SKILL 15: LISTEN FOR UNTRUE CONDITIONS

Conditional sentences are something like wishes. In unreal conditional sentences, the implication is that the opposite of the condition is true.

Example:

On the recording, you hear:

(man) Do you think that you’ll be able to go to the party?

(woman) If I had time, I would go.

(narrator) What does the woman say about the party?

Possible answers:

(A) Maybe she’ll go.

(B) She has time, so she’ll go.

(C) She is going even if she doesn’t have time.

(D) It’s impossible to go.

In this question, the condition If I had time implies that the opposite is true: The woman does not have time for the party, so it’s impossible to go. Therefore, the best answer to this question is answer (D).

An unreal condition with a past tense verb is talking about something that’s not true in the present.

If she were at home, she could help us.

·         She’s not at home now, and she can’t help us now.

We could invite him if he didn’t have class today.

·         We can’t invite him now because he has class today (now).

An unreal condition with a past perfect tense verb is talking about something that wasn’t true in the past.

I would have helped you if I’d know you needed me.

·         I didn’t help you, and I didn’t know you needed me (past).

If we hadn’t gotten lost, we would have been here earlier.

·         We got lost, so we weren’t here earlier (past).

If you want to learn more about this skill watch the following Video about conditionals: WATCH THE VIDEO