Want a memorable way to teach the third conditional? This free ESL activity uses a storytelling approach to help students understand and practise third conditional structures in a meaningful, engaging context. It’s ideal for intermediate and upper-intermediate level learners and works well in pair work or small group settings.
Students read a story about a disastrous morning, sequence the events, and then reconstruct the key problems using third conditional sentences. This activity combines grammar, reading comprehension, and fluency practice.
Activity Overview
- Level: Intermediate / Upper Intermediate
- Target language: Third conditional (If + past perfect + would have + past participle)
- Time: 30–40 minutes
- Group size: Pairs
What you need
- A copy of the story for each pair (download here)
- Scissors to cut the story into sections
How to use the activity
- Pre-teach any unfamiliar vocabulary from the story.
- Put students into pairs and hand out the cut-up story (in random order).
- Students work together to read and arrange the story into the correct sequence.
- Once in order, ask: Did Sarah have a good morning? (Answer: definitely not!)
- Elicit the main problems and their results, e.g.:
- Her alarm didn’t go off – she overslept.
- She forgot her passport – she had to go back.
- The taxi broke down – she ran to the airport.
- She missed her flight – she paid $500 for another one.
- She walked out without paying – she was arrested.
- She was detained – she missed her flight again.
- Now ask students to imagine everything went well. Elicit the opposite result for each situation.
- Model one example to introduce the third conditional:
- If her alarm had gone off, she wouldn’t have overslept.
- Students work in pairs to create third conditional sentences for the remaining problems.
Story: Sarah’s Morning
Sarah had to be at the airport for her flight at 9am, but her alarm didn’t go off and she overslept. She got dressed quickly, threw everything into her suitcase, and ran out of the house.
When she got to the airport, she realised she had forgotten her passport. She jumped in a taxi, returned home, grabbed her passport from the coffee table, and headed back to the airport.
One mile from the airport, the taxi broke down. She tried to flag another, but they were all taken — so she ran the rest of the way.
When she arrived, she saw that she had missed her flight. She had to pay $500 for another ticket for the next one.
While she was waiting, she went to buy a book. Preoccupied with her morning, she walked out of the shop without paying and was arrested.
The police detained her for three hours, and she missed her second flight as well. Sarah went home and decided never to fly again.
Why use this activity?
This activity brings grammar to life through storytelling. It helps students internalise the third conditional through realistic (if exaggerated) situations, encourages collaboration, and gives learners plenty of chances to speak and apply the structure.
Related grammar links
- Third conditional guide – Learn how to form and use third conditional.
