Dale: Would you ever get into a fist fight?
Beren: I’ve actually never been in a fist fight, like as an adult. I don’t think I would. I don’t have it in me. I’ve been punched. But I kind of deserved it.
Dale: Do you think you would ever duke it out, like you’re angered so much that you really go, “Let’s step outside!”
Beren: I don’t know. Do you think it’s a good way to settle an argument? Because I don’t. I feel like it would just make things, you know, more heated. But I think it’s a difference between like being a woman and men. I feel like maybe guys would get a punch in and then get over it, that’s all that needs to be said.
Dale: If someone punched me, I definitely would punch him back.
Beren: Yeah. And then would you be over it, or would you…?
Dale: I think that I would definitely get into a fight. But I don’t think I’ve ever had any…I’ve never been punched. I pretty much…I’m a diplomat. But if it has to come down to it, to protect my family, to protect myself, I’m definitely down to throw down and duke it out. Go nuts.
Beren: If it comes to fisticuffs, you’re ready to go.
Dale: Just keep throwin’ the left and right!
Beren has never been in a fight, and doesn’t think she ever would. She thinks duking it out isn’t a good way to resolve a conflict. In her opinion, punching someone would probably just make an argument worse.
Dale hasn’t been in a fight either. Normally, he’s a pretty peaceful guy. But if he had to, he wouldn’t be afraid to throw a few punches. Beren thinks men might be more likely than women to try to resolve a conflict with a physical fight.
Have you ever gotten in a fight? Do you think duking it out is a good way to resolve an argument?
Second Conditional
Dale says that if someone punched him, he would punch them back. This is an example of the second conditional.
We form the second conditional with two clauses. One clause uses if + past tense verb. The second clause uses would + verb. For example, “If someone attacked me, I would fight back.” You can also switch the order of the clauses. You can say “I would fight back if someone attacked me.”
The second conditional describes an unreal situation and its imagined consequences. The “if” clause refers to the unreal situation. The “would” clause refers to the imagined consequences.
Which is correct, “If he hit me I wouldn’t hit him back” or “If he hit me I don’t hit him back”?