Boy: What will you do today, Jenny?
Girl: If I go to the forest, I will climb a tree, Forest.
Boy: hehe. If the whole wide world were under water, what would you do then?
Girl: If the whole world were under water, I would swim like a mermaid to a tree.
The following sentence illustrates the use of the Unreal Conditional
in the Present Time.
If Jorge spoke Chinese, he would have a Chinese girlfriend.
We are, of course, talking about the present time in
this case. Moreover, what we are saying is purely imaginative, because
the fact is Jorge cannot speak Chinese. This is why we call this
an Unreal Conditional. Here is another example.
If Ugly Betty were not ugly, she would be Ken's girlfriend.
♣ Look again at the dialog above. Which one can really happen? Which one
is just a figment of Jenny's imagination?
We can also use the Unreal Conditional in the Past Time
although the grammar will be a little different. Take a look at the following example.
Nasser would have dated both of Ze's sisters if he had spoken
Chinese well enough 2 years ago.
The difference here is that we are talking about the past. That is,
if Nasser had had the ability to speak Chinese two years ago,
we imagine that he could have dated two Chinese girls back then.
The Wizard's Lesson
Follow the wizard's words and you will learn.
First, press the PLAY icon. Then, press the GUIDE button.
Track 1
If Eleazar had a bicycle (now), he would ride to school.
If Eleazar had had a bicycle (yesterday), he would have ridden to school.
GUIDE
Track 2
If Eleazar had a bicycle, he would ride to school.
If Eleazar had had a bicycle, he would have ridden to school.
GUIDE
Track 3
If Eleazar had a bicycle, he would ride to school.
If Eleazar had had a bicycle, he would have ridden to school.
GUIDE
Track 4
If Eleazar had a bicycle, he would ride to school.
If Eleazar had had a bicycle, he would have ridden to school.
GUIDE
Alright. Now, it's time to practice each of these unreal conditionals.
In the quiz below, select the answer that is an appropriate response.
1. Tiny Tim is fat.
If Tiny Tim wasn't so fat, he could eat a hotdog.
Tiny Tim might be fatter than a Fatburger if he was fat.
If Tiny Tim were not so fat, he could have a girlfriend.
Tiny Tim could have had a girlfriend if he had not been so fat.
2. She is always speaking French in the classroom.
3. Len could not go to Mars.
4. There are only two more pieces of chocolate cake.
5. Tomoki was drunk that night.
The answers are:
1. If Tiny Tim were not so fat, he could have a girlfriend.
2. If she didn't speak French in class, she would get a higher grade.
3. If Len had become an astronaut, he could have gone to Mars.
4. Yurika might eat three more pieces if there were more than two pieces of chocolate cake left.
5. If he had not gotten drunk, he could have gone to class the next day.
While you have learned how to use both of the Unreal Conditionals (present
and past time), do not forget the basic grammar rules for both.
For the Unreal Present the format is like this: IF + Subject + Past Tense, Subject + MODAL + Base Form of the Verb If Hao ate more, she would explode.
For the Unreal Past the format is as follows: IF + Subject + Past Perfect Tense, Subject + PERFECT MODAL + Past Participle If Hao had eaten more, she would have exploded.
Grammar Check-Up
Listen to each sound bite. Then, drag an appropriate response to a
position above the sound player that played the sound.
If her boyfriend hadn't gotten sick, she would have gone.
If he hadn't been so greedy, I might have eaten one or two.
She could if she were married to an Italian man.
If he didn't, he'd get a better grade in the class.
She would have dated him if he had looked a bit older.
Tom Murphy's Unfortunate Day
Listen carefully to the following recording. You may wish to take notes.
Then make sentences about the story you heard using the Unreal Conditional.
