Welcome back to another post of our IELTS Grammar Exercises series. This series provides you with opportunities to practice using a variety of more complex grammatical structures that you can use on your IELTS. If you haven’t read our previous posts yet, you can find them here:
For today’s practice, which focuses on conditionals, all you need is a Word document (or pen and paper) to complete the tasks. Make sure you do the tasks in the same order as they appear. Once you’ve finished, you can scroll down to the answer key section to check your answers.
Task 1
Match the two parts of the sentences.
1. If I hadn’t waved at her, | a. when he needs to burp. |
2. My baby tends to cry | b. if he didn’t nap. |
3. She might lose her job | c. she wouldn’t have seen me. |
4. He would have an earlier bedtime | d. I could save a lot of money. |
5. If I took the bus to work, | e. if she doesn’t get new clients. |
Task 2
Write one word to complete each sentence.
If I __________enough savings, I would go on a trip.
In Costa Rica, the weather is always hot __________ the sun shines.
I __________ certainly take the test again if I don’t get the score I need.
She __________ perform better if she didn’t have to worry about her family.
I’ll attend the conference if I __________ have too much work.
Task 3
Read the paragraph below. Find three incorrect uses of conditionals and correct them. Then add one more 'if’' clause to the paragraph.
In recent years, the shorter workweek approach to business has been gaining popularity. Many people believe that if all companies provided their employees with more flexibility and time for themselves, employee productivity improved. It is also argued that workers are generally more motivated and engaged when they would be happy and well-rested. However, some opponents of the idea don’t think this approach is realistic. They think that if employees have a shorter workweek, if they may feel pressured to do more work in less time. In addition, many companies would struggle with adjusting their business’s management style.
We hope that you found these exercises helpful. If you feel like you need more practice on conditionals, don’t worry – there are many excellent resources you can easily find online. Stay tuned for our last IELTS Grammar Exercises post!
Answer Key for Task 1
c.If I hadn’t waved at her, she wouldn’t have seen me.
a.My baby tends to cry when he needs to burp.
e.She might lose her job if she doesn’t get new clients.
b.He would have an earlier bedtime if he didn’t nap.
d.If I took the bus to work, I could save a lot of money.
Answer Key for Task 2
If I had enough savings, I would go on a trip.
In Costa Rica, the weather is always hot when/if the sun shines.
I will/can certainly take the test again if I don’t get the score I need.
She would/could/might perform better if she didn’t have to worry about her family.
I’ll attend the conference if I don’t have too much work.
Model answer for Task 3
In recent years, the shorter workweek approach to business has been gaining popularity. Many people believe that if all companies provided their employees with more flexibility and time for themselves, employee productivity would improve. It is also argued that workers are generally more motivated and engaged when they are happy and well-rested. However, some opponents of the idea don’t think this approach is realistic. They think that if employees have a shorter workweek, they may feel pressured to do more work in less time. In addition, many companies would struggle with adjusting their business’s management style. For example, if a 9-to-5 business chooses to implement shorter work weeks, that could mean restructuring the work week and even retraining staff.
*Note that this paragraph is a model answer and is intended as a guideline. Other variations of the same paragraph are possible.