Intervenant
Laurence Petoud
Executive Assistant Formatrice en Entreprise ECDL Expert
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparatio n http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com/
This support has been developed as part of my revisions for exams Certificate in Advanced English
Table of content Unreal Conditionals.................................................................................3 Second Conditional - Imagining the present were different....................4 One simple way to imagine that things in the present were different is to use wish + simple past:.................................................................................4 Third Conditional – Imagining that the past had been different.......... ....6 Mied Conditionals..................................................................................! S"mmar#..............................................................................................
%$$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
Unreal Conditionals
Zero Conditional: ,f , have a da- o from work , usua""- go to the park. (A regular event; a real daily situation) First Conditional: ,f -ou stud- -ou0"" pass the test tomorrow. (A real possibility for the future)
Unreal conditionals& which are used to talk about imaginary, unlikely, or impossible situations in the present and past:
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
Second Conditional' If I owned a car, I would drive to work.
Imagining things are different in the present
Third Conditional' If I had studied harder, I would have passed last week’s test.
Imagining things were different in the past
Mied Conditional' If I had finished my work yesterday, I wouldnt be so stressed out today.
!i" of times # imagining something different in the past having a different result in the present
Second Conditional - Imagining the present were different
One simple way to imagine that things in the present were dierent is to use wish 1 simp"e pas
I live near the beach, but I wish I li(ed near the mountains. I wish my mother )new how to use a computer, but she doesn’t. !y boyfriend is so busy that he has no time for me. I wish he didn*t wor) so much. $etting a visa to travel to the %.&. is difficult. I wish the process wasn*t so complicated.
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
'ike all conditional sentences, there are two parts: the condition and the res"lt. (ake a look at these e"amples and identify which verb tense is used in the condition, and which verb tense is used in the result:
C+,ITI+,
/SU0T
If he e"ercised more,
he would be thinner.
If I were taller,
I could play professional basketball.
If the teacher spoke more slowly,
wed understand her better.
If your company went bankrupt,
what would you do)
(he verb in the condition is in the simple past. (hen, in the result, we use wo"ld, might, or co"ld: C+,ITI+,' if 1 s"b2ect 1 past simple /SU0T' s"b2ect 1 wo"ldmightco"ld 1 (erb *ith wo"ld, its common to use the contractions: Id& #o"d& hed& shed& wed& the#d *e use wo"ld when the result is more definite or certain: If eter asked aren out, she wo"ld say yes. In this case, we are certain because we know that aren wants to go out with eter. !aybe she has said that she is interested in him *e use might when the result may or may not happen: If eter asked aren out, she might say yes... but she might not. In this case, we arent sure if aren is interested in eter or not *e use co"ld to talk about possibilities or abilities, without commenting on whether or not they are likely to come true: If I had a million dollars, I co"ld buy my own helicopter, I co"ld live in a mansion, I co"ld -uit my ob/ emphasi0es the opening of possibilities 1 all the things that become possible with the wealth If I had a million dollars, I wo"ld -uit my ob and move to a tropical island. I would definitely do these things if I were rich
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
Third Conditional – Imagining that the past had been different
2he second conditiona" is used for imagining that things in the present were dierent. 2he third conditiona
'ets start off by imagining a different past using wish. 2or hypothetical past situations, use wish + past perfect: I was late for work today. I wish I had wo)en up 3 minutes earlier. I wish I hadn*t eaten that seafood stew yesterday 1 it made me sick. Oh, hi 1 I wasn’t e"pecting you. I wish #o"*d called before coming over. (his is used to e"press regret 5such as for eating that seafood stew6 or past situations you wanted to be different 5such as wishing your friend had called before arriving at your house. 7ow imagining the result, in the past, if that past situation had been different: If I had wo)en up 3 minutes earlier, I wo"ld ha(e arri(ed on time. If I hadn*t eaten that seafood stew yesterday, I wo"ldn*t ha(e gotten sick. If #o"*d called before coming over, I co"ld ha(e prepared some food.
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
(his structure is called the third conditional. 8s you can see, it contains a 9O7I(IO7 and a ;<&%'(: 9ondition: If + past perfect 5If I had wo)en up 3 minutes earlier/= ;esult: would>could>might + have + past participle ?/I wo"ld ha(e arri(ed on time.= 'ike the other conditionals, you can reverse the condition and result: ?I would have arrived on time if I’d woken up 3 minutes earlier.= &ometimes it’s helpful to see an illustration of the two possible paths. (he top path is what really happened, and the bottom path is the imaginary situation we are thinking and talking about:
/amples ;eal past: I came to @ra0il and met my husband. Imaginary past: If I hadnt come to @ra0il, I wouldnt have met my husband. ;eal past: I did not go to graduate school. I did not get my h.. Imaginary past: If I had gone to graduate school, I would have gotten my h.. $ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
Mied Conditionals
,n mixed conditiona"s we are imagining that a situation was dierent but the situation is a mix of two tim
ast condition& present res"lt'
*hen an action in the past has affected the present
If I hadnt dr"n) so much last night, I wouldnt feel so awful this
morningA If you had sa(ed more money when you were younger, you wo"ld be financially secure now.
Bou can see that the first half of the sentence follows the third conditional rules: if 1 past perfect 8 normal third conditional sentence would continue with wo"ld ha(e 1 past participle. @ut the second half of this sentence does not 1 instead, it follows the second conditional rules: wo"ld 1 base form of the (erb. (hat’s why we call this a mi"ed conditionalA
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
resent condition& past res"lt'
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation
Page
http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
*hen a present>general condition affected a past situation. 2or e"ample, my son is years old. Besterday we went to an amusement park and he wasn’t old enough to ride the roller coaster.
If he were older&
he co"ld ha(e ridden that roller coaster #esterda#.
present > general condition
different result in the past
&econd conditional
(hird conditional
Cere are some more e"amples:
If I knew how to repair things, I would have helped you when your oven broke last week.
If I were white, that police officer wouldnt have -uestioned me.
If I spoke &panish, it would have been easier to communicate on my trip to !e"ico last month.
7"t"re condition& past res"lt'
2his form is used when having estab"ished future plans made some past ation possib"e or impossib"e
If we werent mo(ing to another state ne"t month, we wo"ld ha(e signed up for the local sports league.
If my parents were coming over tonight, I wo"ld ha(e cleaned my apartment.
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation
Page
http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
Bou get a pass on putting this one into practice # this is one of the most difficult structures to create a sentence, because its not always the case that our future plans make us choose to do or not do things in the past.
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation
Page
http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+
S"mmar#
%se I wish 1 simple past to desire that present situations were different I wish I were rich
%se the second conditional to imagine the results if present situations were different If I were rich, I’d live in a mansion
%se I wish 1 past perfect to desire that past situations had been different I wish I had woken up earlier
%se the third conditional to imagine the past results if past situations had been different If I had woken up earlier, I would have gotten to work on time
%se a mied conditional to imagine conditions and results when these are in different times resent>past, past>present, future>past
$ L. Petoud %&
https//www.facebook.com/CambridgeExamsPreparation
Page
http//fce!cae.b"og#ever.com '((#')*'+