Grammar-Quizzes › Connectors › Connective Prepositions › Conditional › Past Hypotheticals 1
Past Hypotheticals 1
Analyzing errors that caused an accident
The Concorde Accident
In July 2000, Air France's safest aircraft —the supersonic Concorde— crashed causing many to speculate about what might have caused the accident. Speculation ranged from a flock of birds, to a bad repair job, to the intake of runway debris by one or both of the failed engines. Most experts agreed, "We can guess that a tire or several tires on the landing gear exploded."
At week's end, the French Transport Ministry announced, "From the information available at the present time, it seems that at least one tire burst, something that could have triggered a chain of events, damage to the aircraft's structure, a fire and engine failure."
"Air France Flight 4590" Wikipedia
burst (V) — explode, break open or apart
chain of events — related or linked, one thing causes the next
crash (N) — collision (esp. cars, trains, boats)
debris (N) — a piece of something that has fallen or broken off another jet
explode (V) — burst, rupture, break open or apart
flock (N) — quantifier for a group of birds
past hypothetical conditions (N) – thinking of options not taken which could have caused a different outcome or result
range (V) — vary from X to Y to Z
speculate (V) — guess; speculation (N) — the process of guessing, inferring
supersonic (Adj) — capable of speed greater than the speed of sound waves through air (SST Supersonic Transport)
tire (US-Eng) tyre (Br-Eng)
trigger (V) — anything, as an act or event, that starts a series of reactions.
Analysis of Unfortunate Actions (Errors)
| THIS ERROR WAS THE REASON FOR.... |
|---|
A past remote conditional has two parts: if → then. One action had to happen before the other could happen. In this two-part structure, the past remote condition ("if they had inspected the aircraft well") did not happen, so the resulting action in the main clause did not happen either. A past remote conditional clause is often used to point out an error that was responsible for a good outcome not happening. |
| #1 INSPECTION OF AIRCRAFT |
If the Air France maintenance crew had done a thorough inspection of the aircraft, (They did not inspect it well enough. thorough – full and proper) |
If the Continental Air maintenance crew had not hurried to complete their inspection of the aircraft, |
| # 2 REMOVAL OF DEBRIS FROM RUNWAY |
If the runway crew had cleared the strip of metal from the runway, |
If the runway crew had done a preflight inspection of the runway, |
| #3 FAILURE OF TIRE |
If one of the tires hadn't exploded, |
If the engine had held up, |
| #4 ENGINE FIRE |
If both engines hadn't caught fire, |
If the wing hadn't started melting, |
| THIS GOOD OUTCOME NOT HAPPENING. |
|---|
This resulting action did not occur because the condition was not met. This main clause of past remote conditional structure expresses the desired outcome (that failed to occur). The verb form consists of a modal—would have, could have, might have + participle. By using a remote conditional, the speaker imagines a better or different outcome than the one that actually occurred "in another, more perfect world". |
| #1 OUTCOME OF INSPECTION |
they would have repaired the #2 engine. |
they would have noticed a loose strip of metal on their aircraft. |
| # 2 OUTCOME OF REMOVAL OF DEBRIS |
it wouldn't have struck the wheels of the Concorde. |
they might have cleared the way for Flight 4590. |
| #3 OUTCOME OF TIRE FAILURE |
the tire pieces wouldn't have gone into an engine air intake. |
it wouldn't have shot out pieces that damaged fuel tank no. 2. |
| #4 OUTCOME OF ENGINE DAMAGE |
the pilot would have had enough speed to take off and return for an emergency landing. |
the pilot could have made an emergency landing. |
explode (V) — to burst into small pieces
hold up (V) — stay whole, undamaged
hypothetical (Adj) — based on a situation that is not real at the moment of speaking
inspection (N) — a careful viewing, . to examine closely, esp for faults or errors
landing gear (N) — the wheel system under an aircraft
melt (V) — become liquid, dissolve (ice melts to water)
thorough (Adj) — very complete
strip (N) — a long piece, a long, narrow shape
struck (V) — past tense form of strike; hit
if — heads an adjunct prepositional phrase that takes a clause (and a few other word forms) as its complement. The condition "clause" is actually a prepositional phrase (PP). Call me if you are ready. Call me if necessary. I rarely, if ever, call them.
open conditional — in linguistic description, the name for a real or true conditional is "open" because the possibility of occurring is probable
remote conditional — in linguistic description, the name for an unreal, untrue, or hypothetical conditional is "remote" because it denotes distance — both in formality and reality. See Uses for Conditional Statements.
Past Unreal Conditional (Remote Conditional)
Analysis of fortunate actions
Analysis of Fortunate Actions
| THIS FORTUNATE ACTION WAS THE REASON FOR... |
|---|
A past remote conditional sentence may also express good fortune by pointing out a disastrous outcome for a good action taken (in the if clause). |
| #1 PILOT'S QUICK THINKING |
If the pilot hadn't made a sharp right turn at the end of the runway, (he did make the turn) |
| # 2 TIME OF DAY |
If the accident hadn't occurred in daytime (it did occur in daylight) |
| # 3 GROUNDING OF ALL SST |
If the authorities hadn't grounded all SSTs (they did ground them all) |
| THIS BAD OUTCOME NOT HAPPENING. |
|---|
By pointing out a disastrous outcome under different circumstances, the speaker expresses satisfaction with the action that was taken. |
| #1 DISASTER AVOIDED |
he would have crashed into a neighborhood of homes. |
| # 2 DISASTER AVOIDED |
more people might have been killed inside the hotel that was struck at the end of the runway. |
| # 3 DISASTER AVOIDED |
more aircraft could have gone down due to the same design problems. |
avoid (V) – keep away from, get around, stop from happening
disaster (N) – a terrible, horrible event causing great loss
SST – supersonic transport aircraft like the Concorde
Past Unreal Conditional (Remote Conditional)
Other Expressions
If, Even if, Only if, Otherwise, Or Else
| THE CONDITION | |
|---|---|
If, even if, only if are connective prepositional phrases that in the examples below are followed by clauses with cautionary advice. |
|
| IF – A CONDITION | |
If the pilot hadn't made a sharp right turn at the end of the runway, |
he would have crashed into a neighborhood (of homes). |
| EVEN IF – NO CONDITION | |
Even if the pilots had shut down the fuel tank on engine 2, |
there still would have been enough escaped fuel to cause the explosion. |
| ONLY IF – ONE UNIQUE CONDITION | |
Only if the pilots had avoided the runway debris, |
could they have avoided the accident. (Auxiliary is placed before the subject.) |
| THE EFFECT | |
|---|---|
If not, otherwise, or else are connective adverbs that relate the idea in one clause to the clause that follows. The clause express a hypothetical outcome (imaginary). |
|
| IF NOT | |
The pilot made a sharp right turn at the end of the runway. |
If not, he would have crashed into a neighborhood (of homes). |
| OTHERWISE – IF NOT | |
There were no birds in the area. |
Otherwise, they could have been a possible cause of engine failure. |
| OR ELSE – IF NOT | |
The French Transport Ministry grounded all Concordes, |
or else Air France would have continued flying its Concordes. |
escaped fuel – gas that leaked out of the tank that contains fuel
failure (N) – something that fails, is old, in bad condition or is produced imperfectly
Also see Indeed / Even, If / Unless.
Past Unreal Conditional (Remote Conditional)
Punctuation
| INITIAL CLAUSE POSITION |
|---|
|
If they had done their jobs well, the accident wouldn't have happened. |
If the tire had not exploded, the engine would not have caught fire. |
A comma separates the condition, a prepositional phrase headed by | FINAL CLAUSE POSITION |
|---|
|
The accident wouldn't have happened if they had done their jobs well. |
The engine would not have caught fire if the tire had not exploded. |
No comma is used when the
Past Unreal Conditional
Sentence Types
Conditional—Statement, Question, Negative, Tag-Question
| IF + CLAUSE | EFFECT CLAUSE |
|---|---|
| STATEMENT | |
If they had checked, |
they could have made repairs. |
|
the problem would have been found. (passive) |
| NEGATIVE | |
If they had checked, |
they wouldn't have let the jet leave the hangar. |
If they hadn't been in a hurry, |
they would have kept the jet in the hangar. |
| IF + CLAUSE | EFFECT CLAUSE |
|---|---|
| QUESTION | |
If they had checked, |
would they have seen the problems? |
Had they checked, |
|
| TAG QUESTION | |
If they had checked, |
they would have seen the problems, wouldn't they have? |
Had they checked, |
they could have made repairs, couldn't they have? |
hangar – aircraft garage
See Grammar Notes for diagrams.
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
If the pilot hadn't flew the jet down like a glider, it would of crashed into Manhattan. Pop-Q "Hudson" |
We would have given him a ride if he would have asked us. (not incorrect, but awkward) |
If she would be alive, she would have been delighted to see her new grandchild. |
If he hadn't stopped in the nick of time, we would of been toast. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
If the pilot hadn't flown the jet down like a glider, it would have crashed into Manhattan. (1) Use the participle form of the verb: fly–flew–flown. |
He would have given them a ride if they had asked him. The modal form is used in the effect clause, but avoided in the if-clause because it is repetitive. |
If she had been alive, she would have been delighted to see her new grandchild. (Would is not usually used in both clauses. Here, it sounds more like a request to "be alive".)
|
If he hadn't stopped in the nick of time, we would have been toast. |
in the nick of time (expression) – at the last possible moment before
we would have been toast (expression) – burned, seriously hurt
Practice
What Caused the Accident?
Read for Errors
As Air Frances Flight 4590 left the gate an hour late, a series of unfortunate events were already unfolding. To begin, the aircraft had been overloaded by approximately one ton (907kg). Then, the flight before it lost a titanium strip of metal, which fell on the runway. A mechanic had not secured the strip of metal properly, and the runway workers had not completed the required preflight inspection of the runway.
As Flight 4590 took off, it struck the piece of metal, which burst a tire. Pieces of the tire hit the underside of the aircraft which ruptured fuel tank #5. When the fuel tank caught fire it shorted the electric cables which retract the landing gear. The aircraft could not gain enough speed even though it still had three engines. The fire continued to melt the port (left) wing, which caused the aircraft to roll, lose altitude and crash into a nearby airport hotel.
adverse condition — a situation that poses difficulty
approximately (Adj) — about, near
altitude (N) — height above sea level
burst (V) — exploded
electric cables (N) — electrical wires or very strong rope made of metal wire
gain (V) — increase, get, acquire
gate (n. — the place in an airport building where people enter an aircraft
landing gear (N) — the wheel system under an aircraft
melt (V) — change something from a solid to a liquid (as with ice → water)
overloaded (Adj) — having too much weight put within
preflight (Adj) — before an aircraft departs
reveal (V) — show, make clear, make public
retract (V) — pull back in, a cat can retract its claws
rupture (V) — burst, break open
secure (V) — make tight, not loose
short (V) — cause an electrical arc, a failure (stop working)
strip (N) — a long piece, a long, narrow shape
struck (V) — past tense form of strike; hit
tank (N) — a large container for transporting liquids, esp., gas, fuel
titanium (N) a light-weight, strong metal; Ti atomic no. 22
unfold (V) — (open flat) develop, progress
Correct the Errors
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
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