Conditional Chain
A first student produces a conditional sentence. The next student takes its main clause, turns it into a new if-clause, and produces the next conditional. A cascade of conditionals builds; the chain tests the group's fluency in the structure.
Procedure
- Teacher starts: If I had more time, I would learn Spanish.
- Student 1 takes the main clause (I would learn Spanish) and builds a new if-clause from it: If I learned Spanish, I would travel to South America.
- Student 2: If I travelled to South America, I would try new food.
- Student 3: If I tried new food, I would become a better cook.
- Continue around the group. Anyone who breaks the chain (wrong form, broken logic) starts a new chain.
Why It Works
- Repeated structure under fluency pressure: every student produces a conditional under peer-listening pressure.
- Forced logical connection: students must find a plausible link, which stretches thinking.
- Listening for structure: each student has to parse the previous conditional to continue.
- Self-correcting: broken chains are obvious; errors get discussed immediately.
Variations by Conditional Type
Second conditional (unreal present)
As above: If + past simple, would + infinitive.
Third conditional (unreal past)
If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam. If I had passed the exam, I would have applied to university. If I had applied to university, I would have moved to Hanoi.
Mixed
If I had studied harder, I would be a doctor now. If I were a doctor now, I would work in a hospital. If I worked in a hospital, I would help people every day.
First conditional (real future)
If it rains tomorrow, I'll stay home. If I stay home, I'll watch a film. If I watch a film, I'll need snacks.
Variations
- Written conditional chain: each student writes their sentence on a shared sheet; the sheet passes around.
- Silent chain: no speaking — chain built entirely in writing. Good for online classes via chat.
- Topic-locked: whole chain must stay on one topic (travel, work, relationships).
- Absurd chain: logic must be ridiculous. If I had wings, I would fly to Mars. If I flew to Mars, I would meet an alien...
Tips
- Model one full cycle before starting. The "take main clause → make if-clause" move is subtle.
- Allow a 5-second thinking pause per student. Faster than that becomes panic; slower than that kills the rhythm.
- Great pre-writing warmer before a conditional-heavy Task 2 essay.
Source
Hadfield, J. (1990) Intermediate Communication Games. Murphy, R. (2019) English Grammar in Use (5th ed.) on conditionals. Widely used in conditional grammar teaching.