Conditional sentences about unfulfilled past situations

When should we use?

• We can use conditional sentences to talk about situations in the past that did not actually happen. We use the past perfect tense in the if-clause and would have + past participle in the main clause.

Conditional sentences about unfulfilled past situations

If-clause Main clause

If I had known about the rainy weather,

I would not have gone hiking.

If I had known about the slippery trail,

I would have worn more suitable hiking shoes.

Conditional sentences about unfulfilled past situations

We can change the order of the two clauses in a conditional sentence. We do not need to use a comma when the main clause comes first.

Conditional sentences about unfulfilled past situations

Main clause If-clause

I would not have gone hiking

if I had known about the rainy weather.

I would have worn more suitable hiking shoes

if I had known about the slippery trail.

Part A. Matching Game

Situation: Isabel is a reporter for the school magazine.

She has interviewed prize-winning writer Andrew Hui for a writing competition.

Match the two parts of the conditional sentences.

Suggested Answers

1. f2. b3. g4. c5. d6. e7. a

Suggested Answers

1. He would not have learnt how to write if he had not taken a writing course.

2. If his teacher had not encouraged him, he would not have had the courage to start writing.

3. He would have started writing a lot earlier if he had discovered his interesting in writing sooner.

Suggested Answers

4. If he had not seen the TV series The Star, he would not have become interested in science fiction.

5. He would not have thought of a time machine if he had not read a book called The Time Machine by H.G.Wells.

6. He would not have had the time to write this novel if he had decided to teach at a secondary school.

7. If his book had not been so popular, he would not have won the book prize.

Part B. Short Writing You are Janet. Imagine you had failed all the

subjects in the Half-yearly Examination as you had spent the whole Christmas Vacation on playing only.

If you had realized it was a waste of time playing without studying, what would you have done during the Christmas vacation? Write a self-reflection of about 100 words by using the conditional sentences about an unfulfilled situation.

Writing Tips…

If I had realized it was a waste of time playing without studying, I would have done the following things. First, I would have spent more time on my homework…

The End

Thank You!