Unreal conditionals The Second Type of Conditionals

For sale

100 000 $ I have 95 000$

If they give me a discount, I’ll buy it. (Type 1)

I have only 1000$.

If I had 100 000$, I would buy it. (Type 2)

Якби я мала 100 000$, я б купила його.

The second type of conditionals is used to express unreal or imaginary situations in the present or future. In the ‘if-clause’ Present Subjunctive II is used (If I had 100 000$), and in the main clause - the Present Conditional Mood (I would buy it).

Present Subjunctive II (had) is used in the adverbial clause of condition (‘if-clause’). It represents the action as imaginary, unreal, contrary to reality. Present Subjunctive II coincides in form with the past simple and past continuous of the indicative mood. Instead of ‘was’ there’s a tendency to use ‘were’ for all persons.

The Present Conditional Mood (would buy) is used in the main clause of a conditional sentence. It expresses an action which is unreal because it depends on unreal condition. The Present Conditional mood is formed with the auxiliary verb ‘should’ for the first person or ‘would’ for all persons and a bare infinitive.

A complex sentence with an adverbial clause of condition Type 2
adv. clause of condition			main (result) clause
	Subjunctive II (V2)			Conditional Mood (should/ would + V)
If somebody	did ... were ... were doing were done	,	somebody	would should could might	do ... be ... be doing ... be done ...
If I lived in Kyiv		,	I would have more career opportunities.

Modal verbs ‘could’ and ‘might’ may be used instead of ‘would’ to express possibility or unreal ability. ‘Could’ may be also used in the if-clause to denote unreal ability.

If you tried again, you would succeed. (certain result)

If you tried again, you might/ could succeed. (possible result)

If I knew her number, I could ring her up. (unreal ability)

If I could help you I would readily do so. (unreal ability)

Ex. 1 Read and translate the poem. Learn it by heart.

If all the seas were one sea,

what a great sea that would be;

If all the trees were one tree,

what a great tree that would be;

If all the men were one man, what a great man that would be;

If all the axes were one axe, what a great axe that would be;

If that great man took that great axe and cut that great tree

and pushed it into that great sea, what a great split-splash that would be!

Ex. 2 Answer the questions of your group-mate whose dream is to study in the USA. Your answers can be affirmative or negative.

E.g.: If I studied in the USA, I would have an adviser, wouldn’t I? – Certainly. If you studied in the USA, you would have an adviser.

1. If I had a chance to study in the USA, I would improve my English, wouldn’t I?

2. If I were an American student, I would be able to have a part-time job, wouldn’t I?

3. If I were an American student, I could cheat at exams, couldn’t I?

4. If I studied in the USA, I would be allowed to smoke on the University premises, wouldn’t I?

5. I would dress more informally if I were in the USA, wouldn’t I?

6. I would be allowed to come late for classes if I studied in the USA, wouldn’t I.

7. If I studied in the USA, I’d be able to choose subjects, wouldn’t I?

8. If I were a student in the USA, I wouldn’t be allowed to chat during the class, would I?

Ex.3 a) An American teacher is going to work at our University. Listen to him and say whether you would behave in the same way.

Example: If my students cheat, I'll be upset. - If my students cheated, I would be upset, too. or I wouldn’t pay any attention.

1. If my students are late, I won't pay much attention to them.

2. If the students miss classes, I won’t ask the reasons for their absence.

3. If the students make noise during the class, I'll ask them to keep silent

4. If the students are not ready with their home assignment, I'll put them bad marks.

5. If I work as a teacher in Ukraine, I'll be formally dressed.

6. If the students miss deadlines with their written papers, I'll accept their works later.

7. If I work as a teacher, I'll discuss publicly students' marks or exam results.

b) Ask your partner about things she would do if she were a teacher at this university and be ready to report the answers. You can use the following phrases as well as your own ideas: to trust students; to be extremely critical; to communicate with students not only in the classes; to be active during the classes; to have a dominating teaching style; to insult students; to worry about students’ absence; to be cheerful; to punish students for cheating and cribbing; to be late for classes, to be noisy, to miss classes, to get angry, to shout at somebody.

Ex.4 Put ‘if’ or ‘unless’ into the spaces in these sentences.

1. I wouldn’t buy it ...... I had a guarantee.

2. ......... I were you, I’d see a doctor about that cough.

3. Who would you ask ........... you didn’t know how to do it.

4. I’d buy it ........ I could afford it.

5. I wouldn’t buy it ............... I could afford it.

6. I would refuse to go ............ they paid my expense.

7. She’s very lazy. She’d pass ............. she tried harder.

8. She wouldn’t be able to go ...... we could find a babysitter.

Ex.5 Underline the correct option.

1. Supposing/ Even if your mobile broke down on holiday, what would you do?

2. Even if/ Provided that I wanted a handheld games console, my parents wouldn't buy me one.

3. I might let you use my new laptop provided that/supposing you were a bit more careful.

4. I wouldn't join a social networking site even if/supposing a hundred people invited me! It's a waste of time.

5. We could invite Steve to the party provided that/ even if he promised not to play games on his phone all the time.

6. Supposing/ Provided that you designed a new piece of software, would you sell it or make it available for free?

7. Supposing/ Provided that she completed her essay on time, she might get quite a good grade for it.

Ex. 6 a) Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form. Identify them.

1. If I knew his address, I ................... (give) it to you.

2. He would look a lot better if he .................... (shave) more often.

3. If you…....…. (play) for lower stakes, you wouldn't lose so much.

4. If he worked more slowly, he …......(not make) so many mistakes.

5. Supposing I were sent to prison, .............. you …....….. (visit) me?

6. I shouldn't drink that wine if I …..................................... (be) you.

7. If someone ...... (give) you a helicopter, what would you do with it?

8. I …........…….. (buy) shares in that company if I had some money.

9. If he cleaned his windscreen, he ..... (can) see where he was going.

10. If you drove your car into the river, ...... you ….. (be able) to get out?

11. Unless you ……......… (belong) to a union, you couldn't get a job.

12. If I ……..........… (win) a big prize in a lottery, I'd give up my job.

13. If they (ban) the sale of beer at stadiums, there might be less violence

b) Complete type 2 Conditionals.

1. What ...... you ...… (do) if you ..... (find) a burglar in your house?

2. I ........ (can) tell you what this means if I …….…… (know) Greek.

3. If everybody ………… (give) 1$, we ..................... (have) enough.

4. If you …….. (see) someone drowning, what .......... you ....... (do)?

5. I ………….. (be) ruined if I .......... (buy) her everything she asks for.

6. If you ... (sleep) under a mosquito net, you ... (not be) bitten so often.

7. I .............. (can) get a job easily if I ……..……… (have) a degree.

8. If she …… (do) her hair differently, she ...... (may) look quite nice.

9. If we ............. (have) more rain, our crops ……...…. (grow) faster.

10. I ………….. (keep) a horse if I ............................. (can) afford it.

11. I .... (go) and ... (see) him more often if he ….. (live) on a bus route.

12. What .... you ....... (do) if the lift ... (get) stuck between two floors?

13. If you ..... (paint) the walls white, the room ....... (be) much brighter.

14. Supposing you ... (change) your job, .... it ..... (affect) your pension?

Ex. 7 Answer the questions. Compare your answers with those of your partner. How aggressive do you think your partner is? Talk about it.

1. If you were getting on a bus and there were only one seat left, would you

• rush to get it?

• look to see if there were anyone older who might want it?

• make no special effort to get there first?

2. If your car were stuck in a traffic jam, would you

• bang your horn and curse the Minister of transport?

• turn on the car radio and relax?

• feel slightly annoyed but resign yourself to the situation?

3. If you were at a party and your boy/girlfriend were surrounded by members of the opposite sex, would you:

• grab his/ her arm and leave the party?

• feel happy because he/ she was having a good time?

• go over, put your arm around him/ her and join the conversation?

4. You quarrelled with a friend, would you say:

• “I won’t speak to him/ her, unless he/ she apologizes to me.”

• “I’d better phone him/ her and apologise.”

• “I think I’ll wait and see what happens.

5. Which of these statements is true for you?”

• “I would never hit anybody unless they hit me first.”

• “I would never hit anybody for any reason.”

• “I would never hit anybody unless I were very angry.”

Ex. 8 Translate the sentences into English. Use Type II conditionals. Could you live without your gadgets and television?

Припустимо тобі довелося б (have to) рік прожити без мобільного телефону, комп’ютеру та інтернету, чи це було б для тебе проблемою? Мобільні телефони широко використовуються лише близько 20 років, але багато людей сприймали б це як трагедію, якби їм довелося обходитись без них. Зрозуміло, що нам було б набагато складніше підтримувати зв'язок (keep in touch) з рідними та друзями або отримати допомогу у невідкладних випадках (emergency), якби ми не мали сучасних гаджетів. Ми б не змогли отримувати інформацію швидко і з різних джерел, якби Всесвітня мережа Інтернету не об’єднувала всіх на цій планеті.

З іншого боку, очевидно, що підлітки були б здоровішими, якби вони не проводили стільки часу за комп’тером, вони б мали більше часу для реальних друзів, якби вони не не марнували його на незнайомців у соціальних мережах. Люди були б менш знервованими, якби вони не залежали від своїх галжетів та захищались від інформаційних атак.

Ex. 9 Read and translate the quotations. Analyse the sentences.

1. If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner. (T.Bankhead) 2. If nobody spoke unless he had something to say, the human race would very soon lose the use of speech. (W.S.Maugham) 3. You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do. (O.Miller) 4. If we were not all so interested in ourselves, life would be so uninteresting that none of us would be able to endure it. (A.Schopenhauer) 5. Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.(H.Asquith) 7. It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree. (Ch. Baudelaire) 8. There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up. (O. Wilde) 9. First, I do not sit down at my desk to put into verse something that is already clear in my mind. If it were clear, I should have no incentive or need to write about it. We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand. (R.Lewis)

Watch out! Oblique mood show that the actions are contrary to reality, so when expressing the same idea, you switch from reality to unreality, you also switch from affirmative forms to negative and vice versa. (condition) (result) (condition) (result) E.g.: I am not rich. I can’t buy a car. I have friends. I am happy. If I were rich, I could buy a car. If I didn’t have friends, I wouldn’t be happy.
Infinitive	be		drive
Indicative	is	isn’t	drives	doesn’t drive
SubjunctiveII	weren’t	were	didn’t drive	drove
Conditional	wouldn’t be	would be	wouldn’t drive	would drive

Ex. 10 Express the same idea as in the example.

1. Restore the actual situation. E.g.: If I were a film star, I would be famous = I am not a film star. I am not famous.

1. If he wiped his feet, he wouldn’t make muddy marks all over the floor

2. If English people didn’t speak very quickly, perhaps I could understand them.

3. If people didn’t drive very fast, there wouldn’t be so many accidents.

4. I wouldn’t be late for work, if I didn’t live a long way from the centre.

2. Complete the second part of the sentence. E.g.: He doesn’t have a dog. He feels lonely. = If he had a dog, he wouldn’t feel lonely

1. She is very shy; that's why she doesn't enjoy parties.

If she weren’t shy, ________________________________________

2. He doesn't take any exercise; that's why he is so unhealthy.

If he took some exercise, ___________________________________

3. I haven't the right change so we can't get tickets from the machine. ____________________, we could get tickets from the machine.

4. He doesn't work overtime, so he doesn't earn as much as I do. ___________________________, he would earn as much as I do.

5. My number isn't in the directory so people don't ring me up.

If my number were in the directory, ________________________

6. My friend advised me to sell it.

‘If I were you’, he said, ‘I___________________________________

7. We can't light a fire because we haven't any matches.

_______________________________if we had some matches.

8. He doesn't help me, possibly because I never ask him for help.

He would possibly help me if_______________________________

3. Comment on the situations with conditionals type II.

E.g.: He is sociable, that’s why he has a lot of friends.

= If he were not sociable, he wouldn’t have so many friends.

1. The shops don't deliver now, which makes life difficult.

If ____________________________________________________

2. He's very thin; perhaps that's why he feels the cold so much.

If_____________________________________________________

3. We have no ladder so we can't get over the wall.

If_____________________________________________________

4. I can't drive so we can't take the car. If_______________________

5. I read very little because I haven't much time.

__________________________ if ___________________________

6. The rooms look rather dark because they don't clean the windows. ___________________________________________________

7. He never polishes his shoes, so he never looks smart.

___________________________________________________

8. He doesn't pay his staff properly; perhaps that's why they don't work well. _______________________________________________

9. He never has time to do odd jobs in the house because he spends hours watching television. _________________________________

10. I don't know his address, so I can't write to him.

____________________________________________________

11. You work too fast; that's why you make so many mistakes.

___________________________________________________

12. I don't come by car because I can't park near my office.

___________________________________________________

13. I haven't a map so I can't direct you. _______________________

Ex.11 Read the text below, What do you think the fisherman’s answer was? Complete the dialogue using type 2 conditionals.