Hypothetical Past Situations

Wish/if only can be used to express wishes, regrets & criticisms about the past.

I wish I hadn’t given him my phone number

If only you’d been wearing a seat belt

Grammar

Hypothetical Past Situations The construction is as follows:

Subject + wish + subject + past perfect

I wish I hadn’t given him my phone number

If only + subject + past perfect If only you’d been wearing a seat belt

Grammar

Hypothetical Past Situations

Conditional sentences can be used to hypothesise or speculate about the past.

If you had told me you were having problems,

I could have helped you

Grammar

Grammar

Hypothetical Past Situations The construction is as follows:

CONDITIONAL CLAUSE: If + subject + past perfect

If you had told me you were having problems

MAIN CLAUSE: Subject + would / could / might + have

+ past participle

I could have helped you

Note that the order of the clauses may vary.

Grammar

Hypothetical Past Situations Look at the previous example:

If you’d told me you were having problems,

I could have helped you.

The abbreviated forms of would & had look the

same, but in the “if clause” the abbreviated “’d”

must be had.

Grammar

Hypothetical Past Situations Pronunciation Conditional and abbreviated forms are normally weak forms, therefore their pronunciation is very relaxed:

Hypothetical Past Situations A more formal alternative is to omit if and begin with had: Had she stayed longer, she would have met Brad

CONDITIONAL CLAUSE: Had + subject + past participle

Had she stayed longer

MAIN CLAUSE: Subject + would / could / might + have + past

participle

she would have met Brad

Note that the order of the clauses may vary.

Grammar

Hypothetical Past Situations

Would / might / could  + infinitive can be used to describe possible present consequences.

If we had left earlier, we would be there by now

Grammar

Hypothetical Past Situations

Should have + past participle can be used to

criticise, express regret or talk about what was

supposed to happen.

It was chaos-I shouldn’t have invited some

many people

Hurry up! You should have finished that by now.

Grammar

Hypothetical Past Situations

Suppose / supposing / imagine can be used instead of if, particularly in spoken English.

Suppose he’d invited you. Would you have gone?

Grammar