WISH / IF ONLY
You bought a low-quality phone and it broke after two days.
USE I WISH
SOLUTION: I wish I hadn't bought such a low-quality device.
Situation: If you have any technical issues with your subscription, contact our IT department
USE AN INVERSION WITH SHOULD
POSSIBLE ANSWER:
Should you encounter any technical issues, please contact our IT department.
Situation: You'll only get a discount if you sign up for the newsletter.
USE UNLESS
Unless you sign up for the newsletter, you won't get a discount.
Your friend keeps buying items from unethical fast-fashion brands.
USE I WOULD RATHER
SOLUTION:
I'd rather you didn't support brands with poor labor laws.
Situation: If the company decided to launch the product today, it would be a total failure.
USE AN INVERSION WITH WERE
POSSIBLE SOLUTION:
Were the company to launch the product today, it would be a total failure.
Situation: I bought a new phone, but now I think I should have waited for the newer model.
USE WOULD RATHER (PAST TENSE)
I would rather have waited for the newer model.
You are annoyed because YouTube shows you the same ad every 5 minutes.
USE WISH + WOULD
SOLUTION:
I wish YouTube would stop playing that repetitive ad.
Situation: The brand didn't invest in social media marketing, so they lost their younger audience.
USE AN INVERSION WITH HAD
SOLUTION:
Had the brand invested in social media, they wouldn't have lost their younger audience.
Situation: Imagine the brand went viral for the wrong reasons. What would you do?
USE SUPPOSING
Supposing the brand were to go viral for the wrong reasons, what would you do?
You spent your savings on a crypto-scam because you were naive.
USE IF ONLY (3rd conditional format)
If only I weren't so naive, I wouldn't have lost my savings on a crypto-scam.
Situation: If I were the Marketing Director, I would never have approved such an offensive ad campaign.
USE AN INVERSION WERE (MIXED CONDITIONAL)
SOLUTION:
Were I the Marketing Director, I would never have approved such an offensive campaign.
Situation: The company didn't listen to my feedback, and they are still making the same mistakes.
USE INVERSION HAD
Had they listened to my feedback, they would have stopped making these mistakes.
You regret disclosing your private bank details to a "support agent" over the phone.
USE IF ONLY + PAST PERFECT
SOLUTION:
If only I hadn't disclosed my private bank data to that fraudster over the phone!
Situation: The company survived the scandal only because the CEO resigned immediately.
USE AN INVERSION WITH HAD IN NEGATIVE
SOLUTION:
Had the CEO not resigned immediately, the company would not have survived the scandal.
Situation: I'm not a tech expert, so I didn't realize the software was a scam when I bought it.
USE INVERTED MIXED CONDITIONAL
Were I a tech expert, I would have realized the software was a scam.