Present Unreal Situations
Strategizing with hypothetical statements
In hypothetical statements (conditional sentences) that express untrue, nonfactual ideas in the present, the past is used in the if-clause.
The statement in the if-clause is not occurring: it is being considered as an option or plan.
Present Unreal Condidtonal — Strategy Statements
Before making a move in a game like chess, a player thinks about what would happen if he or she made the move. The player does not actually make the move, but thinks about it instead. No move is made until the player considers several hypothetical moves. The player is analyzing options based on cause-effect relationships.
| STRATEGY | PRESENT UNREAL STATEMENT |
|---|---|
A strategy states a well-thought out but imaginary action taken on some thing or some one.. |
A cause-effect statement with "if" is followed by a past tense verb forms to indicate the imaginary or hypothetical situation. Modals such as would and could are commonly used. |
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If I moved my pawn forward, then I could take his bishop. present unreal |
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If I slid my castle out of the way, then his queen might not take it. present unreal |
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If I checkmated his king, my friend would be mad. present unreal |
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If I were a good friend, I would let my friend win once in a while. present unreal |
Move my pawn forward to take his bishop.
Slide my castle out of the way of his knight and queen.
Checkmate his king. Make him mad.
Let my friend win. Be a good friend.
Were & Would Clauses
Distancing Ourselves from Reality
Present Hypotheticals ("Irrealis")
| STATEMENT | NEGATIVE / QUESTION | ||
|---|---|---|---|
We use special verbs with if when we are talking about situations that we imagine; that is, things that probably will not happen. The unreal statement includes a past tense verb form. The other clause includes a would or could modal form. We use "were" and "would" to distance ourselves from reality. |
A negative is formed by placing not after the verb in the hypothetical clause or in the other clause. A question is formed by inverting the subject and auxiliary verb (would or could) in the other clause. |
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PAST VERB FORM If I were/was a millionaire, |
WOULD / COULD I would buy a private jet. |
PAST VERB FROM If I were/was a millionaire, (I am not) |
WOULD NOT/ COULD NOT I wouldn't travel on a commercial airline. |
If I were/was a millionaire, |
I could buy a private jet. |
If I weren't /wasn't a millionaire, (I am) |
I would have to travel like everyone else. |
If I could choose anything, |
I would buy a house. |
If I could vacation anywhere, |
I wouldn't stay here. |
If I could choose anything, |
*I could buy a house. (repeating could is awkward) |
PAST VERB FROM If you were a millionaire, |
SUBJECT–AUX. INVERSION could you ___ stop working? |
Were I a millionaire, |
I could buy a house. |
If you could choose, |
would you __ move somewhere else? |
was / were – We often use were instead of was after if. Both was and were are used in formal English, but only was is used in informal English. If I were you... Were is a subjunctive verb form.
commercial airline – an airline used by the public, not private
Hypothetical Situations
Mixed Time Frames
Mixing Time Frames
| PRESENT / FUTURE CONDITION | HYPOTHETICAL RESULTING ACTION |
|---|---|
After if, were (formal) or was (informal) is used for 1st and 3rd person singular. Either of the clauses on the left can be mixed with the clauses on the right. |
The resulting action is imaginary. Note that phrasing for present and future tense are the same. Also note "be going to" and "go" expressions (go shopping/ go fishing/ go swimming) can add to the confusion. |
a) If it were not going to rain soon. (hypothetical future – be going to) |
I would go shopping later today. (future hypothetical – will go) |
b) If it were not raining now. (hypothetical present – be ) |
I would be going shopping later today. (future progressive hypothetical – will be going) |
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I would be going shopping now. (present progressive hypothetical – am going) |
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I would go shopping now. (present progressive hypothetical – am going) |
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I would have gone shopping earlier. (past hypothetical - have gone) (The fact that it is raining now forced me to change earlier shopping plans.) |
PAST REAL (different!) If it didn't rain (past real) |
PAST REAL I went shopping on the weekends. (past – custom) See Real Conditions- Past |
Also see Mixed Tenses
Present & Past Hypotheticals
Expression – If it hadn't been for
| IF IT WAS/ WERE NOT FOR | IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR |
|---|---|
If it weren't for... is another way to say that one event changes everything. |
If it hadn't been for... is another way to say that one past event changed everything. |
If it wasn't/weren't for me, you wouldn't be here. (present hypothetical) |
If it hadn't been for his advice, I would have made the wrong decision. (past hypothetical) |
If it wasn't/weren't for all this homework that I have to do, I'd go with you. (present hypothetical) |
If it hadn't been for his advice, I wouldn't be here now. (mixed tense hypothetical) |
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If it hadn't been for your help, I would have been lost. (past hypothetical) |
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If it hadn't been for your help, I would still be working. (mixed tense hypothetical) |
Also see: Omitting If – Were I , Had I..., Should you...
Present & Future Hypotheticals
Expression – Were to
| IF... WERE GOING TO | IF ... WAS/WERE TO |
|---|---|
Be going to can be used in the if-clause to express a future hypothetical situation or a request. |
A shortened form is used for the hypotheticals below. They use just the auxilary before an infinitive verb. |
If you were going to take a trip, where would you go? |
If you were to take a trip, where would you go? |
If the government was/ were going to legalize marijuana, it would have done so by now. |
If the government was/ were to legalize marijuana, it would have a great deal of difficulty. |
If you were [going] to stand a little to the left, I could see better. (a request) |
If you were to stand a little to the left, I could see better. (a request) |
If you were [going] to lend me a little money, I could buy a ticket. (a request) |
If you were to lend me a little money, I could buy a ticket. (a request) |
* If you were to be on time... / *If you were to know the answer... (stative verbs) |
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was / were – We often use were instead of was after if. Both was and were are used in formal English, but only was is used in informal English. If I were you... Were is a subjunctive verb form.
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
Practice
Managing a Restaurant
- Complete the sentence by selecting a result clause.
- An asterisk * indicates and incorrect choice.