Business Result Pre-Intermediate Units 12, 13 and 14
Try to make as many true sentences as you can using the sentence stems below. You can only use each one once, and each one must have a different trends phrase (“improve”, “flatten out”, “accelerate”, etc). You can combine the beginnings and endings below, or think of your own ideas to complete the halves. You will get one point for each phrase that other groups agree with but didn’t write themselves.
If the number of gyms in offices rose, ___________________ would ________________
If electricity bills for companies were slashed, ____________ would _________________
If restructuring of companies increased rapidly, __________would__________________
If the number of women working rocketed, _________________ would _______________
If the government banned cigarettes/ tobacco, _______________ would ______________
If the government scrapped income tax, _____________ would _____________________
If taking career breaks __________________, _______________ would ______________
If the age of retirement _____________________, ______________ would ___________
If the world’s population ____________________, ______________ would ____________
If working from home ___________________, _________________ would ____________
If world supply of oil _______________, _________________ would _________________
If _______________________, competition between companies would _______________
If ___________________________, owning cars would ___________________________
If ___________________________, the age of workers would ______________________
If _____________________________, inflation would ____________________________
If _____________________________, pollution would ___________________________
If _____________________________, recycling would __________________________
If _____________________________, the birth rate would ________________________
If _____________________________, the economy would ________________________
If __________________________, the number of vegetarians would ________________
If ___________________________, global demand for oil would __________________
If ______________________________, the economy of this country would ____________
If ___________________, the image of Japanese companies in China would __________
If __________________________, use of renewable energy would __________________
If ___________________________________, women working would ________________
If ___________________________, working conditions for workers would ____________
If ____________________________________, air travel would ____________________
If _____________________________________, staff turnover would ________________
Choose four from above which you think people will agree with but haven’t thought of. Make sure you both of copies of them for when you change groups.
Change groups and give your ideas. Do the other people agree? If so and they didn’t write the same sentence, you get a point.
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Grammar analysis
What structure do all the phrases above have? Fill in the gaps below
If + S + _________________________ tense, S + ______________ + ______________
(S = subject, such as “I” or “The company”)
What other structures start with “If” in a similar way?
What is the difference in meaning between the structure above and this structure?
If + S + Present Simple tense, S + will + infinitive
Which of those tenses is probably suitable for these sentences?
If oil ________________________ (run out) next year, the economy _________________ (crash).
If the economy _____________________(improve) a little next year, wages _________________________ (probably go up too).
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Useful phrases
a little
accelerate
ameliorate
be enhanced
be stable
be unstable
blip
boom
bottom out
bounce back
buoyant
change
climb
collapse
crash
creep up
decline
decrease
deteriorate
dip
dive
double
dramatically
drop
escalate
expand
experience some turbulence
explode
fall
fall back
flatten out
fluctuate
go down
go up
go up and down
grow
halve
improve
increase
increase, but not at the same rate
increase/ decrease at the same rate
increase/ decrease steadily
level off
move
not vary
peak
pick up
plateau
plummet
plunge
quadruple
quickly
rapidly
rebound
recover
regain lost ground
remain constant
remain steady
rise
rise less rapidly
rocket
sharply
shoot up
shrink
sink
slightly
slip back
slow down
slowly
slump
soar
stabilise
stay flat
stay the same
take off
triple
vary
worsen
Find phrases above which mean the same thing, then test each other on that in pairs.
Mime one of the meanings above and see how many phrases with that meaning your partner can think of. Give them hints if they get stuck.
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PDF for easy saving and printing: trends and second conditional
Related pages
Business Result Pre-Intermediate Unit 14
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