You wake up with a million dollars.
You can spend it, save it, share it, or do something unexpected. Tell a partner your first three ideas.
Think beyond shopping
Who would you help? What would you change? What would you still do exactly as you do now?
Try a sentence
“If I had a million dollars, I’d ______.”
“I wouldn’t ______, because ______.”
A big dream, a familiar pattern.
Listen once for the mood. Then listen again for imagined purchases and activities. No recording? Use the short excerpt and the song ideas below.
“If I had $1000000
I’d buy you a house”
Short excerpt from the lyrics supplied for this lesson. “I’d” means “I would” here.
Listen for the ideas
A home and furniture, a tree fort, unusual animals, art, and familiar comfort food appear in the song.
Which ideas seem practical, playful, or affectionate? Choose one and explain your interpretation.
Listen for the meaning
Does the singer describe a real purchase, or imagine what he would do with money he does not say he has?
Discuss the song’s bigger question
Can money buy affection? Does a thoughtful gift need to be expensive? The song mixes extravagant wishes with ordinary pleasures. What does that suggest to you?
Past form. Present or future imagination.
would + base verb
Use the second conditional to imagine an unreal or unlikely situation in the present or future. The past form makes the situation feel less real; it does not necessarily mean past time.
The condition
If I had more money, …
If she lived closer, …
If we did not have a car, …
The imagined result
… I would help my family.
… she could visit more often.
… we might cycle to work.
Would: imagined result · could: ability or possibility · might: a less certain possibility
Four useful details
- Don’t usually put “would” after “if.” Say “If I had money, I would travel.”
- Use “were” for hypothetical be. “If I were rich…” / “If she were here…” This is the standard teaching form; “was” is also common informally with I/he/she/it.
- Change the order. “I would travel if I had money.” No comma is normally needed when the if-clause comes second.
- Watch contractions. “I’d buy” = “I would buy”; “wouldn’t” = “would not.” “I’d” can mean “I had” elsewhere, so look at the verb that follows.
First conditional: a real possibility
“If I save enough this year, I will buy a bike.”
I see this as a realistic future possibility.
Second conditional: an imagined situation
“If I had a million dollars, I would buy a bike for everyone.”
I am imagining having that money.
Choose an answer. Read the explanation, and try again if you need to.
Select the tiles in order. Select a tile in your sentence to remove it. Start with “If”; use all words and punctuation.
Your million-dollar plan.
Choose three priorities. Your total can be up to $1,000,000; any money you do not allocate stays in savings.
| My priority | Amount ($) |
|---|
$1,000,000 left for savings.
Check your writing
Writing is for self-checking or teacher feedback; it is not automatically graded. Entries remain only while this page is open. Print or save a PDF to keep your work.
Keep the conversation going.
The “what if” chain
A: “If I had a million dollars, I’d open a café.”
B: “If you opened a café, I’d work there.”
C: “If I worked there, I’d learn to bake.”
Continue for one minute. Keep each new if-clause in the past simple.
Money can’t do everything
What would you do if you had an extra day every week? If you could learn any skill instantly? If you were the teacher for a day?
Teacher notes & answer key
Suggested timing: warm-up 5 min; listening/noticing 8; grammar 8; practice 15–20; creation 10; reflection 5. For a shorter lesson, set sentence-building as homework.
Listening: use an authorized recording. Ask learners to predict purchases, listen for gist, then identify had / would / could. The page does not include audio. Without audio, use the supplied excerpt and song themes.
Support: model one sentence first and let learners use the reference. Extend: have learners put the result first, make sentences negative, or replace would with could/might and explain the meaning change.
Discussion: accept different interpretations of the song’s humor and affection. Broaden the conversation to free time, community, and skills if money feels too personal.
Writing: look for a plausible imagined condition, correct clause forms, matching pronouns, and punctuation. Do not require students to share personal finances.