What if were

The verb forms in the examples are similar to sentences with if : we use the present simple in the unless -clause and shall, should, will, would, can, could, may or might in the main clause :. If the government had not raised food prices, there would not have been so many protests.

If so , if not. Should you wish to cancel your order, please contact our customer service department on Should your child become anxious or nervous about any activity, it is a good idea to inform the team-leader. Had I known you were waiting outside, I would have invited you to come in.

If I had known you were waiting outside …. Had Margaret realised she would be travelling alone, she would never have agreed to go. If the Prime Minister were to resign, there would have to be a general election within 30 days. If we gave up the fight now …. If the economy slowed down too quickly …. Sometimes we need to impose specific conditions or set limits on a situation. In these cases, conditional clauses can begin with phrases such as as long as, so long as, only if, on condition that, providing that , provided that.

As long as is more common in speaking; so long as and on condition that are more formal and more common in writing:. So long as a tiger stands still, it is invisible in the jungle. The bank lent the company , pounds on condition that they repaid the money within six months.

Providing that is more common in speaking; provided that is more formal and more common in written language:. They may do whatever they like provided that it is within the law.

As long as and so long as. We often use or and otherwise with conditional meanings:. If we do not send it express, it will take days. Supposing may be used with a conditional meaning. It can be used in first, second or third conditional sentences. The speaker invites the listener to imagine a situation:. In case of. If only. Suppose , supposing and what if. Outsets and onsets! Conditionals: other expressions unless, should, as long as.

Not: Unless the government had raised food prices …. See also: Unless If so , if not. Should you Should with inversion. Had you Had with inversion. As long as , so long as , providing , etc.

See also: As long as and so long as. Or and otherwise. See also: In case of Wish If only Suppose , supposing and what if. Popular searches 01 Adverbs and adverb phrases: position 02 Since 03 Prefer 04 Future: will and shall 05 Also , as well or too? Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes. Image credits.

Word of the Day goodwill. Blog Outsets and onsets! Read More. November 08, To top. Adjectives and adverbs Easily confused words Nouns, pronouns and determiners Prepositions and particles Using English Verbs Words, sentences and clauses Adjectives and adverbs Easily confused words Nouns, pronouns and determiners Prepositions and particles Using English Verbs Words, sentences and clauses Adjectives and adverbs Easily confused words Nouns, pronouns and determiners Prepositions and particles Using English Verbs Words, sentences and clauses Adjectives and adverbs Easily confused words Nouns, pronouns and determiners Prepositions and particles Using English Verbs Words, sentences and clauses.

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Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Follow us. Excellent article!!! Thank you so much for this examples. Like Reply Report 4 1 year ago. Samir Hafza. Note to the author: You will need to fix your first example.

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There are several different grammatical moods that range from factual statements to commands. Each of these types of sentence sends a different message to the listener or reader. Sometimes punctuation helps to set the mood, as does syntax. But in cases like the subjunctive or conditional moods, you need to know what verb conjugations and contractions to use.

It can be hard to tell the conditional mood and subjunctive mood apart. They both describe situations that may or may not happen. Sentences in the conditional mood include words like would, could, and should.

Take a look at this example of a sentence in the conditional mood. The speaker is saying that one action buying a car depends on another action affording it. The word would indicates that the sentence is in the conditional mood. But if you change if I was to if I were , the sentence becomes subjunctive:.

In this case, the conditional action buying a car depends on a wishful situation being richer. The fact that the second clause is unlikely or hypothetical makes the sentence both subjunctive and conditional. Here are some more sentences that become both conditional and subjunctive with if I were. I wish I were the star waterskier at Cypress Gardens. If it was raining yesterday in Winter Haven, the waterski show was probably called off.

Was is the proper choice here because there is a chance that it was raining. The only reason I called was to see if the number-one-skier job was still available. The verb here is not in the subjunctive mood because the idea following "if" is not contrary to fact. The job being open is a distinct possibility.