraction. Here is the video, and the lyrics are below. If you would like to try an online listening comprehension activity, you can try this link:
If I had a Million Dollars Listening Comprehension Activity Barenaked Ladies "If I Had A Million Dollars" Lyrics If I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars) I'd buy you a house (I would buy you a house) If I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars) I'd buy you furniture for your house (Maybe a nice chesterfield or an ottoman) And if I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars) Well, I'd buy you a K-Car (A nice Reliant automobile) If I had a million dollars I'd buy your love If I had a million dollars I'd build a tree fort in our yard If I had million dollars You could help, it wouldn't be that hard If I had million dollars Maybe we could put like a little tiny fridge in there somewhere You know, we could just go up there and hang out Like open the fridge and stuff There would already be laid out foods for us Like little pre-wrapped sausages and things They have pre-wrapped sausages but they don't have pre-wrapped bacon Well, can you blame 'em Uh, yeah If I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars) Well, I'd buy you a fur coat (But not a real fur coat that's cruel) And if I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars) Well, I'd buy you an exotic pet (Yep, like a llama or an emu) And if I had a million dollars (If I had a a million dollars) Well, I'd buy you John Merrick's remains (Ooh, all them crazy elephant bones) And If I had a million dollars I'd buy your love If I had a million dollars We wouldn't have to walk to the store If I had a million dollars Now, we'd take a limousine 'cause it costs more If I had a million dollars We wouldn't have to eat Kraft Dinner But we would eat Kraft Dinner Of course we would, we’d just eat more And buy really expensive ketchups with it That’s right, all the fanciest ke... dijon ketchups! Mmmmmm, Mmmm-Hmmm If I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars) Well, I'd buy you a green dress (But not a real green dress, that's cruel) And if I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars) Well, I'd buy you some art (A Picasso or a Garfunkel) If I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars) Well, I'd buy you a monkey (Haven't you always wanted a monkey) If I had a million dollars I’d buy your love If I had a million dollars, If I had a million dollars If I had a million dollars, If I had a million dollars If I had a million dollars I'd be rich
