Unreal pasts and subjunctives

1.Put the verbs in brackets into the correct forms.

1 It's just struck midnight. It's high time we (leave)!
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31 That man has brought us nothing but trouble. I wish I never (set) eyes on him.
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32 Can I take your best umbrella? ~
I'd rather you (take) the other one.
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33 If you (have) a peep hole(con chíp) in your door you would have seen who standing outside and kept the
door shut.
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34 I wish I (not try) to repair it. I only made it worse.
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35 If I (not have) rubber gloves on I would have been electrocuted.(giết nguoi bang điện)
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36 He looks as though he never (get) a square meal, but in fact his wife feeds him very well.
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would rather + subject + past tense

Answer the following questions by expressing a preference for different action.

Question: Can I write my essay on the back of an envelope?

Possible answer: I'd rather you wrote it on a sheet of foolscap.
Similarly:
Can we bring our pet snake to your party?
I'd rather you didn 't or I'd rather you left it at home.
It would also of course be possible to answer with prefer + object infinitive:

I'd prefer you to write it on foolscap,

I'd prefer you to leave it at home.
Use you in all answers.
1 Can I go by bus? ……………………………………………
2 Can I go alone? ……………………………………………
3 Can we start tomorrow? ……………………………………………
4 Can I ring New York on your phone? ……………………………………………..
5 Can we sleep in the garden tonight? …………………………………………….
6 Can we cook our steak by holding it in front of your electric fire?
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7 Can we use your scissors to cut this wire?
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8 Can I leave school at sixteen? ………………………………………………
9 Can we come in late tomorrow? ………………………………………………
10 Shall I wake you up when I come in and tell you what happened?
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11 Can I clean my motorcycle in the kitchen?
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12 Can I tell Tom what you've just told me?
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13 Can I go barefoot? ………………………………………………
14 Can I have a snake tattooed round my ankle?
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15 Shall we paint your door pink with yellow stars?
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16 Shall I ring you at 3 a.m.? ………………………………………………
17 Shall I threaten to burn down his house? ………………………………………………
18 Can we bathe after dark? ………………………………………………
19 Can I park my helicopter on the roof of your house?
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20 Can I put the goldfish in the bath? ………………………………………………
21 Can we hitch-hike to Rome? ………………………………………………
22 Can I borrow your best umbrella? ………………………………………………
23 Will it be all right if I write it in longhand? ………………………………………………
24 Can I leave the washing up till the day after tomorrow?

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2 If only we (have) a phone! I'm tired of queuing outside the public phone box.
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3 You (have) better take off your wet shoes.
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4 He walks as if he (have) a wooden leg. ………………………………………
5 He talks as if he (do) all the work himself, but in fact Tom and I did most of it.
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6 Father: I've supported you all through university. Now I think it's time you (begin)
to support yourself.
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7 I wish I (know) what is wrong with my car.
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8 It looks like rain; you (have) better take a coat.
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9 I wish I (ask) the fishmonger to clean these fish. (I'm sorry I didn't ask him.)
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10 It's time we (do) something to stop road accidents.
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11 The cheese looks as if rats (nibble) it.
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12 It's high time they (mend) this road.
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13 He always talks as though he (address) a public meeting.
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14 He treats us as if we (be) all idiots.
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15 Wife: I'd like to get a job.
Husband: I'd much rather you (stay) at home and (look) after the house.
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16 If you (tie) the boat up it wouldn't have drifted away.
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17 I wish you (not give) him my phone number. (7 'm sorry you gave it to him. )
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18 If only he (know) then that the disease was curable!
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19 Suppose you (not know) where your next meal was coming from?
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20 You talk as though it (be) a small thing to leave your country for ever.
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21 I hate driving. I'd much rather you (drive).
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22 If only I (be) insured! <But I wasn 't insured.)
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23 If you (not take) those photographs we wouldn't have been arrested.
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24 I wish transistor radios never (be) invented.
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25 If only I (keep) my mouth shut! (/ said something which made matters much worse. )
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26 I'll pay you by cheque monthly. ~
I'd rather you (pay) me cash weekly.
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27 When someone says something to me, I translate it into French, and then I think of
a reply in French, and then translate it into English and say it. ~
It's high time you (stop) doing all this translation and (start) thinking in English.
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28 I said 'Sunday'. ~
I wish you (not say) Sunday. We'll never be ready by then.
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29 But I told you what to do. ~
I know you did. If only I (take) your advice!
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30 A flower pot fell off the balcony on to the head of a man who was standing below. It was
most unfortunate that he happened to be standing just there. If he (stand) a foot to the right or left he'd have
been unharmed.
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Dap an

Unreal pasts and subjunctives

Exercise 151 1 left 2 had 3 had 4 had 5 had done 6 began 7 knew Shad 9 had asked
10 did 11 had nibbled/had been nibbling 12 mended 13 were addressing 14 were
15 stayed, looked 16 had tied 17 hadn't given 18 had known 19 didn't know 20 were
21 drove 22 had been 23 had not taken 24 had never been 25 had kept 26 paid
27 stopped, started 28 had not said 29 had taken 30 had been standing 31 had never set 32
took 33 had/had had 34 had not tried 35 had not had 36 got

Exercise 152 (The following are possible answers, but not the only possible answers. All the
answers will begin: I'd rather you. We are therefore only giving the other half of each
sentence.)
1 went by train 2 went with someone/took someone with you 3 started today 4 rang on your
own phone/used your own phone 5 slept in the house 6 cooked it under the grill
7 cut it with a knife/with your own scissors 8 stayed on a bit longer 9 came in time
10 waited till morning 11 cleaned it in the garage 12 said nothing 13 wore shoes 14 didn't 15
painted it blue, and without any decorations 16 rang at 7 a.m. 17 didn't threaten him at all 18
bathed during the day/in daylight 19 parked it in the playing field 20 put them in the goldfish
bowl 21 went by train 22 borrowed the other one 23 typed it 24 did it today