“I'd like to think that I would donate most of it to a worthy cause.”

English Lesson: I'd like to think that I would donate most of it to a worthy cause.

A friend asks you what you would do if you won a million dollars in a lottery. You'd like to use it to help other people, although you're not sure how you would spend it if that really happened to you.

I'd like to think that I would donate most of it to a worthy cause.

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donate (something)

To "donate" something means to give it to a person or group that needs help.

People donate things to individuals whose houses have burned down, to churches, to homeless shelters, and to thrift stores. Things that people can donate include:

donate money

donate blood

donate used clothes

donate food

I would (do something) (in an imaginary situation)

You can talk about imaginary situations with "I would..."

For example:

A: If you could have a conversation with any person from history, who would you want to talk to?

B: I would love to talk to Albert Einstein.

"Imaginary situations" are things that are not possible, or not likely to happen.

"I would ___" can be shortened to "I'd ___."

I'd like to think (clause)

Use this phrase when you're imagining or guessing something, and you want to say what you hope is true.

For example, if you're learning to play guitar, you can say this:

I'd like to think that I'm improving.

This means that you're not completely sure that you're improving, but you hope that you are. 

You can also say "I like to think..." to talk about things that you often hope.

a worthy cause

A "worthy cause" is a project or charity that helps people in need or improves society.

Some specific "worthy causes" include:

  • a school fundraiser
  • a soup kitchen for homeless people
  • a foundation which funds research to look for cures to cancer

You can hear this phrase in these contexts:

donate (something) to a worthy cause

(something) is going to a worthy cause