Conditionals; Other

Ways to Express

Unreality

Experiences of an

International Traveler

9

Focus on Grammar 5

Part IX, Unit 23

By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tired Traveler

If only I had

found a taxi.

I wish I

could brush

my teeth

right now.

If the airport

hadn’t lost my

luggage, I

wouldn’t have

been delayed.

If I had more

money, I

would stay at

better hotels.

Real Conditionals

Real conditionals are sentences that describe

situations that occur regularly or are likely or possible in

the future.

If we don’t get to the station on time,

the train will leave without us. In present-time

situations, use the

simple present in

both clauses to

describe habitual

or regularly

occurring actions.

In future-time

situations, use the

simple present in

the if clause and

the future with will

or be going to in

the result clause.

If I don’t put

sunscreen on,

I get a bad

sunburn.

Unreal Conditionals

Unreal conditionals are sentences that describe

situations that are untrue, unlikely, or impossible in the

present or the past.

In present-time

situations, use the

simple past in the

if clause and

would, could, or

might plus the

base form of the

verb in the result

clause.

If I had enough

money, I would

visit Paris.

She doesn’t have enough

money and she won’t

visit Paris.

He didn’t travel with a

map, so he got lost.

Present Unreal Conditionals

Use the simple past in the if clause. If the verb is be,

use were for all persons. Use could, might, or would

+ base form in the result clause.

If I were a better planner I

wouldn’t travel without a map.

Where’s my wallet?

If he were more careful, he

would notice that his wallet

was missing.

Past Unreal Conditionals

Use the past unreal conditional for past unreal, untrue, imagined, or

impossible conditions and their unreal results. Use the past perfect in the

if clause. Use could, might, or would + have + past participle in the

result clause.

If I had looked at a map, I

wouldn’t have gotten lost.

He didn’t look at a map,

so he got lost.

Where’s my wallet?

If he had been more careful,

he might have noticed his

wallet was missing.

Practice 1 Look at the chart and complete

the conditionals with your own

ideas.

Real Unreal Past Unreal

If + simple present

AND

simple present

If + simple present

AND

will + base form verb

If + simple past

AND

would/could/might

+ base form verb

If + past perfect

AND

would/could/might

+ have

+ past participle verb

Examples:

If I had enough money, …

If I have enough money, …

If I had had a lot of money,…

I would travel to Asia.

I will travel to Asia.

I would have traveled to Asia.

1. If I visit Europe, …

2. … , I might not have gotten sick.

3. If we took an airplane,…

4. If we had made reservations, …

5. … , I would learn Russian.

Wish 1

Use wish + could / would + base form to

express a wish about the future.

I wish that baby

would stop crying.

This is what he wants, but

he is not sure if the baby

will change his behavior.

Wish 2

Use wish + the simple past to express a

wish about the present.

I wish I

caught an

earlier flight. I wish I had

more leg

room.

Wish 3

I wish I hadn’t

eaten that

airplane food.

The man ate the

airplane food.

Use wish + the past perfect to express a

wish about the past.

Hope and Wish

Don’t confuse hope and wish.

I hope I get

to the plane

on time.

I wish (that) I

didn’t have so

much luggage.

Use hope to

express a desire

about events that

are possible or

probable.

Use wish to express

regrets about things

that are unlikely or

impossible to change.

If Only

If only can also be used to express wishes.

If only they wouldn’t

leave me here for the

rest of my life.

If only they

could see me.

Present Future

Practice 2 Use the pictures to make

statements using wish and if only.

Make statements about the

present, future, and past.

I wish I could take

the bus.

Example:

If only I’d make

my flight.

1. 2. 3.

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and

its licensors. All rights reserved.

References