General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 05 Topic 04.doc Information Zahra says, "Even if the company moves, there's no guarantee that they won't sack some of the staff." Here she is talking about the possibility of the company moving and how that will affect her job security. We use even if …, to say that something which might happen will not affect the truth of something else. Even if is a conditional clause. Examples We'll go to the beach tomorrow, even if it rains. I'll finish this tonight, even if I have to stay up all night. Even if she says no, he'll still do it. DISCUSSION Look at these two women. They are both 47 years old and good friends. They went to high school together but ended up having very different lives. 1. Read the texts. 2. Use the language from the language focus to dicuss what the two women might or might not regret. 3. Discuss what they could have done differently. Sheila Taylor: Sheila is a trained nurse and midwife and has travelled extensively all over the world. She started when she was 22 with a trip to England. She asked Angela to come with her but Angela was madly in love at the time and couldn’t bear to leave her boyfriend. On that particular trip Sheila was away for 5 years and also visited Europe and Africa. She’s had a very interesting life. She went to work in Nicaragua in Central America picking coffee. She liked the area so much she returned to work in El Salvador for 2 years as a volunteer midwife. She met her husband in El Salvador and they now live in her country. She has learnt to play the clarinet, saxophone and drums and speaks Spanish. She is happy with her life although she has no children, no house and no financial security at the moment. 167