PRESENT AND PAST UNREAL CONDITIONAL

 PAY ATTENTION TO TENSES TRANSLATING SIMPLE SENTENCES:

PRESENT UNREAL CONDITIONAL.
No tengo dinero, por tanto no puedo comprar un coche. 
Si yo tuviera más dinero, me compraría un coche.

English: If I had more money, I would buy a car.

Mark es muy tímido. Por eso no tiene muchos amigos.
Si Mark no fuera tan tímido, tendría más amigos.

English: If Mark weren't so shy, he would have more friends.

PAST UNREAL CONDITIONAL
No tenía dinero, por tanto no pude comprar un coche. 
Si yo hubiera tenido más dinero, me habría comprado un coche.

English: If I had had more money, I would have bought a car.

Mark era muy tímido. Por eso no tenía muchos amigos.
Si Mark no hubiera sido tan tímido, habría tendido más amigos.

English: If Mark hadn't been so shy, he would have had more friends.

MORE EXAMPLES OF PRESENT UNREAL CONDITIONALS

Present unreal conditionals indicate a situation which is only imagined or in some-one’s mind. For instance:

I wish I had a pony. If I had a pony, I would ride it every day.

(I don’t really have a pony.) (I imagine what I would do.)

To form present unreal conditionals, use past tense in the if clause and would + verb in the main clause.

A: What would you do if you had a million dollars?
B: If I had a million dollars, I would invest it in the stock market.
A: What would you do if you didn’t have to come to school today?
B: If I didn’t have to come to school, I would go to the amusement park.

For present unreal conditionals, it is common to use were in place of all forms of ?be? in the if clause (regardless of the subject).
If I were you, I would get a lawyer.
If I were a lawyer, I would not charge you.
If she were a lawyer, Sheila would be rich.
Sometimes could can be used in place of would in the main clause:
If I had more free time, I could travel around the world.

MORE EXAMPLES OF PAST UNREAL CONDITIONALS

• If I had owned a car, I would have driven to work. But I didn't own one, so I took the bus.
• She would have traveled around the world if she had had more money. But she didn't have much money, so she never traveled.
• I would have read more as a child if I hadn't watched so much TV. Unfortunately, I did watch a lot of TV, so I never read for entertainment.
• Mary would have gotten the job and moved to Japan if she had studied Japanese in school instead of French.
• If Jack had worked harder, he would have earned more money. Unfortunately, he was lazy and he didn't earn much.
• A: What would you have done if you had won the lottery last week?
  B: I would have bought a house.
• A: What city would you have chosen if you had decided to move to the United States?
  B: I would have chosen Seattle.
  

EXCEPTION Conditional with Modal Verbs

There are some special conditional forms for modal verbs in English:
would have + can = could have
would have + shall = should have
would have + may = might have
The words "can," "shall" and "may" cannot be used with "would have." Instead, they must be used in these special forms.

Examples:

• If I had gone to Egypt, I could have learned Arabic.
• If she had had time, she might have gone to the party.

The words "could," should," "might" and "ought to" include Conditional, so you cannot combine them with "would have."

Examples:

• If I had had more time, I could have exercised after work.
• If he had invited you, you might have gone.

ACTIVITY

REPHRASING CONNECTORS

CONNECTORS 

ADVERSATIVE CLAUSES

1) She has plenty of money, but she is very mean. ALTHOUGH

-

2) I didn ́t buy the car, even though I had the money.  HOWEVER

-

3) She never takes any kind of exercise, but she is quite fit an healthy. THOUGH

-

4) They have a car but they rarely use it. ALTHOUGH

-

5) They went out for a walk, even though the weather was bad. ALTHOUGH

-

6) Despite being innocent he was sent to prison. NEVERTHELESS

-

7) A lot of people buy those houses, even though the prices are high.   HOWEVER

-

8) Our coach didn ́t arrive late, even though the traffic was terrible.  NEVERTHELESS

-

9) People continue to smoke, even though they know the dangers. HOWEVER

-

10) Despite being very tired, he stayed out late.  ALTHOUGH

-

PURPOSE CLAUSES

1) I am going to study harder. I want to pass my exam BECAUSE

-

2) A lot of people learn English because they want to study in England. IN ORDER TO

-

A lot of people learn English ...

3) He lifted me up because he wanted me to see what was happening. SO THAT

-

He lifted me up...

4) Try to write clearly. That way you will avoid being misunderstood. SO AS TO

-

Try to write clearly so as to...

5) What do I need to know, if I want to be a good doctor? TO

-

6) If you want to have a hundred students, you will need at least three teachers. TO

-

You will need at least three teachers... 

7) They had to eat grass and drink melted snow in order to stay alive. SO THAT

-

They had to eat grass and drink melted snow...

8) I sat next to the window because I wanted to see what was going on. TO

-

9) I waved my arms. I wanted them to see me. SO THAT

-

10) He does gymnastics in the bathroom to keep fit. IN ORDER TO

-

He does gymnastics in the bathroom ...

-

12) He took a taxi to the airport. That way he didn't miss the train. SO AS NOT

-

He took a taxi to the airport...

CAUSE CLAUSES

1) I opened the window due to the heat.

-

I opened the window because...

2) They lost the match due to the bad weather.

-

As...

3) She missed the bus so she had to take a taxi.

-

Since...

5) The weather was fine, so we decided to go out.

-

As...

6) He got the highest marks in the class; as a result, he received a prize.

-

Since...

7) The factory closed down as a result of so many strikes.

-

As there...

8) We still speak Italian at home, so I ́m bilingual.

-

I ́m bilingual because...

9) Joan eats very little so as not to put on weight.

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Joan eats very little because...

EFFECT CLAUSES

1)We need to increase sales. Therefore, we ́ll start a new advertising campaign.

-

We need to increase sales, so...

2) We didn ́t go swimming because the water wasn ́t very clean.

-

The water wasn ́t very clean...

3) I ́m going to bed because I ́m really tired.

-

I ́m really tired so...

4) As I didn ́t know it was your birthday, I didn ́t buy you a present.

-

I didn ́t know it was your birthday so...

5) I left the cinema because the film was very boring.

-

The film was very boring, therefore...

6) As I didn ́t have any food in the fridge, I went to bed without dinner.

-

I didn ́t have any food in the fridge, consequently...

7) We don ́t trust politicians because they are always lying.

-

Politicians are always lying so...

8) I never go to that shop because the owner is very unfriendly.

-

The owner of that shop is very unfriendly so... 

REVISION QUESTIONS

1. He came to school by bus.
   
1. The new teacher lives in a village.
   
2. Martin watched TV from 8 to 9. 
3. Robert went to Paris with his cousin. 
4. He studied English for 6 years. 

1. I found an old photo yesterday.

2. He is playing the guitar in his room.

3. This article was published in 2010.

4. Mark works in a bank.

5. They lived in Cáceres for 4 years.