Past Unreal Conditionals

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Past Unreal Conditionals What would have happened if you had never been born? He could have gone to college if the family business hadn’t needed him. If George hadn’t been alive, he couldn’t have saved Harry’s life. Harry would have never grown up to be a war hero. We... see how the lives of those around him would have been different if he hadn’t known them.

Result clauseIf clause Past Unreal Conditionals If George hadn’t been alive, he couldn’t have saved Harry’s life. Past perfect is used in the if clause Result clause uses couldn’t have + past participle form of the verb

Past Unreal Conditionals Use past unreal conditional sentences to talk about past unreal conditions and their results. A condition and its results may be untrue, imagined, or impossible. The if clause gives the unreal condition, and the result cause gives the unreal result of that condition. If he had died young, he wouldn’t have had children. (But he didn’t die young, so he had children.) If George hadn’t been born, many people’s lives would have been worse. (But George was born, so people’s lives were better.) If clauseresult clause

Past Unreal Conditionals Use the past perfect in the if clause. Use would have, might have, or could have + past participle in the result clause. Usage note: Sometimes speakers use would have in the if clause. However, many people think that is not correct. If the film had won an Academy Award, it would have become famous right away. If I had owned a Blue Ray player, I would have watched the movie. Not If I would have owned...

Past Unreal Conditionals Use would have in the result clause if the result is certain. Do not use will in unreal conditional sentences. Use might have or could have in the result clause if the result is not certain. Do not use may or can. You can also use could have in the result clause to express ability. If George had gone to college, he would have studied hard. If George had gone to college, he might have become an architect. If George had gone to college, he could have become an architect. If George had become an architect, he could have designed a bridge. or

Past Unreal Conditionals You can begin conditional sentences with the if clause or the result clause. The meaning is the same. Be careful! Use a comma between the two clauses only when the if clause comes first. If he had won a million dollars, he would have travelled around the world. He would have travelled around the world if he had won a million dollars. or

Past Unreal Conditionals Past unreal conditionals are often used to express regret about what really happened in the past. If I had know Mary lived alone, I would have invited her to my holiday dinner. (I regret that I didn’t invite her. )

Past Unreal Conditionals Use wish + past perfect to express regret or sadness about things in the past that you wanted to happen but didn’t. George wishes he had studied architecture. (He didn’t study architecture, and now he thinks that was a mistake. )

Past Unreal Conditionals Michael Grimm