Question

Put the words in brackets in to the correct conditional tense 1. A: If I ........................................... (have) the time, I would take up whitewater rafting B: Realy? I`m too afraid 2. А: James, you`re all wet!! B: Well, If I had heard the weather forecast, I ........................... (take) an umbrella 3. А: I`m not sure how to get back to campsite now B: If we ............................... (stay) on the trail, we wouldn`t have lost our way

Answer 1

1. A: If I had the time, I would take up whitewater rafting. B: Really? I'm too afraid.

2. A: James, you're all wet!! B: Well, if I had heard the weather forecast, I would have taken an umbrella.

3. A: I'm not sure how to get back to the campsite now. B: If we had stayed on the trail, we wouldn't have lost our way.

In these examples, the first sentence in each pair expresses a hypothetical or unreal situation in the past, while the second sentence in each pair expresses the result or consequence of that hypothetical situation. The correct conditional tense to use in these cases is the past unreal conditional, also known as the third conditional.

In the first example, the speaker is talking about a hypothetical situation in the present. They don't have the time to take up whitewater rafting. The correct conditional form to use is "If I had" (past simple tense) followed by "would" (modal verb indicating the hypothetical action).

In the second example, the speaker is talking about a hypothetical situation in the past. They didn't hear the weather forecast and as a result, they didn't take an umbrella. The correct conditional form to use is "If I had heard" (past perfect tense) followed by "would have" (modal verb indicating the hypothetical action in the past).

In the third example, the speaker is talking about a hypothetical situation in the past. They didn't stay on the trail and as a result, they lost their way. The correct conditional form to use is "If we had stayed" (past perfect tense) followed by "wouldn't have" (negative form of the modal verb indicating the hypothetical consequence in the past).

The conditional tenses are used to talk about hypothetical or unreal situations and their possible consequences. They allow us to express unreal or hypothetical conditions and their corresponding results.