Question Type 1: Basic Description Questions

Question Type 7: “Would” Questions

Look at the following questions:

• 
  Would you like to move to another city in the future?
  
• 
  Would you like to change your job?
  
• 
  Would you like to live near the sea?
  
• 
  Would you like to learn another foreign language?
  
• 
  Would you like to be in a film?
  
• 
  What would you like to change about your city?
  
• 
  What would you like to change about your school (school in the past)?
  
• 
  Would you like to change your name?
  

When the examiner asks these questions, he or she is listening carefully to one aspect of your answer. What do you think is the most important aspect of your answer for these questions?

Look al the following example:

"Would you like to change your name?"

"No, I don't want to change my name. In fact I think I'm really fond of my name because it has quite a deep and significant meaning, and as well as this, my mother chose it for me so she doesn’t want me to change it. Actually I am sure I will never change my name!"

Is this a good answer?

What is good about this answer?

What is missing from this answer?

The grammar aspect of these questions is very important. As a basic rule, if the question uses "would", then you need to include at least one example of "would" (or might /could) in your answer.

For most of these questions, you should use the second conditional tense in your answer. In fact the examiner is expecting you to produce an example of this verb tense.

The form of the second conditional is quite simple:

If + past simple, would / could / might + infinitive verb.

e.g.: If I lived near the sea, I would be able to eat fresh seafood.

If I had the time, I would go for travelling.

The second conditional is used to talk about a present or future time, to describe an event that is unlikely (hypothetical).

e.g.: If I worked in a factory, I would be tired every day! (But I don‘t work in a factory and it’s unlikely that I will work in a factory in the future.)