Unit I

3 8 I If I do ... and If I did ...

Compare these examples:

(1) l is a : Shall we go by bus or by train? If we go by bus,

je s s : If we go by bus, it will be cheaper. it will be cheaper.

For Jess, it is possible that they will go by bus,

so she says:
If we go by bus, it will be ...

LISA JESS

(2) Lisa and Jess decide to go by train.

Later, jess talks to Joe.
f If we went by bus, it would be cheaper. J
jo e : How are you going to travel? '
je s s : We're going by train. If we went by bus,
it would be cheaper, but the train is quicker.

Now Jess knows they are not going to travel by bus,

so she says:
If we went by bus, it would be ... (not If we go ...) JO E JE S S

When we imagine something that will not happen, or we

don't expect that it will happen, we use if + past
(if we went / if there was / if you found etc.).
But the meaning is not past:
3 What would you do if you won a lot of money?
(we don't really expect this to happen)
If there was (or were) an election tomorrow,
who would you vote for?

For if ... was/were, see Unit 39C.

Compare if I find and if I found:

I think I left my watch at your house. If you find it, I won a lot of money
can you call me?
but If you found a wallet in the street, what would you do with it?

We do not normally use would in the if-part of the sentence:

I'd be very scared if somebody pointed a gun at me. (not if somebody would point)
If we went by bus, it would be cheaper, (not If we would go)

But you can use if ... would when you ask somebody to do something:
(from a formal letter) I would be grateful if you would let me know your decision as soon
as possible.

In the other part of the sentence (not the if-part) we use would ('d) / wouldn't:
O What would you do if you were bitten by a snake?
! i I'm not going to bed yet. I'm not tired. If I went to bed now, I wouldn't sleep.
Would you mind if I used you r phone?

Could and might are also possible:

If I won a lot of money, I might buy a house. (= it is possible that I would buy a house)
O If it stopped raining, we could go out. (= we would be able to go out)

W ill Units 21-22 If and when -► Unit 25D Would Unit 36 If I knew Unit 39
76 If I had known -*■ Unit 40
Exercises
W h at do you say in these situations?
1 Of course you don't expect to win the Lottery. Which do you say?
a If I win the Lottery, I'Ll buy a big house.
b If I won the lottery, I'd buy a big house. l/_ (b is correct)
2 You're not going to sell your car because it's old and not worth much.Which do you say?
a If I sell my car, I won't get much money for it. EH
b If I sold my car, I wouldn't get much money for it. EH
3 You often see Sarah. A friend of yours wants to contact her. Which do you say?
a If I see Sarah, I'll tell her to call you. EH
b If I saw Sarah, I'd tell her to call you. EH
4 You don't expect that there will be a fire in the building. Which do you say?
a What will you do if there is a fire in the building? EH
b What would you do if there was a fire in the building? EH
5 You’ve never lost your passport. You can only imagine it.
a I don't know what I'll do if I lose my passport. _
b I don't know what I'd do if I lost my passport. EH
6 Somebody stops you and asks the way to a bank. Which do you say?
a If you go right at the end of this street, you'll see a bank on your left. EH
b If you went right at the end of this street, you'd see a bank on yourLeft. EH
7 You’re in a lift. There is an emergency button.Nobody is going to press it. Which do you say?
a What will happen if somebody presses that button? EH
b What would happen if somebody pressed that button?

Put the verb into correct form.

1 I'd be very scared if somebody pointed,(point) a gun at me.
2 I can’t afford to buy a car. If I (buy) a car, I'd have to borrow the money.
3 Don't Lend Amy your car. If she ........(ask) me, I wouldn'tLend her mine.
4 If the computer factory closed down, many people ............................. (Lose) their jobs.
5 I don't think Gary and Emma will get married. I ................... (be)amazediftheydid.
6 What would you do if you (be) in a lift and it (stop)
between floors?
7 If somebody (give) me £10,000,1 (have)averylongholiday.

Write sentences beginning If ... .

1 We've decided not to catch the 10.30 train, (arrive too early)
If we caugHt the 10.30 tm m , we’d arrive, too early . ...........

2 Kevin is not going to do his driving test now. (fail)

If he ......................... -.......................................................... ...................................................
3 We've decided not to stay at a hotel, (cost too much)
If ..............
4 Sally isn't going to leave her job. (not / get another one)

5 We've decided not to invite Ben to the party, (have to invite his friends too)

6 I'm not going to tell him what happened, (not / believe me)

Use your own ideas to complete these sentences.

1 If I won a lot of money, I’d- buy c l House.
2 I'd be very angry if.............. ............
3 If you bought a car, ...............................
4 I'd be surprised if
5 Would you mind if
Unit
39 If I knew ... I wish I knew ...
Study this example situation:

Sarah wants to phone Paul, but she can't do this because

she doesn't know his number. She says:

If I knew his number, I would phone him.

Sarah says: If I knew his number... . This tells us that she

doesn't know his number. She is imagining the situation.
The real situation is that she doesn't know his number.
If I knew his number

When we imagine a situation like this, we use if + past (if I knew / if you were / if we didn't etc.).
But the meaning is present, not past:
There are many things I'd like to do if I had more time, (but I don't have time)
If I didn't want to go to the party, I wouldn't go. (but I want to go)
C We wouldn't have any money if we didn't work, (but we work)
If you were in my position, what would you do?
It's a pity he can't drive. It would be useful if he could.

We use the past in the same way after wish (I wish I knew / I wish you were etc.). We use wish to
say that we regret something, that something is not as we would like it to be: ___________________
I wish I knew Paul's phone number. wish I had an umbrella.^
(= I don't know it and I regret this)
Do you ever wish you could fly?
V
(you can't fly)
It rains a lot here. I wish it didn't rain so much.
It's very crowded here. I wish there weren't so
many people, (there are a lot of people)
I wish I didn't have to work tomorrow, but
unfortunately I do.

If I were / if I was

After if and wish, you can use were instead of was (if I were / I wish it were etc.).
If 1was / I wish it was are also possible. So you can say:
O If I were you, I wouldn't buy that coat. or If I was you, ...
O I'd go for a walk if it weren't so cold. or ... if it wasn't so cold.
I wish she were here. or I wish she was here.

We do not normally use would in the if-part of the sentence or after wish:
If I were rich, I would travel a lot. (not If I would be rich)
O Who would you ask if you needed help? (not if you would need)
O I wish I had something to read, (not I wish I would have)

Sometimes wish ... would is possible: I wish you would listen. See Unit 41.

Could sometimes means 'would be able to' and sometimes ‘was/were able to':
She could get a better job (she could get = she would be able to get)
if she could speak English. (if she could speak = if she was/were able to speak)
I wish I could help you. (I wish I could = I wish I was able)

C Could -* Units 26-27 If I do / if I did Unit 38

78 \J f I had known / I wish I had known Unit 40 W ish Unit 41
Exercises
Put the verb into the correct form.
1 |f I knew (| / know) his number, I would phone him.
2 I wouldn t buy (| / not / buy) that coat if I were you.
3 (I / help) you if I could, but I'm afraid I can't.
4 We don't need a car at present, but we would need a car if (we / live)
in the country.
5 If we had the choice, ... (we / live) in the country.
6 This soup isn't very good. (it / taste) better if it wasn't so salty.
7 I wouldn’t mind living in England if the weather (be) better.
8 If I were you, ... (I/n o t/w a it)................... (I/go) now.
9 You're aLways tired. If (you / not / go) to bed so late every night,
you wouldn’t be tired all the time.
10 I think there are too many cars. If ... (there / not / be) so many cars,
(there / not / be) so much pollution.

Write a sentence with if ... for each situation.

1 We don't see you very often because you live so far away.
l-f you djA'ftt live so -for (Xwaxj, we’d see you more o fte n .............................................
2 It's a nice book but it's too expensive, so I'm not going to buy it.
I it if ....... so
3 We don't go out very often - we can't afford it.
We more often ..................... .......................................
4 I can't meet you tomorrow - I have to work late.
I f . ................... ......................... ...................... .......................................................................
5 It would be nice to have lunch outside but it's raining, so we can't.
We
6 I don't want his advice, and that's why I'm not going to ask for it.
If.......................................................................................................................... ..............

Write sentences beginning I wish ... .

1 I don't know many people (and I'm lonely). ' wish I knew more people.
2 Idon't have a computer (and I need one). I wish
3 Helen isn't here (and I need to see her). .......
4 It's cold (and I hate cold weather).................................................................
5 I live in a big city (and I don't like it) .........................................
6 Ican't go to the party (and I'd like to)................................. ............
7 Ihave to get up early tomorrow (but I'dlike to sleep late).

8 I don't know anything about cars (and my car has just broken down).

9 I'm not feeling well (and it's not nice).

Write your own sentences beginning I wish ... .

1 (somewhere you'd like to be now - on the beach, in New York, in bed etc.)
I wish I .......... .....................................................................
2 (something you'd like to have - a motorbike, more friends, lots of money etc.)

3 (something you'd like to be able to do - sing, travel more, cook etc.)

4 (something you'd like to be - beautiful, strong, younger etc.)

-> Additional exercises 19-21 (pages 313-14)

Unit
40 If I had known ... I wish I had known ...
Study this example situation:

Last month Gary was in hospital for a few days, Rachel didn't know this, so she didn't go to visit
him. They met a few days ago.
Rachel said:

If I'd known you were in hospital, I would have gone to see you.

Rachel said: If I'd known (= If I had known) you were in hospital. This tells us that she didn't know.

We use if + had ('d) ... to talk about the past (if I had known/been/done etc.):
1didn't see you when you passed me in the street. If I'd seen you, of course I would have said
hello, (but I didn't see you)
I didn't go out Last night. I would have gone out if I hadn't been so tired, (but I was tired)
1 If he had been Looking where he was going, he wouldn't have walked into the wall, (but he
wasn’t looking)
Q The view was wonderful. If I'd had a camera with me, I would have taken some pictures.
(but I didn't have a camera)

Compare:
O I'm not hungry. If I was hungry, I would eat something, (now)
fJ I wasn't hungry. If I had been hungry, I would have eaten something, (past)

Do not use would in the if-part of the sentence. We use would in the other part of the sentence:
O If I had seen you, I would have said hello, [not If I would have seen you)
Note th a t'd can be would or had:
If I'd seen you, (I'd seen = I had seen)
( J I'd have said hello. (I'd have said = I would have said)

We use had (done) in the same way after wish. I wish something had happened = I am sorry that it
didn't happen:
i I wish I'd known that Gary was ill. I would have gone to see him. (but I didn't know)
I feel sick. I wish I hadn't eaten so much cake. (I ate too much cake)
Do you wish you'd studied science instead of languages? (you didn't study science)

Do not use would have ... after wish:

The weather was cold when we were on holiday. I wish it had been warmer, (not I wish it
would have been)

Compare would (do) and would have (done):

If I'd gone to the party last night, I would be tired now. (I am not tired now - present)
If I'd gone to the party last night, I would have met Lots of people. (I didn't meet lots
of people -past)

Compare would have, could have and might have:

we would have gone out.
we could have gone out.
If the weather hadn’t been so bad, (= we would have been able to go out)
we might have gone out.
(= perhaps we would have gone out)

Had done Unit 15 If I do / if I did Unit 38 If I knew / I wish I knew 4 Unit 39

80 W ish Unit 41
 Unit
Exercises 40
p Put the verb into the correct form.
1I didn't see you when you passed me in the street. If I’d seen ( I /see) you,
I wowId have s aid (| / say) hello.
2 Sam got to the station just in time to catch thetrainto the airport. If
(he / miss) the train, .... . (he / miss) his flight too.
3 I'm glad that you reminded me about Rachel's birthday..............................................................
(I/forget) if (you / n ot/ remind) me.
4 I wanted to send you an email, but I didn't have your email address. If
(I / have) your address, ........................................ ...(I/send)youanemail.
5 a ; How was your trip? Was it good?
b: It was OK, but ..................... .............. (we / enjoy) it more if the weather
(be) better.
6 I took a taxi to the hotel, but the traffic was bad. (it / be)
quicker if ......................................... ............... (I / walk).
7 I’m not tired. If ............. (I / be) tired, I'd go home now.
8 I wasn't tired last night. If (I / be) tired, I would
have gone home earlier.

For each situation, write a sentence beginning with If.

1 I wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat anything.
I f I’d. been hungry, I would hove eaten something.........................................................
2 The accident happened because the road was icy.
If the road............................................ , the accident ......
3 I didn't know that Joe had to get up early, so I didn't wake him up.
If I that he had to get up early,
4 Unfortunately I lost my phone, so I couldn't call you.
If .............................................................................................................................................
5 Karen wasn't injured in the crash because she was wearing a seat belt.

6 You didn't have breakfast - that's why you're hungry now.

7 I didn't get a taxi because I didn't have enough money.

Imagine that you are in these situations. For each situation, write a sentence with I wish.
1 You've eaten too much and now you feel sick.
You say: 1 wish I h a d n ’t eaten so much.................................................................
2 There was a job advertised in the paper. You decided not to apply for it. Now you think that
your decision was wrong.
You say: I wish I
3 When you were younger, you never learned to play a musical instrument. Now you regret this.
You say: ....................................................... - ........................... -..........
4 You've painted the gate red. Now you think that red was the wrong colour.
You say: .................................... -........................................................ -...............
5 You are walking in the country. You'd like to take some pictures, but you didn't bring your
camera.
You say: ......................................... ,.........................................................................................
6 You have some unexpected guests. They didn't phone you first to say they were coming. You are
very busy and you are not prepared for them.
You say (toyourself): ... ...

-► Additional exercises 19-21 (pages 313-14) 81