Real or Imagined?
My birthday is next week. If it doesn't rain, I'll celebrate it with a picnic at the park. Do you think you'll be able to come?
Real: you are thinking about your birthday and how you can celebrate it.
________ you come to my birthday party this weekend if you don't have to work?
Will (real conditional - 1st conditional)
If I had more money, I would buy a car.
Present: even though the tense is in the past, if is a present imagination. It translates into "Si tuviera mas dinero, compraria un coche."
If I _______ rich, I would buy a mansion.
Past: were BE CAREFUL! The verb is past, but the conditional is a present conditional.
If I were = si fueraI don't have any time to do the hobbies I love. I'm just too busy with school.
If I had more time, I would draw stories for comic books.
Imagined: you do not have time in your real life. You wish you did, but you don't. You are imagining what you would do with your free time.
She _________ be so angry if you lie to her about your weekend plans. Tell her the truth!
will
If he were a nicer person, he would definitely go on more dates.
Present: even though the tense is in the past, it is a present imagination. This person is not nice, but he could be if he changed his attitude.
If I ________ more time, I could do more of the activities I love to do, like painting.
Past: had
If I had = si tuviera
I can't go for really long walks with my dog any more because she is really old.
If my dog weren't old, I could take her to the Madrid Sierra and hike all day.
Imagined: the fact is that my dog is old. She cannot go for long walks any more, but I can use my imagination.
If I had to choose between a trip to Marrakesh or a trip to Paris, I _________ choose Marrakesh.
Would: this is a hypothetical idea, imagined, and probably not going to happen.
I would have cooked something vegetarian for you if I had known you were coming for dinner.
Past: this is a past action that cannot be changed, only imagined differently.
I would have cooked = Hubiera cocinado
If I had known = si hubiera sabido
If you _________ too fast at the start of the race, you'll be tired before you finish it!
Present: run
If you run = si corres
You'll be = estarás
I bought 20 lottery tickets yesterday. I think I have a pretty good chance of winning, don't you?
If I win the lottery, I'll share some of the money with you.
Real: you bought lottery tickets. You might win.
What ________ happen if you lose your job? Do you really think they are going to fire you just because they fired Angela?
will: this sounds like it's a real possibility.
If I had taken school more seriously, I would have studied medicine. The good news is that I can still go back to university if I really want to.
Past:
If I had taken = Si hubiera tomado
I would have studied = hubiera estudiado
The second part of the text is in the present:I can still go back = aun puedo volver
If I really want to = si realmente quiero
If I had _________ to my football coach, I would have _______ a professional football player, I am sure about it.
Past: listened, been (Past Participles)
If I had listened = si hubiera escuchado
I would have been = hubiera sido
I really hate my town. There is nothing to do and everyone is so much older than me. I have no friends, but I also don't have any way of leaving. My family and my job is here.
Where would you live if you could move anywhere?Imagined: even though you hate your town, you aren't going to move. But, you can use your imagination to think about moving.
He thinks people aren't interested in dating him because he is short, but honestly, it's because he isn't nice.
If he were kinder, he _________ go on more dates.
would: this person is not kind. We have to use our imagination to think about what he would be like if he were nicer.
I would make pizza for lunch today if I had the ingredients.
Present: you do not have the ingredients, but you wish you did.
I would make pizza = haria pizza
If I had = si tuviera
People say that if she _________ smoked all her life, she __________ have ________ from lung cancer.
Past: hadn't, wouldn't, died
If she hadn't smoked = si no hubiera fumado
She wouldn't have died = no se hubiera muerto