Question

5 Choose the most appropriate verb form and explain the reasons for your choices. Then complete the conditional sentences. 1 If I live/lived to be seventy, .. 2 If I live / lived to be 170, ... 3 If I go / went out tonight, ... 4 If I go / went out every night, ... 5 If it was / had been sunny at the moment, 6 If it was / had been sunny yesterday, ... 7 If I forget / had forgotten my mum's next birthday, ... 8 If I forget / had forgotten my mum's last birthday, ...​

Answer 1

1 If I live to be seventy, I will probably have a lot of grandchildren. (First Conditional, we talk about things which are possible in the future)

2 If I lived to be 170, I would probably have bionic limbs. (it's the Second Conditional, we talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be true)

3 If I go out tonight, I'll come home late. (First Conditional, possibility in the future)

4 If I went out every night, I wouldn't get enough sleep. (Second Conditional)

5 If it was/were sunny at the moment, we would go out. (but it's raining now => Second Conditional)

6 If it had been sunny yesterday, we would have played in the park. (but it was cold and rainy, so we stayed at home - it's the Third Conditional, an unreal past condition)

7 If I forget my mum's next birthday, I won't forget myself. (a possible condition in the future, First Conditional)

8 If I had forgotten my mum's last birthday, she would have felt hurt, I think. (the Third Conditional, an unreal past condition)

Answer 2

Let's go through each of these conditional sentences and choose the most appropriate verb form, along with the reasons for the choices:

1. If I live/lived to be seventy, ...

   • The correct form is "live" because this is a first conditional sentence, which is used to talk about future possibilities that are likely to happen. In this case, it's likely that the person will live to be seventy.

2. If I live / lived to be 170, ...

   • The correct form is "live" for the same reason as in the first sentence. It's a future possibility, and "lived" is not appropriate here.

3. If I go / went out tonight, ...

   • The correct form depends on the context. If you're talking about your plans for the evening and it's still the same day, you would use "go." If you're reflecting on a past evening, then "went" would be appropriate.

4. If I go / went out every night, ...

   • The correct form depends on the context. If you're talking about a habitual action that is currently ongoing or true, you would use "go." If you're talking about a past habit, "went" would be appropriate.

5. If it was / had been sunny at the moment,

   • The correct form is "was." This is a second conditional sentence, used to talk about unreal or unlikely present situations. "Had been" is used for past unreal situations.

6. If it was / had been sunny yesterday, ...

   • The correct form is "was." This is a second conditional sentence referring to a past unreal situation. "Had been" is not appropriate here.

7. If I forget / had forgotten my mum's next birthday, ...

   • The correct form is "forget." This is a first conditional sentence, talking about a future possibility, and "had forgotten" is not suitable here.

8. If I forget / had forgotten my mum's last birthday, ...

   • The correct form is "had forgotten." This is a second conditional sentence talking about a past unreal situation, where you didn't actually forget your mum's last birthday.

In summary, the choice of verb form in each sentence depends on the type of conditional sentence (first or second) and the tense appropriate for the context (future, present, or past).