Myself and My Ambitions
Senior 6 · English
Myself and My Ambitions
Lesson 3 of 4
25 min
Let's begin
Talking about ambitions means talking about time that has not happened yet, and about "what if". English has more than one future and more than one "if", and each carries a different degree of certainty. The letter below uses most of them. Notice how the writer's grammar changes as she moves from firm plans to hopes and to regrets.
Dear Ineza of 2036,
I am writing this in the last term of S6. The national examination starts in July, and I'm meeting the careers adviser on Friday to talk about applications. I'm going to apply for agriculture, because I want to help farmers like Grandpa get more from their land.
This time next year I will probably be studying in Musanze or Huye, and by the time you read this, you will have graduated and, I hope, worked for several years. You might be running a successful small family-owned seed business. You may even have a lab. If you are reading this in a village office, surrounded by farmers, then we will have done what we set out to do.
If I had more courage, I would tell my friends about this dream. If I had started revising earlier in S5, I wouldn't be so nervous now. But as long as I keep going, I think I'll be fine. When I finish S6, I will start saving for a laptop.
Should you ever feel like giving up, read this letter again.
With love from your younger self,
Ineza
Ineza is imagined.
Definition
| Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| will + infinitive | prediction or belief; a decision made now; a promise | I think I'll be fine. · I'll help you with that. |
| be going to | a plan already decided; a prediction from present evidence | I'm going to apply for agriculture. · Look at those clouds: it's going to rain. |
| present continuous | a fixed arrangement with other people | I'm meeting the careers adviser on Friday. |
| present simple | a timetable or schedule | The examination starts in July. |
| future continuous | an action in progress at a future moment | This time next year I'll be studying in Huye. |
| future perfect | an action completed before a future moment | By 2030 I will have graduated. |
| may, might, could | possibility (less certain than will) | You might be running a seed business. |
| will be able to, will have to | future ability and necessity (can and must have no future forms) | I'll be able to drive. · I'll have to save. |
Time clauses: after when, as soon as, before, after, until and if, use a present tense for the future: When I finish S6, I will start saving. (not When I will finish).
| Type | Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero | if + present, present | always true | If you heat water to 100 °C at sea level, it boils. |
| First | if + present, will + infinitive | a real possibility in the future | If I get the grades, I'll study engineering. |
| Second | if + past, would + infinitive | unreal now, or unlikely in the future | If I won a scholarship, I would study abroad. |
| Third | if + past perfect, would have + past participle | unreal past: it did not happen | If I had chosen PCM, I would have applied for engineering. |
| Mixed | if + past perfect, would + infinitive | a past condition with a present result | If I had revised earlier, I wouldn't be so nervous now. |
Worked example
Choosing the conditional. Situation: Kalisa did not apply for the internship because he missed the deadline. Now he regrets it. Write one sentence about the past result and one about the present result.
When two or more adjectives come before a noun, they usually follow this order. It matters in a CV, where you describe yourself and your experience precisely.
| Opinion | Size | Age | Shape | Colour | Origin | Material | Purpose | Noun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| reliable | young | Rwandan | engineer | |||||
| beautiful | large | old | round | woven | basket | |||
| useful | small | new | black | Japanese | sewing | machine |
Worked example
Ordering adjectives for a CV. Arrange: (Rwandan / motivated / young) volunteer and (computer / two-month / basic) course.
Answer: a motivated young Rwandan volunteer; a basic two-month computer course.
Tip
Memory hook: OSASCOMP. Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material, Purpose. Say it like a name, and test each adjective against it.
Warning
The future perfect, from BBC Learning English's English Class (about 2 minutes). Note the examples with by and by the time, then write two sentences about what you will have done by the end of next year.
Practice
Sources and credits
