Inversion. Conditionals. Conditionals with inversion! Did you know that we could use
inversion with conditionals? No I totally didn't! Well you can and you need to know
this for the C1 Advanced Cambridge exam! I need to know it!? You need to know it!
My name is Toby, this is SMASH English and here is everything you need to know about
using inversion with conditionals for the C1 Advanced Cambridge exam!
Before we begin remember: usually in English we put the subject before the verb but sometimes
we put an auxiliary verb before the subject and this is called INVERSION. We do this when we ask
questions. We do this with SO, NEITHER and NOR and we often do this with negative adverbs of
frequency. And if you are thinking now "Toby! I have no idea what you are talking about!"
Well, that means you need to watch my video all about the basics of inversion.
Right here! If you don't watch it and you don't know what inversion is then this video will be
very very confusing. And that's a terrible thing. Let us start with a first conditional. And here
is a very basic first conditional: "If I get lost I will be sure to contact you". We can create an
inversion here by replacing IF with SHOULD and that's it. This makes a very very formal first
conditional. Doesn't it sound great? "Should I get lost I will be sure to contact you". Fantastic!
Should you watch SMASH English all day every day you will most definitely pass your Cambridge exam!
Yes! Oh and should you need to learn more about the first conditional,
I have a video all about it right here! Ciao! SMASH English head office, Monica speaking.
Hello! Good afternoon! Would it be possible to speak to Toby,
the CEO please? You'd like to speak to Toby? Okay sure i'll just put you through! Monica no!
Why? It's duke! He's been phoning every single day asking for a job. Oh my god! Gross! Don't worry,
um, I'm very sorry to inform you that Mr. Toby is in a meeting right now but should you require any
further assistance maybe I could help? No. That will not be necessary. I'll try again tomorrow.
Bye! Ugh! Can you just block his number? He uses a different number every single time,
Monica! I don't know how he does it! We can invert second conditionals too
and this is my favorite grammar structure ever! So here is a normal second conditional:
If I became a dog trainer I would train dogs to ice skate. Yeah. I have used the second
conditional here because I think this is a very unlikely future situation. I will never become
a dog trainer because I lack skills and basic talent and this is why I teach my own language.
Oh and should you need to learn more about the second conditional I have a video all about it
right here! Now before we talk about inverting the second conditional we need to understand another
grammar structure that we can use in the condition clause, the if clause, of a second conditional.
Instead of saying IF I became a dog trainer (IF plus SUBJECT plus PAST SIMPLE) we can say
"if I were to become a dog trainer". (IF plus SUBJECT plus WERE plus TO plus INFINITIVE).
This gives us "If I were to become a dog trainer I would train dogs to ice skate". I think this is a
fantastic structure to use in your C1 Advanced speaking exam and we haven't even started with
inversion yet! Amazing! This video is great! And Toby what do you think you will be doing
10 years from now? Hmm. I don't know. But if I were to speculate I would say unemployed
and begging for money. Which brings me to my favorite subscribers Mariana and Valentina!
Mariana and Valentina made my sad and lonely life a little bit brighter by donating to the channel.
Thanks a lot ladies! I love you both! If you feel that my videos have helped you
with your Cambridge exam preparation and you would like to say thank you with money then
please consider donating to the channel! Links will be in the comments and the description.
Yeah thanks girls! Because of you Toby can pay me! No! It's my money! Give me my money! Toby he's
going to call again and we can't just give him a job! He's a freak! Well, Monica... Would it be so
bad? Surely it'd be better than him calling every day? If I were to give him a job he could clean
right? Well he'd have a lot to do.... Like if he were to be the cleaner he'd have to work
all day every day... like a slave. Toby, I've always wanted a slave!
So how can we use this fantastic new structure that we have learnt (IF plus SUBJECT plus WERE
plus TO plus INFINITIVE) to make an inversion? Well it's really easy. We eliminate IF and we
put WERE before the subject. Done! Fantastic! Wow, Toby! That's great! It's really easy and it
makes me sound intelligent! So let's look at some more examples! I love examples! Were I to arrive
late my boss would be very angry. Were it not for SMASH English I would feel
very depressed right now. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.... Come on! Answer!
SMASH English head office, Monica speaking... Uh, how may I be of assistance? Um can I speak to
Toby, the CEO of SMASH English please? Okay sure, yeah, I'll just put you through.
Hello? Toby, the CEO, speaking. Um good afternoon, sir! Have you got a job?
Um yes yes I do. I'm the CEO of SMASH English. Okay bye.
Hello? Toby the CEO of SMASH English speaking. Hi, sorry. I meant have you got a job for me?
Oh actually, Duke, I think we have just the position for you. Yeah? What is it? You could
be the official cleaner of SMASH English's office because, Duke, it is absolutely disgusting here
and uh, we haven't received enough donations yet to upgrade... do you know what I mean?
Okay yeah sure! I can clean! Uh.... Were I to accept the position uh when would I start? Now?
Okay! Coming! Bye! Yes! Oh my god, Toby! This could be a big mistake! Well should he be
too annoying we can just fire him, right? Yeah good point. You're the boss! Yes, ah, yes I am.
And finally we can use inversion with third conditionals and this is my favorite grammar
structure of all time! Here is a very basic third conditional: If I hadn't found SMASH English I
would have failed my B2 First exam. Very, very true. We are using the third conditional here
because we are talking about an imaginary past situation. In reality we did find SMASH
English and we did pass our B2 First exam. Of course we did! That is science. And should you
need to learn more about the third conditional and when to use it and what the grammar is then
click that link there because I have another video all about it! Of course I do! I'm great!
Using inversion with the third conditional is really really... EASY!
Instead of using IF plus SUBJECT plus HAD plus PAST PARTICIPLE we use HAD plus SUBJECT plus
PAST PARTICIPLE. Yeah seriously, it's actually easier than the usual third conditional.
Had he subscribed to SMASH English he wouldn't have failed his Cambridge exams.
Oh no! Oh wow... So tragic. So sad. Make sure you don't make the same mistake... And subscribe!
Okay so I'm ready for my first day of work. Duke you cannot use the laptop! Only the CEO
gets to use the laptop! Jesus! I'm cleaning the office, Toby!
Look! Much better! Oh my god wow! Duke this is great! How did you do that? Shut up, Monica! Duke,
stop it! The viewers think it's real! But Toby, it's not! Look! What are you doing!? Stop! Okay
fine! Oh my god! Oh my god! Duke, I look so ugly and green! I'm like, having a panic attack right
now! Duke make it stop! Duke, had I known you were going to do this I wouldn't have given you a job,
you idiot! Now get out! I don't want you anymore! You're fired! I was just trying to help!
Stay calm, Monica... Monica stay calm, stay calm... And with that
we are finished! Now you know everything you need to know about using inversion with conditionals
for the C1 Advanced Cambridge exam! If you liked the video don't forget to SMASH that like button,
subscribe if you haven't already, leave a comment down below. My name is Toby and this was SMASH
English.