Unreal Conditional Sentences

Review of the Conditional

Before we get into unreal conditional sentences, let's take a moment to review what conditional sentences are in general. Conditional sentences are sentences that contain a hypothetical condition and the consequence, or result, of that condition. To put that another way, if x is true, then y happens. For instance, if water reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit, it freezes. This conditional sentence provides a hypothetical condition that, if met, always produces a certain result. We know that if water cools to this temperature, it freezes.

Conditional sentences can talk about hypothetical situations and their consequences in the present, the past, or the future.

Remember that the 'if' clause does not have to be at the beginning of the conditional sentence. For instance, this also works: Water freezes if it reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Real Conditional

Now it gets a little more complicated because there are multiple types of conditional sentences, but stick with me here! Remember that the basic components of a condition (the 'if' clause) and its consequence stay the same.

Conditional sentences are divided into real conditional and unreal conditional sentences. This lesson is going to focus on unreal conditional sentences, but before we do that, we need to know what a real conditional sentence is.

The 'if' clause in a real conditional sentence is a condition that is possible and likely to produce a certain result. For instance: If I save enough money, I will buy a new pair of shoes.

In this example, the speaker is not sure whether he or she will be able to save enough money to buy a new pair of shoes, but it is possible. There's nothing that makes this condition especially unlikely to happen. This is a real conditional sentence.

Let's see some more examples:

• I will become a doctor if I get into medical school.
• If it rains tomorrow, I will stay inside.
• The team will go to the championship if they win the game.

Got it? Okay, let's look at unreal conditional sentences.

Unreal Conditional

An unreal conditional sentence has an 'if' clause that is a condition that is not real, is imaginary, or is unlikely to occur. For instance: If I win the lottery, I will build a mansion.

The condition in the 'if' clause (winning the lottery) is unlikely to happen. A person has a very small chance of winning the lottery, and someone who is talking about what they would do if they won the lottery is imagining a result that will probably not occur in reality. Here are some more examples:

• My dog would ask for steak dinners every night if he could talk.
• If I could have a super power, it would be the ability to fly.
• If my mom could have read my mind, I would have been grounded.

All of the conditions are not real or are imaginary. As a result, all of these conditional sentences are unreal conditional sentences.

Not all conditions in unreal conditional sentences are this far-fetched, or this unlikely. Take a look at this example: If I had had a sibling growing up, I would have had an instant friend.

Unlike having a speaking dog or the ability to fly, having a sibling is definitely humanly possible, right? However, since this conditional sentence is in the past and we can tell that the speaker does not have a sibling, it is still imaginary. He or she is imagining the effect if the condition of having a sibling had been met. There's no way the speaker can go back in time and change the fact that he or she was an only child growing up.

Here's another example: I would go on a vacation tomorrow if I had any vacation time saved up.

This example is referring to the present, but since the speaker doesn't have any vacation time saved up today, he or she won't have any saved up tomorrow either; the condition is unreal.