Third Conditional ESL Games, Activities and Worksheets

In this entertaining third conditional game, students use I wish, If only, and I'd rather with the past perfect to try and complete sentences in the same way as another student. One student from each team comes and sits at the front of the class. You read out the first item from the caller's sheet using the word 'blank' for the missing ending, e.g. 'I didn't know you were coming over today. I'd rather you BLANK.' Students then secretly complete the corresponding sentence on their worksheet with their own ideas, e.g. 'I'd rather you had told me earlier.' When everyone has written an answer, the team members take turns reading the sentence they have written. The student at the front then reveals their answer. For every sentence that matches the student's answer, teams score one point. Two new students then come up to the front, you read out the second item, and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

In this thought-provoking third conditional regrets game, students try to identify problems from conditional sentences expressing regret. In groups, each student takes a card and thinks about what caused the problem on their card. Students then plan how to express regrets about the situation using the third conditional, without saying what the problem is. Next, students take turns talking about their regrets for the problem on their card using the third conditional, expressing at least three regrets for each problem. The other students listen and try to identify the problem. The first student to correctly guess the problem wins the card. If no one guesses correctly, the student expressing the regrets keeps the card. Afterwards, students take a new card each and repeat the process. The student with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner.

In this free third conditional speaking activity, students find out what happened to their classmates last week and write third conditional sentences about how things could have been different. Each student reads their role card and imagines that this is what happened to them last week. Students then go around finding out what happened to their classmates. After speaking to a classmate, students find out the number on their role card and write a third conditional sentence about how things could have been different next to the corresponding number on the worksheet. When the students have finished, elicit possible third conditional sentences for each role card from the students.

In this communicative third conditional speaking activity, students ask, answer and discuss what they would have done in hypothetical situations. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and completing the question with the third conditional, e.g. 'If you had been able to design your own school curriculum, what subjects would you have included?' The student then asks the hypothetical question to the group members, who each answer in turn. Students then discuss their answers and vote for the one which they thought was the best or most interesting. Each time the vote is decided, students write the answer on the back of the card. When the groups have finished, go through each third conditional question and have the groups tell the class their answers.

In this creative third conditional speaking activity, students role-play accepting responsibility for mistakes. In groups, students prepare a short role-play about a mistake that someone had made using eight clauses on strips in their dialogue. Groups then present their role-plays to the class. While the groups are presenting, the other students listen and hold up a corresponding strip each time they hear one of the eight clauses. After each group’s role-play, students make third conditional sentences about the group’s story, e.g. 'If Tom had woken up earlier, he wouldn't have missed his flight.'

In this interesting third conditional speaking activity, students create short speeches by famous people or characters and then play a game where they guess who is giving each speech. In teams, students prepare and write two short speeches that famous people or characters could have given regretting actions they had done in the past using the third conditional. When the students have finished, each team reads one speech in turn to the class. After a team has read out a speech, students discuss who it could be and each team writes down an answer. Each team then gives their answer, and the famous person or character is revealed. Teams score one point for each correct guess. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

This useful third conditional worksheet helps students practice or review positive and negative third conditional sentences. After reading through how to form the third conditional, students practice the structure by completing third conditional sentences with verbs in brackets. Next, students reorder words to make third conditional sentences starting with If. Finally, students read a story about someone's bad day and write third conditional sentences about it using prompts.