Class 26-1: Present Unreal Conditionals
“If I were smarter, this job would be easier.”
Rules: Same as real conditional sentences, unreal conditional sentences are saying that you think an action will happen if another action happens. The present unreal conditional is used to talk about your actions in unreal situations. These situations are imaginary actions. In the present unreal conditional, always use if and were. *Note: When you are discussing imaginary situations when cannot be used. | Examples: 1. If I were rich, I would fly to the moon. 2. If I were taller, I would play professional basketball. 3. If I were a better repairperson, I would fix my broken computer. |
Continued
Sentence Structure Formula: if + simple past, would + simple present 1. If I were rich, I would fly to the moon. would + simple present, if + simple past 1. I would fly to the moon, if I were rich. Note: You do not need to use I in your sentences to use conditional. You can use he / she / it / they / Tom / Emily / etc. |
“If we were less busy, we would go on vacation.”
Exercise
Exercise 1: Underline the correct form of the present unreal conditional. Follow the sentence structure above to help you answer the questions.
1. If I (start / started / will start) working, I would (buy / bought /will buy) a car.
2. Tom would (walk / walked / will walk) if he hadn’t (break / broken / will break) his leg.
3. If Ana (begun / begin / will begin) reading, she would (been / be / will be) better at English.
4. If the teacher (grade / graded / will grade) my test, I would know what grade I (get / got / will got) in my class.
5. If I (go / went / will go) to the movies, I would not (do / will do / done) well on my test.
Exercise 2: Underline the correct form of the present unreal conditional. Follow the sentence structure above to help you answer the questions.
Question: Who would you (pick / picked / will pick) if you (go / will go / went) to the school dance?
Answer: I (would pick / picked / will pick) Ann or Emily.
Question: What would you (buy / will buy / bought) if you (have / had / will have) one million dollars
Answer: I would (buy / will buy / bought) a big house.
Question: What would you (done / will do / do) if your wallet (were / was) stolen?
Answer: I would (call / called / will call) the police.
Question: Where would (live / lived / will live) if you came to the United States?
Answer: I would (live / lived / will live) in Washington, DC.
Question: What car would you (bought / buy / will buy) if you could (bought / buy / will buy) any car in the world?
Answer: I would (bought / buy / will buy) a Porsche.
