American English · B2 · Unit 16
Right and wrong
Right and wrong
By the end you can
- Discuss a moral dilemma
- Justify a decision
- Understand an argument about what is right
Words and phrases
| American English | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| the right thing to do | the morally correct action | Giving it back is the right thing to do. |
| I'd feel guilty | I'd feel bad for doing something wrong | I'd feel guilty if I kept it. |
| no one would ever know | nobody would find out | No one would ever know, though. |
| a dilemma | a hard choice between two options | Keep it or give it back? That's a dilemma. |
| it's wrong to | it's not morally OK to | It's wrong to keep someone else's money. |
| justify | give good reasons for | How can you justify that? |
| on principle | because of what you believe | I'd return it on principle. |
| in good conscience | honestly, without feeling that it's wrong | I couldn't do that in good conscience. |
| take responsibility for | accept that something is yours to deal with | You have to take responsibility for your choices. |
| the lesser of two evils | the less bad of two bad choices | It's the lesser of two evils. |
| a gray area | something not clearly right or wrong (British: grey) | Legally, it's a gray area. |
Then talk it through
Deciding with a friend what to do about a wallet full of money you found. In the app you have this conversation out loud or typed, with the unit's goals to tick off and corrections at the end.