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Unreal conditional . Unreal Conditional : . Conditional unreal refers to situations where the speaker is speaking of a situation or a condition that is not true or real. It is merely an idea. For examples: If I had a lot of money, I would buy a car .
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Unreal Conditional : Conditional unreal refers to situations where the speaker is speaking of a situation or a condition that is not true or real. It is merely an idea. For examples: If I had a lot of money, I would buy a car. If I won the lottery, I would buy a new car. I would buy a new car if I won the lottery.
The result clause: presents the unreal or imagined result of that condition. the if-clause:presents the unreal condition. What really happened (real past ) she won a small amount of money in the lottery She wasn’t paying attention. What might have happened (Unreal past) If she had won the jackpot… If she had been paying a little more attention…
Un real condicional We can begin past unreal conditional sentences with the if-clause or the resultclause. We use a comma between the two clauses when the if-clause comes first. Example • If Roger had studied business, he would have been more prosperous. • He would have been more prosperous if roger had studied business The structure [If ... Past Perfect ..., ... would have + past participle ... ] [... would have + past participle ... if ... Past Perfect ...]
The use of unreal conditional We use past unreal conditionals to express unreal or imagined situations in the past. Examples: If Roger had studied business, he would have been more prosperous. ( Roger didn’t study business and he wasn’t prosperous. ) Roger would have had success if he had been smart. ( He didn’t have success and he wasn’t smart. ) When the result is not certain, use might have or could have in the result clause to express possibility. Examples: If Roger had been smarter, he would not have been so unsuccessful. If Roger hadn’t been foolish, he wouldn’t have got into trouble. Roger would still be in business if he hadn’t been so foolhardy.
In questions The question is formed only in the result clause, NOT in the if-clause. Examples: If you had seen the problems, what would you have done? If Roger had not seen the problems, would he have changed?
[If ... Past Perfect ..., ... would have + past participle ... ] [... would have + past participle ... if ... Past Perfect ...] EXAMPLES: SITUATIONS (PAST TENSE) • I DIDN´T ARRIVE ON TIME. I MISSED THE TRAIN. • IT RAINED YESTERDAY. WE DIDN´T DRIVE IN THE PARK • IT WASN´T WARM YESTERDAY. WE DIDN´T GO TO THE BEACH.
If I had a lot of money, I would buy a car. The if clause: describing an unreal situation the use of "had" here. Why did the speaker use "had" and not "have?" The reason is that the speaker does not have money. For this reason, he used the past tense of "have." The condition is untrue and unreal. He really does not have money. that the result uses "would" instead of "will," and this is also because the condition is unreal, so the result must also be unreal.
For examples the use of will To illustrate this further, let us assume the following events: You are at the mall. You see a shirt that you like. The shirt is $50. You want to buy it, but you do not know if you have enough money. What would you say? Well, notice that the situation thus far is real, so what you may say is: "If I have enough money, I will buy the shirt." This is a real condition, right? You do not know how much money you have in your wallet. If you have enough, you will buy it. The condition is possible and real.
the use of- if -had and would "Now you check your wallet, and you find that you have only $30. You cannot buy the shirt because you do not have the money. The condition now is unreal. You may say: "If I had money, I would buy the shirt." Notice the use of "had" and "would" in the unreal situation.
Let us look at some examples to clarify this idea further. If I had time, I would visit you. If I had enough gas, I would drive to Vegas. If I had enough strength, I would run.
Let`s practice ! True: I did not eat breakfast, so I am hungry now. Conditional: True: I did not have enough money yesterday, so I did not buy the shirt I wanted. Conditional True: I was tired last night, so I did not go with you to the movies. Conditional: True: You helped me with my study, so I succeeded. Conditional:
The result • True: I did not eat breakfast, so I am hungry now. • Conditional: If I had eaten breakfast, I would not be hungry now. • True: I did not have enough money yesterday, so I did not buy the shirt I wanted. • Conditional: If I had had enough money yesterday, I would have bought the shirt I wanted. • True: I was tired last night, so I did not go with you to the movies. • Conditional: If I had not been tired last night, I would have gone with you to the movies. • True: You helped me with my study, so I succeeded. • Conditional: If you had not helped me with my study, I would not have succeeded.
The Unreal Form of Verb "Be" “were" is used for both singular and plural subjects in unreal conditions. Although "was" is often used in informal speech, you are encouraged to avoid making such an error. Again, remember that in unreal conditions, the verb "to be" will always be "were" regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural. For example: If I were you, I would study more. If I were the president, I would support education. If I were rich, I would help the poor. If I were German, I would speak German fluently.
If I were you, I would study more. If I were the president, I would support education. If I were rich, I would help the poor. If I were German, I would speak German fluently. "were" is used with all subjects, singular and plural. "Were" is used to indicate that the condition is unreal and impossible. In the first sentence, I am not you, that is why I say "if I were you." In the second sentence, I said, "If I were the president" because I am not the president; the condition is impossible and unreal. In the third sentence, I am not rich, so I say, "If I were rich." And in the last sentence, I am not German, so I say, "If I were German."
Write a sentence in the "unreal" conditional using the information provided. Don't forget to use a comma if the part of the sentence with "if" goes first. Although you can write conditional sentences with contractions, for this exercise please write the sentences without contractions like the example. If/we/have/a private airplane/we/travel/around the world If we had a private airplane, we would travel around the world. 1. SHE/IF/speak/English/she/get/a better job 2. They/fly/to Mars/if/they/have/a spaceship 3. If/I/be/a good cook/I/cook/delicious meals every night 4. BE/I/IF/her mother/I/drive/her to school
