Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. If you need to improve your skills
in English, you're in the right place. Don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications.
I wonder how many of you would make a significant change in your life if you could.
For example, if money weren't an issue, would you quit your job? If someone promised complete
safety, would you travel more? I recently survived a year-long home renovation project. It wasn't
easy, but it was necessary. If I didn't have a home office, I couldn't easily work online.
For many reasons, we imagine our lives and the world differently. We sometimes
speak hypothetically. We're not saying that things will happen, but they could happen.
This is when we use unreal conditionals.
The verb forms can be a little confusing, so let's practice together. Ready? And hey! Don't
forget you can get more support as a member of my YouTube channel. Click join to learn more.
A conditional sentence with "if" has an if-clause and a main clause, the result clause.
When we talk about an unreal or very unlikely situation in the present or future,
what verb form follows "if"? Consider my examples.
I wonder how many of you would make a significant change in your life if you could.
If money weren't an issue, would you quit your job? If someone promised complete safety,
would you travel more? If I didn't have a home office, I couldn't easily work online.
In the if-clause, we shift verbs from the present tense to the past.
That's how we shift from the real or likely to the unreal or unlikely.
The simple present becomes the simple past. Money is an issue, but imagine if it weren't.
No one promises you complete safety, but imagine if someone promised this.
I have a home office, but imagine if I didn't have one.
Some people like to use the name "the second conditional."
I think it's easier and clearer to focus on the meaning and purpose of this structure.
We're forming conditionals about the present or future. The situations are imaginary, so both the
condition and the result are unreal or unlikely. Let's note something special about the verb "be"
in the if-clause. In an unreal conditional about the present or future, we use "were" for all
subjects: if I were, if you were, if she were, if he were, if it were, if we were, if they were,
You won't always hear American English speakers shift to "were" in unreal conditionals about
the present or future. Sometimes we break "the rule," especially in informal speech.
If money wasn't an issue, we'd all travel more.
Some may consider this acceptable, just more informal. Others may consider this wrong. I
generally recommend standard grammar, but I think you should be flexible and ready
to hear variations. If I were you, I'd take a look at how I allocate my resources, is all.
If it were cancer, well, then we'd try and kill it.
Great. Okay. Because I thought, like, that would suck if he wasn't.
We can also shift a verb in the present progressive to the past progressive. I'm still
posting videos on YouTube. It would be sad and strange if I weren't posting videos on YouTube.
Okay. So we agree. In the if-clause of an unreal conditional about the present or future,
we use the simple past or the past progressive.
What verb form or forms do we use in the main clause, the result clause?
Again, let's look at examples. If money weren't an issue, many people would quit their jobs.
If someone promised complete safety, we would likely travel more.
If I didn't have a home office, I couldn't easily work online.
If I weren't able to teach for some reason, I might try to make it as a novelist.
Most often, we use "would" + the base verb. It's also possible to use "could" or "might" + the base
verb. "Would" is the most probable result. "Might" expresses a weaker possibility.
"Could" express ability or the possibility of doing something.
Again, we're focusing on situations that are unreal or unlikely. And note how we
could use "then" in the result clause. This is common when the result clause is second.
If money weren't an issue, then many people would quit their jobs.
Many people would quit their jobs if money weren't an issue.
And then who would be laughing then, Joseph? Huh? Then we wouldn't be sitting here, would we?
Let's practice. I have three questions for you. One. Is there a famous person you'd love to meet?
If I had the chance to invite a celebrity to dinner, I would invite Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt.
How about you? Who would you invite?
Two. Do you ever wish you could go back in time and witness history?
If I could visit the past to observe an important event, I might want to witness
the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. How about you? What might you want to witness?
Three. If I were a millionaire, I could pay all my bills without any stress.
How about you? What could you do?
Feel free to share your answers in the comments. I'm going to increase
the challenge now. Can you fix the mistakes with the verbs in the following sentences?
Here are the answers.
Four. I don't think giving up chocolate is possible, but if I ate less sugar,
I would feel healthier and stronger. We can also use the contraction "I'd."
Five. It would be awful if we lost electricity for more than a day.
Six. I know it's unlikely, but if I met the president of our country,
I would ask a few questions.
Unreal conditionals allow us to express wishes or say what's wrong with the world today. Listen.
I would have to say world peace. Definitely, world peace.
That's easy. World peace. World peace. What is the one most important thing our society needs?
That would be harsher punishment for a parole violators, Stan. And world peace.
So, why don't we have world peace? Maybe if we had more tolerance and less greed, we might
have fewer wars. Can you give another reason? Challenge yourself and use an unreal conditional.
Sandra Bullock's character, who is an FBI agent, says we need harsher punishments.
What do you think? If there were harsher punishments, would we have less crime?
You can tell me your opinion, but you have to use another unreal conditional.
That's all for now. Please like and share the video if you found the lesson useful.
As always, thanks for watching and happy studies! Follow me on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram. Why not join me on Patreon? And don't forget to subscribe on YouTube!