G4:  Conditionals - present/future, real vs. unreal

by Tom Rohrbach

Multiple Choice Quiz

Is it real?  Is it unreal?  How can you be sure?!  Well, if it's on the Internet, you can't be sure!

But if it's grammar, you can figure it out by looking at the verb in the main clause...

If the main clause describes a true thing or a real possibility, it will use verbs like "is" or "will" or "is going to".

If the main clause describes an imagined, unreal situation, it will use verbs like "would" or "might" or "could".

When we want to make an "if" clause unreal, we 'shift' the verb backward in time -

a present verb changes to past, and any past verb changes to past perfect.

However, the present "be" verb always changes to "were", not "was".

Example:  "I wouldn't ask Mary about her recent weight gain if I were you!"