2015-08-21
299
If I/he/she/it were to/was to ask, I/we would/should, etc
you/we/they were to ask, he/she/it/you/they would, etc
Instead of an ordinary verb in the simple past, we can use were or was + to-infinitive in Type 2 conditional clauses:
If I were to (or was to) ask, would you help me? Were to is more common than was to after I/he/she/it and makes a suggestion sound more tentative and polite. Compare:
If I asked him, I'm sure he'd help us
- Do you think he would?
Well if I were to ask him nicely Modals other than would and should are possible in the main clause:
If you were to ask him, he might help you
If Sue were to make an effort, she could do better
The same kind of conditional can be expressed without if, if we begin a sentence with were (Not *was*). This kind of inversion is common only in very formal contexts:
Were the government to cut Value Added Tax, prices would fall
There is no negative construction (Not *lf he were not to*) but
negative inversion is possible with the full form:
There 'd be a clear case for legal action over this matter were it not likely to make life difficult for all of us (Not 'weren't if)
Type 3 conditionals
Basic form of Type 3 conditionals
'if'-clause: main clause:
past perfect 'would have/should have'
Imagined condition imagined outcome
be If I had been taller I would have joined the police force
have: If I had had any sense, I would have kept quiet about it
Past perfect. If we had gone by car, we would have saved time
Past perfect progressive. If I had been trying harder I would have succeeded
could have If I could have stopped there wouldn't have been
an accident
