CENTRO COLOMBO AMERICANO

Unreal Conditional Practice Exercise

Read the text about the Gorden family. Then use the cues below to write unreal conditional
sentences.
Lucky Discovery Gives the Gordens Three Extra Rooms.
Returning home from a trip, Brian and Jenny Gorden were horrified to find their 17 th century
house under six feet of water, following the recent floods. The house was so severely damaged
that they had to get the builders in. While knocking down a section of the wall, the builders were
amazed to discover a secret room. In it they found a collection of original sketches by a famous
local artist, several pieces of antique furniture, an impressive collection of antique dolls, and a
dollhouse. They also came across the original deed of the house, revealing two other hidden
rooms. Brian Gorden remarked, Were absolutely astounded. We were thinking of buying a bigger
house, but now we have three more rooms. The builders have started to renovate the rooms,
and the sketches and dolls have been given to the local museum.
Example
If/house/flooded/not/get builders in
If the house hadnt been flooded, they wouldnt have gotten builders in
1. Builders/knock down the wall/if/not be absolutely necessary
(If the renovation hadnt been absolutely necessary, the builders wouldnt have knocked down
the wall)
2. If/not knock down wall/not discover secret room
(If builders hadnt knocked down the wall, they wouldnt have discovered the secret room)
3. If/not discover secret room/sketches/never found
(Sketches wouldnt have never found, if the secret room hadnt been discovered)
4. Sketches/be on display nowadays/museum/if builders/not find
(If builders hadnt found them, sketches wouldnt have been on display nowadays in the
museum)
5. If/not rain so heavily/they/now live another house
(If it hadnt rained so heavily, they would have now lived another house)
Complete the beginning of each unreal conditional and its three endings. Use the verb in
brackets in the appropriate form.
1. If I hadnt been stood (not stand) behind the door,
a. I wouldnt have heard (not hear) what they were saying.
b. It wouldnt have hit (not hit) me in the face.
c. I wouldnt have had (not have) this broken nose.
2. If they hadnt taken (not take) the English exam tomorrow,
a. They would have gone (go) away last weekend.
b. They would have come (come) to the party tonight.
c. They would have been (be) under less stress now.
3. If he asked (ask) his boss a little sooner,
a. She would be (be) very happy to help him.
b. He wouldnt be (not be) in this mess now.
c. He would go (go) on vacation with the rest of us next week.