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    Unreal Tenses and Subjunctives

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    Bình Lương
    This document discusses various structures used to express unreal or hypothetical situations in English, including: 1) Wish structures using wish + past tense to express regret over past events or desires for present situations to be different. 2) If only to add emphasis on hypothetical past situations and express regret. 3) Hope + present/future tense to express hopes for future events. 4) Would rather/sooner and prefer + verb constructions to indicate preferences between options, some using past tense to refer to hypothetical or unlikely situations. 5) As if/as though using past tense to talk about unlikely past situations or present tense for possible future situations. 6) Suppose/imagine to

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    Unreal Tenses and Subjunctives

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    Bình Lương
    127 views3 pages
    This document discusses various structures used to express unreal or hypothetical situations in English, including: 1) Wish structures using wish + past tense to express regret over past events or desires for present situations to be different. 2) If only to add emphasis on hypothetical past situations and express regret. 3) Hope + present/future tense to express hopes for future events. 4) Would rather/sooner and prefer + verb constructions to indicate preferences between options, some using past tense to refer to hypothetical or unlikely situations. 5) As if/as though using past tense to talk about unlikely past situations or present tense for possible future situations. 6) Suppose/imagine to

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    This document discusses various structures used to express unreal or hypothetical situations in English, including: 1) Wish structures using wish + past tense to express regret over past events or desires for present situations to be different. 2) If only to add emphasis on hypothetical past situations and express regret. 3) Hope + present/future tense to express hopes for future events. 4) Would rather/sooner and prefer + verb constructions to indicate preferences between options, some using past tense to refer to hypothetical or unlikely situations. 5) As if/as though using past tense to talk about unlikely past situations or present tense for possible future situations. 6) Suppose/imagine to

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    127 views3 pages

    Unreal Tenses and Subjunctives

    Uploaded by

    Bình Lương
    This document discusses various structures used to express unreal or hypothetical situations in English, including: 1) Wish structures using wish + past tense to express regret over past events or desires for present situations to be different. 2) If only to add emphasis on hypothetical past situations and express regret. 3) Hope + present/future tense to express hopes for future events. 4) Would rather/sooner and prefer + verb constructions to indicate preferences between options, some using past tense to refer to hypothetical or unlikely situations. 5) As if/as though using past tense to talk about unlikely past situations or present tense for possible future situations. 6) Suppose/imagine to

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    7/29/2019 Unreal Tenses and Subjunctives

    UNREAL TENSES AND SUBJUNCTIVES

    WISHES 

    • wish + past simple/ past continuous


    This structure is used when we want to say that we would like something to be different in the present.
    e.g.  I wish I had a car. (I don’t have one now.)
     I wish you weren’t leaving . (You are leaving.)
     I wish I was going on holiday with you. (I am not going.)
    • wish + past perfect
    This structure is used to express regret that something happened or did not happen in the past.
    e.g. I wish I hadn’t eaten so much last night.(I ate too much.)
    • wish + would/ could
    This structure is used:
    o for a polite imperative;
    o to express our desire for change in a situation or someone’s behavior.
    e.g. I wish you would leave. (would here means ‘ I decided to’ )
     I wish I could come on holiday with you next year. (I can’t come.)
     I wish we could have been together. (We weren’t together.)
     I wish you wouldn’t make such a mess. (would is often used to describe an annoying habit)

     IF ONLY 

    •  If only is used to add emphasis on hypothetical situations or to add the sense of regret (in past events).
    e.g. If only I had enough time! (I don’t have enough time)
     If only I hadn’t drunk too much! (I drank too much)

     HOPE 

    hope + present or future tense


    This structure is used to expresses simple future events.
    e.g. I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.
     I hope he will stop talking soon!

     IT’S TIME/ IT’S HIGH TIME/ IT’S ABOUT TIME 

    • It’s time + past simple/ past continuous


    e.g. It’s time we left .
     It’s high time I was/were going .

    • It’s time + infinitive


    e.g. It’s time to start work. (As a simple statement of fact.)
     It’s time you started work! (You are being lazy and not working.)

     HAD BETTER

    • had better + bare infinitive


    This structure is used to:
    o give advice or to say what the best thing to do in a particular situation is.
    e.g. You had better book tour flight early.
     I had better not take out a loan; I won’t be able to pay it back.

     Had better is more emphatic than should/ ought to, but it is not as emphatic as must.
    e.g. You must see a lawyer. (strong advice)
    You had better see a lawyer. (less emphatic than must)
    You should/ ought to see a lawyer. (less emphatic than had better)

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    7/29/2019 Unreal Tenses and Subjunctives

    WOULD RATHER/ WOULD SOONER

    When the subject of would rather/ sooner is also the subject of the following verb, we use the following construction:
    • would rather + present bare infinitive (for future)
    e.g. I’ d rather do my shopping tomorrow.
    • would rather + perfect bare infinitive (for past)
    e.g. I ’d rather not have gone to the dinner party last night.
    • would rather + bare infinitive + than (+ bare infinitive)
    e.g. I ’d rather watch a comedy than (watch) a thriller.
    When the subject of would rather is different from the subject of the following verb, we use the following constructions:
    • would rather + past tense (for present or future)
    e.g. I’ d rather Kate stayed with us tonight.
    • would rather + past perfect (for past)
    e.g. I’ d rather Sam hadn’t taken his father’s car yesterday.

    (WOULD) PREFER

    • prefer + ing form + to + ing form (for general preference)


    e.g. I  prefer playing tennis to playing squash.
    • prefer + full infinitive + rather than + bare infinitive (for general preference)
    e.g. I prefer to eat fish rather than (eat)meat.
    • prefer + noun + to + noun (for general preference)
    e.g. I prefer basketball to football.
    • would prefer + full infinitive + rather than + bare infinitive (for specific preference)
    e.g. I’d prefer to walk home rather than take bus.
     I’d prefer to have juice rather than (have) Coke.

     AS IF/ AS THOUGH 

    When the situation is true we use the following construction:


    • present tense + as if + present tense (future likely situation)
    e.g. It looks as if it is going to rain.
     It looks as if it is raining .
    • present tense + as if + present perfect (present likely situation)
    e.g . He looks as if he hasn’t slept enough.
    • past tense + as if + past perfect (past likely situation)
    e.g. He looked as if he hadn’t slept enough.

    When the situation is unreal we use the following construction:


    • present tense + as if + past simple (present unlikely situation)
    e.g. He acts as if he was/ were a boss. (but he isn’t)
    •

    present tense + as if + past perfect (past unlikely situation)


    e.g. You look as if you had seen a ghost. (but he/ she didn’t)

     SUPPOSE/ IMAGINE 

    • likely situation
    e.g. Imagine it rains lather, what will you do?
    • unlikely situation
    e.g. Imagine we won a lot of money, what would we do?
    Supposing we had never met .
    Suppose someone told you I was a spy!

     IF/ WHETHER/ WHATEVER

    e.g. If/ Whether he (should) agree/agrees or not, we are going to have to go ahead.


    Whatever his reasons be/are , they are insufficient to excuse him.

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    FORMAL SUBJUNCTIVES 

    • After verbs such as demand, insist, suggest, require, request, order recommend, propose, think  which involve an
    implied obligation, the subjunctive can be used in formal style. This has only the infinitive form.
    e.g. I suggest  that you should study harder. (informal)
     I suggest you study harder. (formal)
    The police the car  be removed.(informal)
    The police insisted
    insisted that  should  (formal)
    the car be removed.
    They demand that he should study harder. (informal)
    They demand he study/ studies hard. (formal)
    • After expressions such as it is advisable/necessary/essential/important/desirable/preferable/ urgent that 
    e.g. It is urgent  that he should do it immediately. (informal)
     It is urgent he do it immediately. (formal)

    FORMALIC SUBJUNCTIVES 

    God save the Queen! So be it. Come what may …


    Heaven help us! Be that as it may …
    Heaven forbid! Suffice it to say …
    Curse this fog! Far it be from me …

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