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1a. Unreal Situation PPT 1st Meet

The document discusses various uses of the past tense and conditionals to refer to unreal or hypothetical situations in English. It explains that the past tense is sometimes used to talk about something that didn't actually happen. It also describes different types of conditional sentences, including real and unreal conditions. Key uses of the unreal past discussed include conditional sentences, wishes, and expressions like "as if" and "as though" to describe imaginary scenarios.

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Uqy Talis
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73 views16 pages

1a. Unreal Situation PPT 1st Meet

The document discusses various uses of the past tense and conditionals to refer to unreal or hypothetical situations in English. It explains that the past tense is sometimes used to talk about something that didn't actually happen. It also describes different types of conditional sentences, including real and unreal conditions. Key uses of the unreal past discussed include conditional sentences, wishes, and expressions like "as if" and "as though" to describe imaginary scenarios.

Uploaded by

Uqy Talis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unreal Situation

The past tense is sometimes used in English to refer


to an unreal situation. So, although the verb tense is in
the past, we are actually talking about something that
didn't happen. This is often the case in conditional
sentences when we are talking about a hypothetical
situation that might exist now or at any time. We call
this use of the past tense "the unreal past".
The unreal past is used after conditional words and
expressions like if, supposing, if only, what if; after the
verb to wish; and after the expression I'd rather.
Structure of if-clauses
If-clauses can be clause-initial (1.), clause-medial (2.)
as well as clause-final (3.).

(1.), If you like, we can watch a film.


(2.), We, if you like, can watch a film.
(3.), We can watch a film if you like.
Types

Aside from the typical type I, II, III structure,


conditionals can be divided into two categories:
real and unreal conditionals.
1. Real condition
Conditional sentence Type

If I have money, I spend it. Present Real Conditional – type I


If I had money, I spent it. Past Real Conditional – type I
If I have money, I will/am going to
Future Real Conditional – type I
spend it.
2. Unreal condition

Conditional sentence Explanation type

If I had had money, I would Past unreal Conditional


have spent it. – type III

If I had money, I would I think about spending Present unreal


spend it. the money TODAY. Conditional – type II

If I had money, I would I think about spending Future unreal


spend it. the money NEXT WEEK. Conditional – type II
Modal verbs

Main clauses with real conditional tenses can have modal verbs.
 If I have money, I can spend it.

You can use could and might instead of would in unreal


conditional clauses.

 If I had money, I could spend it. → (I would be able to spend it.)


 If I had money, I might spend it. → (I would possibly spend it.)
Could, could have, might or might have express
unlikely possibility for the condition to be real (true).
Thus, the second action in the main clause will not
occur.

UNLIKELY CONDITION PRES & FUTURE – RESULT CLAUSE


If he had time today, Jack would mow the grass.
If he would have time. Jack would mow the grass.

If he could have time. Jack would mow the grass.


— he's not able to.
If he might have time. Jack would mow the grass.
— he's not permitted to.
UNLIKELY CONDITION PAST – RESULT CLAUSE
If he had had time, Jack would have mowed the grass.
If he would have had time, Jack would have mowed the grass
If he could have had more time, Jack would have mowed the grass
— he wasn't able to.
If he might have had time, Jack would have mowed the grass
— he was not permitted to.
Wishes

The verb to wish is used with the unreal past when we


want to talk about situations in the present that we are
not happy about but cannot change.
Examples
 I wish I had more money.
 She wishes she was beautiful.
 We wish we could come to your party.
When we want to talk about situations in the past that
we are not happy about or actions that we regret, we use
the verb to wish followed by the past perfect.

Examples
 I wish I hadn't said that.
 He wishes he hadn't bought the car.
 I wish I had taken that job in New York.
When we want to talk about situations we are not happy
about and where we want someone else to change them,
we use to wish followed by would + infinitive.
Examples
 I wish he would stop smoking.
 I wish you would go away.
 I wish you wouldn't squeeze the toothpaste from the
middle!
As if and as though
 As if and as though are conjunctions.
 We use as if and as though to make comparisons. They
have a similar meaning. We use as if and as though to
talk about an imaginary situation or a situation that
may not be true but that is likely or possible. As if is
more common than as though:
 The floods were rising and it was as if it was the end of
the world.
 It looks as if they’ve had a shock.
 It looks as though you’ve not met before.
We can use both as if and as though followed by a non-finite
clause or a prepositional phrase:
 She moved her lips as if to smile.
 They were shouting as though in panic.
As if and as though commonly follow the verbs feel and look:
 She felt as if all her worries had gone.
 They felt as though they had been given the wrong
information.
▪ I’ve got so much work it looks as if I’ll have to stay at home
this evening.
In informal English, like can be used in a similar way
to as if, though it is not always considered correct in
formal contexts:

 It felt like it could snow at any minute


The End

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