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C1 Advanced Grammar

⏱️ Estimated Time: 12 mins | Topic: Sport, Money & Ethics

Professional Sport, Money and Ethics: Expressing Hypothetical Situations

Master four essential C1 hypothetical sentence structures to debate commercialization, corporate governance, athlete welfare, and regulatory integrity in contemporary sport.

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How to Use This Lesson

👩‍🏫 For Teachers

Run through the four-row rule table with the class, then set a 12-minute timer for the tasks. Check answers using the hidden review keys after learners finish.

🎯 For Learners

Read each rule and its sports example carefully first. Solve each task using the clues in brackets, then check your answers at the end.

Grammar Core: 4 Hypothetical Patterns

1 Wish / If only + Past Perfect

Shows regret about an event or non-event in the past.

“If only the federation had investigated the doping claims earlier.”

2 Would rather + Subject + Past Simple

Says what you prefer someone did now or in the future.

“I would rather the league shared its broadcast revenue more fairly.”

3 Would rather + Subject + Past Perfect

Says you wish someone had or had not done something in the past.

“I would rather the club had not exploited its young players.”

4 It is high time + Past Simple

Emphasizes that something urgent should happen immediately now.

“It is high time sports bodies took burnout seriously.”

A tense sports press conference room with multiple microphones on a podium in the foreground, corporate sponsorship logo

Sports governance under media scrutiny

🎯 Key Vocabulary Bank (10 Words)

sponsorship lucrative revenue broadcast doping integrity misconduct exploit burnout scandal

Part 1

Multiple Choice: Spot the Correct Structure

Choose the correct sentence.

Question 1 Clue: (wish)

Expressing past regret over the club forfeiting a major sponsorship contract:

____ The club wishes it secured the multi-million dollar sponsorship earlier. ____ The club wishes it would have signed the lucrative sponsorship contract last winter. ____ The club wishes it had finalized that lucrative sponsorship before the season began.

Question 2 Clue: (rather)

Desiring the network to distribute future broadcast revenue more equitably:

____ Fans would rather the network reinvests its digital broadcast revenue into grassroots clubs. ____ Fans would rather the network reinvested its broadcast revenue into grassroots clubs next term. ____ Fans would rather the network will allocate broadcast revenue to regional leagues.

Question 3 Clue: (time)

Demanding urgent, overdue reform to restore institutional integrity:

____ It is high time the international committee established an independent integrity unit. ____ It is high time the international committee to establish an independent integrity unit. ____ It is high time the international committee establishes an independent integrity unit.

Part 2

Sentence Transformations

Rewrite each sentence with the new pattern.

Question 4 (Rule 3) Clue word: (rather)

Original: “I regret that the board signed that lucrative contract with a controversial sponsor.”

Complete the rewrite with the exact missing clause:

I would rather the board ____ that lucrative contract with a controversial sponsor.

Question 5 (Rule 1) Clue word: (only)

Original: “It is a pity the manager concealed the truth about the match-fixing scandal.”

Complete the sentence expressing past regret:

If only the manager ____ the truth about the match-fixing scandal.

Question 6 (Rule 4) Clue word: (high)

Original: “Governing committees ought to protect junior athletes from severe burnout and commercial exploitation right now.”

Rewrite with 'It is high time':

It is high time governing committees ____ junior athletes from severe burnout and commercial exploitation.

Part 3

Fill in the gaps

Select the correct verb from the randomized bank and conjugate it into the required C1 hypothetical tense.

Scrambled Verb Pool:

resign reconsider ban address

Question 7 (Rule 2) Clue: (address)

Fans prefer that the disciplinary tribunal tackle ongoing behavioral violations promptly this season.

The fans would rather the committee ____ official misconduct before the championship playoffs begin.

Question 8 (Rule 3) Clue: (ban)

Critics express regret that the anti-doping agency delayed punitive action during last summer's games.

Critics would rather the authority ____ the athlete immediately after the initial doping test returned positive.

Question 9 (Rule 1) Clue: (resign)

Supporters voice deep remorse that the chief executive remained in office when the ethical crisis broke out.

Supporters wish the chief executive ____ before the integrity crisis tarnished the entire league.

Part 4

Error Correction: Phone Chat Simulation

Two sports journalists are texting about financial mismanagement and player welfare. Identify and correct the three grammatical mistakes.

An exhausted professional athlete sitting slumped on a bench in a dimly lit locker room after an intense match, emotiona

Investigative Chat: Athlete welfare & commercial greed

📱 Sports Wire Direct • Encrypted Chat ● Live

Marcus (Lead Correspondent)

Did you read that leaked financial audit? It claims top athletes are suffering chronic fatigue while club executives hoard prize funds.

Elena (Investigative Reporter)

It is outrageous. It is high time sports associations reform their grueling schedules to safeguard players from career-ending burnout!

And regarding that lucrative sponsorship money, I would rather brands invest funds in grassroots youth academies rather than inflated executive bonuses right now.

Marcus (Lead Correspondent)

Exactly. Looking at past cover-ups, honestly, I would rather the media didn't overlook that scandal back then. If they had exposed it immediately, the current culture of misconduct wouldn't exist.

Error 1 • Elena's 1st Message (Rule 4) Clue: (time)

Elena wrote: “It is high time sports associations reform their grueling schedules...”

Correct form: ____

Error 2 • Elena's 2nd Message (Rule 2) Clue: (rather)

Elena wrote: “I would rather brands invest funds in grassroots academies...”

Correct form: ____

Error 3 • Marcus's Reply (Rule 3) Clue: (rather)

Marcus wrote: “I would rather the media didn't overlook that scandal back then.”

Correct form: ____

⚡ C1 Mastery Takeaway

Why this works

When evaluating professional misconduct, revenue distribution, or doping scandals, the past simple signifies an unreal present/urgent need (took, shared, invested), while the past perfect signals past regret (had investigated, had not exploited).

Hypothetical Meaning: Wish, If Only and Would Rather + Past Perfect

Professional Sport, Money and Ethics: Expressing Hypothetical Situations

How to Use This Lesson

Grammar Core: 4 Hypothetical Patterns

🎯 Key Vocabulary Bank (10 Words)

Multiple Choice: Spot the Correct Structure

Sentence Transformations

Fill in the gaps

Error Correction: Phone Chat Simulation

Why this works

Related lessons

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Proportion and Comparison: Three Times As Much As, A Fraction Of