CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

Real fear
Gill is going to Germany for a year to be an au pair.
Her mother is a little anxious.
Mother Oh dear. I hope everything will be all right. You`ve never been abroad before.
Gill Don`t worry. I`ll be OK. I can look after myself.
Mother But what will you do if you don`t like the family?
Gill I`ll find another one.

Imaginary fears
A What would you do if you saw a ghost?
B I`d run away.
A Wouldn`t you talk to it?
B I certainly wouldn`t.

A house to buy
J = Jeremy L = Linda
J What did you think of that place, then? Not bad, was it?
L Oh, it was lovely, it was really lovely. A very pretty house, a beautifully modernized cottage.
J Mmm. Not as big as the house we`ve got at the moment, though.
L No, not as big, it`s true, but it`s in a much better location, with the countryside all around, and lovely views from the bedrooms.
J It`s quite a long way from the station, isn`t it? If we bought it, we`d have to drive to the station, we couldn`t walk.
L That wouldn`t matter. You can walk in summer if it`s a nice day. It`s a lovely walk across the park.
J I`ll tell you one thing I didn`t like, actually, and that was the low ceilings everywhere, especially in the kitchen.
L Yes, but think how expensive it is to heat our house at the moment, and that`s party because the ceilings are so high. If the ceilings were lower it would be much cheaper to heat. I mean our gas bills would really go down.
J I suppose you`re right. But the lounge is tiny. You couldn`t get more than five people in it.
L Yes, I know, but the thing to do with this house is to knock down the wall between the living-room and the dining-room. Then you`d have a good-sized room. And think how cosy it would be on a winter evening, beside that open fire. And the kitchen was big, anyway. And nice and bright.
J Mmmn… I`m afraid I didn`t like the bedrooms very much, with one on the first floor and another two in that converted loft.
L Oh I loved the bedrooms, particul…. well, all the bedrooms. They`re all double bedrooms, and with those views….
J But the main one, the main one is right next to the street, so that would be very noisy.
L But the street isn`t so noisy. I mean, it`s only a lane, it`s not really a busy road. You wouldn`t hear very much.
J Yes, true. And I suppose the children can have the bedrooms on the top floor. The stairs are a bit dangerous. I`d have to fix them. And the roof is leaking. If they don`t do something about that soon, the ceiling will come down. It`s been raining a lot recently.
L What about the outside? What did you think of that?
J I thought it was very attractive, with the courtyards and then the garden. I bet the courtyard catches the sun. We could eat out in summer.
L And it`s quite a big garden. And that`s a lovely mature apple tree right in the middle. Lots of space for your vegetables. So what do you think?
J Well, I`m not so sure. I don`t think it would be big enough for us.
L OK. Think again, then.

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