Instituto Manuel Belgrano * 6to año A & B * Unidad #0 * 2024

GRAMMAR REVISION #1
*Look and discuss
What do these pictures have in common? How do you feel about them? How superstitious are you? Do you
know any other?

*Read the fable and check your predictions

Good luck, bad luck

A. Breaking a mirror
The superstition that if you break a mirror, you will have 7 years’ bad luck, comes from the belief in ancient
times that a person’s reflection was part of their soul. As a result, people used to think that if you broke
anything with this reflection on it, such as a mirror, you would harm your soul.
B. Thirteen
In most hotels all over the world, you will not find a room with the number 13, and if the hotel is a
skyscraper, it will go from floor 12 to 14. The superstition that 13 is unlucky can be traced back to a
Scandinavian myth. There were originally only twelve gods and then along came the god Loki to make 13.
Loki was a mischievous god who brought suffering to people. Nowadays, people avoid planning important
events on Friday 13th (or Tuesday 13th in some cultures), and if things go wrong on that day, like the loss of
a wallet or key, they blame it on the date.
C. Cats
Cats have always been surrounded by superstitions. In ancient Egypt cats were considered sacred, but in
medieval Europe many people believed cats were witches in disguise. A popular superstition about cats is
that a black cat, crossing your path from left to right, will bring you bad luck. However, in some cultures a
black cat is thought to be a good omen rather than a bad one.
D. The bride’s dress
There are some customs connected with the marriage ceremony which go back thousands of years. When
the bride puts on her white dress, she is wearing the sacred colour of the Greeks, which represents purity
and innocence. Like a modern bride, the ancient Greek bride wore a veil and a crown and was carried over
the threshold by the groom. On the day she gets married, a woman is supposed to wear “something old,
something new, something borrowed and something blue”. Blue in the rhyme stands for truth.
E. Rice
In certain primitive tribes the act of eating rice together was the way people got married. This was probably
because eating together symbolized living together and rice happened to be the local food. In some cultures
rice is thrown at weddings to protect the couple from evil spirits. It was believed that evil spirits appeared at
weddings and had to be fed to keep them from doing harm to the newlyweds. Rice is also thrown at
weddings because it represents fertility and is a symbolic way of wishing the couple many children.

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 Instituto Manuel Belgrano * 6to año A & B * Unidad #0 * 2024

F. The evil eye

In some Mediterranean countries, the “evil eye” refers to the fact that if you say something good about
someone, you might bring them bad luck. This probably began when people believed that if you praise
someone a lot and give them pleasure, the devil becomes envious and finds ways of spoiling that pleasure.
Saying a baby is beautiful may bring bad luck, so superstitious people often pretend to be spitting and say to
the child “ Let me not give you the evil eye”. People also think they can protect themselves from the evil eye
by not boasting about their success.
G. Touching wood
In many Christian countries, “Touch wood” is a superstitious expression that is supposed to prevent bad
luck. Often people actually touch wood as they say it, and if there is nothing made of someone else’s head
instead. If someone asks “Have you ever had a car accident?”, you might reply “No, touch wood.” meaning
“I hope it never happens”. The origin of this custom dates almost certainly from the time when people wore
a crucifix made of wood and touched it as if to say “May Christ protect me”.

*Read again and write the correct letter of the paragraph.

Which superstition/s…
a. is to do with getting married? ___ ___ g. will affect which room people sleep in? ___
b. involves a specific period of bad luck? ___ h. encourages people to be modest? ___
c. involves saying something? ___ ___ i. involves throwing food at someone? ___
d. involves people wearing something? ___ j. can affect important days in your life? ___
e. involves your hand? ___ k. involves an animal? ___
f. involves an accident? ___

*Look, think and answer:

1. If things go wrong on that day, they blame it on the date.

2. If you break a mirror, you will have 7 years’ bad luck.
3. If you broke anything with this reflection on it, such as a mirror, you would harm your soul.

a) Do they refer to the past, to the present or to the future? ……………………………

b) Which sentence describes real facts, general truth, habit or routine? ……………………………
c) Which sentence describes a possible cause-effect relation in the present-future time? ……………………………
d) Which sentence describes an unreal situation in the present? ……………………………
e) Read the sentences again, which words are stressed? circle the answers in the sentences

*Complete the form

Cause Effect

Conditional …. If + ………………………………………………. , simple present .

Conditional …. If + …simple present…… , ………….. + infinitive.

Conditional …. ……….. + …………………………………….. , would + ……………… .

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 Instituto Manuel Belgrano * 6to año A & B * Unidad #0 * 2024

Note: when the situation comes → EFFECT - CAUSE, there is no comma.

*Practice
Complete the sentences with the correct form of C0, C1, C2.

1. If you _______________ hard, you get good marks. (study)

2. Unless you do your best, you _______________ an excellent result. (not to get)
3. If I felt lonely, I _______________ to find new friends.(to try)
4. People are very proud if their children _______________ successful.(to become)
5. If he _______________ rock music, he'll enjoy today's show.(to like)
6. If you were a president, you _______________ the most famous person in your country. (be)
7. If people feel bad, dogs always _______________ . (to help)
8. I'm sure our cat _______________ us a lot of funny things if she could talk. (to tell)
9. We would stop fighting if we _______________ about everything. (to speak)
10. We often _______________ to our parents until we are in trouble. (not to listen)

*Speaking
Work with your partner. Ask and answer. Make notes of interesting answers.

*Homework

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 Instituto Manuel Belgrano * 6to año A & B * Unidad #0 * 2024

DISCUSS
*Discuss: is there a lottery in Argentina? If you were over 18, would you play the lottery? Why or why not?
What would you do if you won the lottery?

*Read about this couple. Did they win the lottery?

*Read and answer

July, 2022
After receiving u$s 10 million, they…
● moved to a bigger house
● bought a new car
● didn’t change their jobs

*Read the extract from a radio show:

I: Martin, would you have been able to buy a car if you hadn’t seen that ticket after the storm?
M: “If I hadn’t seen the winning Lotto ticket, I wouldn’t have had the money to buy a new car!,”

a) Is he speculating about a present, future or past event?……………………………

b) Is it a real or unreal situation?……………………………
c) Read the sentences again, which words are stressed? circle the answers in the sentences

*Complete the form

Cause Effect

Conditional …. If + ………………………………………………. , ………………+ ……………… + …………………

*Practice

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 Instituto Manuel Belgrano * 6to año A & B * Unidad #0 * 2024

*Read the following situations (real) and make a PAST hypothesis (unreal). Use the word given, do not change
it.
1. I bought a ticket and won some money. (HADN’T)
“If I ………………………………………………….… a ticket, I…………………………………………………………………. some money.”
2. My number didn’t win because it wasn’t random. (WOULD)
If my number had ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..won.
3. I didn’t buy the house because I didn’t have enough money. (HAD)
If I ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… would have bought the house.
4. I regret not buying that ticket because it won a thousand pounds. (WOULD)
If I had bought that ticket, ………………………………………………………………….…………………………. a thousand pounds.
5. He gambled a lot and lost all his money. (GAMBLED)
If he …………………………………………………………………………………………….……….. he wouldn’t have lost all his money.

*Extra practice: MONEY IDIOMS

What do they mean?
1. Money does not grow on trees!
2. Time is money!
3. You can’t buy love.
4. Money talks!
*Match the idioms to their definitions:
a. wealthy people receive special treatment or have more power and influence
b. said to warn someone to be careful how much money they spend, because there is only a limited amount
c. said to emphasize that you should not waste time, because you could be using it to earn money
d. Love is not about money or material things or how much you can buy for a person.

*In pairs, have a conversation in which you use the 4 IDIOMS and include an instance of Unreal Past Conditional.

*Extra practice #2 -CONDITIONALS

*Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. There are forms of first, second and third
conditionals in the text. Do NOT use contracted forms.
If the world's big problems had been addressed sooner, our lives 1 _______________ (improve) a long time ago. But
politicians and world leaders don’t do enough to improve the quality of life. If I had any power, I 2 _______________
(try) to stop the destruction of our planet and I 3 _______________ (make) the world a better place for all people.

First of all, I would try to stop wars, because unless we put an end to all the wars, millions of people 4 _______________
(continue) to die ever day. If there were no wars, all children 5 _______________ (have) their parents at home to take
care of them and provide for them, and they 6 _______________ (grow up) in a happier world.

Also, if I 7 _______________ (be) a world leader, I would provide clean water for all countries. If all countries 8
_______________ (have) easy access to clean water, millions of children 9 _______________ (stop) dying from diseases
caused by the lack of clean water. If we don't do something about this issue soon, there 10_______________
(be) lots of wars and deaths because of the lack of water.
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 Instituto Manuel Belgrano * 6to año A & B * Unidad #0 * 2024

We also need to introduce laws to reduce pollution. If we had done this in the past, millions of species 11
_______________ (never/become) extinct, and global warming 12 _______________ (never/start). If it were up to me,
I 13 _______________ (introduce) very high taxes on fuel energy and at the same time I 14 _______________ (help) big
companies to invest in clean energy. Unless we take measures now, it 15 _______________ (be) too late both for
ourselves and our children.

*Extra practice #3 -CONDITIONALS

*Read “The Diver” and answer the questions.

1. What was the valuable object in the story?
2. Who did it belong to before it was lost?
3. Would you have forgotten about the woman
and the ring immediately? Why (not)?

*Read the end of the story.

*Discuss these questions.

1. What do you think Angelo would have done with

the ring if he had found it when he was younger?
2. What would he have done if he hadn’t died so soon
after he found it?
3. Would you have done the same? Why (not)?