Section 3 - Unlikely conditionals in the present and future
Verb forms in the if-clause
Present
When we talk about unlikely or impossible situations in the present, we use Past subjunctive or Unreal Past (see Section 1) in the if-clause to indicate that the opposite is true:
If I didn't know you so well, I'd say you were lying. (= but I do know you well)
If only he weren't so stubborn, he'd agree with us. (= but he is stubborn)
Future
When talking about the future, we use an Unreal Past tense in the if-clause to indicate that we are
talking hypothetically and think the condition is unlikely to be fulfilled:
If you told him, he'd never believe you. (= I don't think you will tell him)
Suppose your car broke down, what would you do?
When we talk about unlikely or impossible situations in the present, we use Past subjunctive or Unreal Past (see Section 1) in the if-clause to indicate that the opposite is true:
If I didn't know you so well, I'd say you were lying. (= but I do know you well)
If only he weren't so stubborn, he'd agree with us. (= but he is stubborn)
Future
When talking about the future, we use an Unreal Past tense in the if-clause to indicate that we are
talking hypothetically and think the condition is unlikely to be fulfilled:
If you told him, he'd never believe you. (= I don't think you will tell him)
Suppose your car broke down, what would you do?
Verb forms in the main clause
We commonly use would and could in the main clause when there is an Unreal Past or Past subjunctive in the if-clause:
If I weren't so busy, I'd take a long holiday.
If you lent me £10, I could buy it today.
If I weren't so busy, I'd take a long holiday.
If you lent me £10, I could buy it today.
- We also use might:
Would in if-clauses
We use would and wouldn't in if-clauses for polite requests and strong wishes that someone would do something:
If you would be kind enough to lend me a hand, we could finish this very quickly.
If you would just calm down for a moment, you'd see what I'm talking about.
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Watch out! We don't use would in if-clauses to indicate simple future:
I think you'd be mad if you would give up your job. - INCORRECT |
Should in if-clauses
We can use should in if-clauses instead of a Present or Unreal Past. It suggests that the condition is possible but unlikely. We use will or would or other modals in the main clause:
If they should agree the contract, we'd have to work twice as hard.
If they should agree the contract, we'd have to work twice as hard.
- This structure is formal and roughly equivalent to the phrase by any chance:
- In more formal contexts we can also omit if or other conditional words and start the sentence with should:
if ... are to / were to
We use be to in a fairly formal way to express conditions. It suggests that the speaker has no influence over whether the condition will be fulfilled or not. Are to, am to, and is to suggest the condition may be fulfilled. Were to (or, informally, was to) emphasises that the condition is very unlikely:
If we are to get rid of him, who will tell him?
Supposing you were to win the lottery, how would you spend the money?
If we are to get rid of him, who will tell him?
Supposing you were to win the lottery, how would you spend the money?
- We can omit if or other conditional words and start the sentence with were. This is not possible with are:
Practice
Which of the following sentences refer to conditions in the present (P), and which to the future (F)? Write the letter (P or F) in the box after the sentence.
a. If you asked him nicely, he'd let you have the day off.
b. If you were a bit more considerate, you'd offer me a seat.
c. Should you change your job, what would you do?
d. If I were to say what I really think, I'd upset a lot of people.
e. If I thought he was dishonest, I wouldn't have offered him the job.
b. If you were a bit more considerate, you'd offer me a seat.
c. Should you change your job, what would you do?
d. If I were to say what I really think, I'd upset a lot of people.
e. If I thought he was dishonest, I wouldn't have offered him the job.