Lesson 50 was / were / had been in unreal conditionals
Choose the correct answers:
- If I __________ (was, were, had been) you, I would not plan to move to Florida.
- Sergey would also advise you to stay in Chicago if he _________ (was, were, had been) your brother.
- If Sergey and I __________ (was, were, had been) your neighbors last year, we would have helped you deal with the house issues.
Explain:
All these three sentences express unreal, imagined, or wishful scenarios.
present unreal situation: simple past tense verb in “if” clause
past unreal situation: past perfect tense verb in “if” clause
If the verb in the “if” clause is a “Be” verb, then “were” or “had been” is the choice, even when the subject is “I/he/she/it”. In conversations, it is common to hear people say “was” instead of “were”, but “were” should be used in formal situations.
“If I were you…” is a common and gentle way to give advice.
- In Sentence #1, use simple past verb “were” in the present unreal situation because I am not you.
- In Sentence #2, use simple past verb “were” in the present unreal situation because Sergey is not your brother.
- In Sentence #3, use past perfect verb in the past unreal situation because Sergey and I were not your neighbors last year.
Review:
- I am taking a quiz now, but I would be happier if I __________ (was, were, had been) at the beach.
- If there __________ (was not, were not, had not been) so much noise outside the classroom at the moment, I would be able to focus on my quiz better.
- If I __________ (was, were, had been) free yesterday, I would have gone to the beach instead of preparing for the quiz.
Answers:
were; were; had been
were; were not; had been
