EAL CONDITIONS- THREE CONDITIONAL

1. A past-unreal conditional statement consists of an if clause that contains a verb in the past perfect tense,
and a result clause containing would have (as auxiliaries) plus a past participle as a main verb: If I had been
Columbus, I would have stayed home.
2. Would’ve (sounds like would-of), the contraction of would have, and would’t have (sounds like wouldn’t-of),
the contraction of would not have, occur in spoken informal usage: if you’d drunk less last night, you
would’ve slept better; If I’d had my umbrella yesterday, I wouldn’t have gotten so wet.

Note: Like should’ve, might’ve, could’ve, and must’ve, would’ve is not written unless dialogue is being quoted.

Reminder: ‘d followed by a past participle (‘d gone) is a contraction of had; ‘d followed by a base form (‘d have)
is a contraction of would.

3. A past – unreal conditional clause expresses a situation in past time that was contrary to fact or reality, in
other words, unreal, compare:

REALITY CONDITION

I wasn’t tired last night.
He didn’t vote in that election.
If I had been tired last night, I would have gone to
bed earlier.
If he had voted in that election, he wouldn’t have
voted for Nixon.

4. Result clauses in past-unreal conditional statements show a hypothetical conclusion based on the condition
expressed in the conditional (if) clause. Compare:

CONDITION RESULT

If I had been Napoleon, I wouldn’t have gone to Waterloo,

If I had been Julius Caesar, I would have listened to the fortune teller,

If I had been President Truman, I wouldn’t have dropped an atomic bomb on Japan.

5. When an if clause occurs in the initial position of a sentence, a comma usually follows: If John F. Kennedy
had lived, he would have been a great president. No comma occurs when an if clause appears in the final
position: He would have been a great president if he hadn’t been assassinated in Dallas.
 GRAMMAR EXERCISE

Name ___________________ Date______________

Focus: Past-Unreal Conditions

Supply an appropriate verb phrase in the past perfect tense in the if (conditional) clause, and have plus an
appropriate past participle in the result clause. Do not use negative forms.

EXAMPLES:

a. He didn’t do much homework in the last course.

If he had done more homework, he would have gotten a good grade.
b. We had very little money last summer.
If we’d had more money, we would have gone to Europe.

1. Yesterday was very cold.

If it___________________ warmer, we _______________________ swimming. (Get-Go)
2. I used very little tomato sauce in the spaghetti.
If I_____________________ more tomato sauce, it __________________ better. (Use-Taste)
3. I didn’t have a headache last night.
If I ______________________ a headache, I _____________________ an aspirin. (Have-Take)
4. They didn’t get married because they weren’t in love.
If they _________________ in love, they ________________________ married. (Be-Get)
5. I didn’t have my car yesterday because my wife was using it.
If I _______________________ my car, I ______________________ a long drive in the country. (Repair-
6. The party was boring.
If they _____________________ a dance band, it _______________________ more fun (Hire-Have)

Now use negative forms as well.

EXAMPLES:

c. I was sick yesterday.

If I hadn’t been sick yesterday, I wouldn’t have gone to the doctor.
d. I ate those bad shrimp.
If I hadn’t eaten those bad shrimp, I wouldn’t have gotten such a bad stomach ache.

7. I was tired last night, so I didn’t go out.

If I ____________________________ tired last night, I _____________________________ out. (Be-Gone)
8. Our neighbors’ house burned down because nobody called the fire department.
If somebody _____________________ the fire department, their house _________________ down. (call-
burned).
9. Cleopatra killed herself.
If I __________________________ Cleopatra, I __________________________ myself. (Be-kill)
10. You didn’t use a dictionary when you wrote your composition.
If you ______________________ one, you ____________________ so many mistakes. (Use-Make)
11. He didn’t study very much.
If he ______________________ more, he ________________________ such a bad grade. (Study- Get)