Unreal Tenses

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Unreal Tenses and Subjunctives ::

Part 1 It's time


1 It's time, It's high time These are followed by past simple or continuous, though the time referred to is unreal. It's time we left. It's high time I was/were going. 2 Was or were As in conditional sentences, were can be used for all persons of be, though was is more common in everyday speech.

Wishes
1 Present These are wishes where you want to change a present state. I wish I had a motorbike. (I don't have one now.) I wish you weren't leaving. (You are leaving.) I wish I was going on holiday with you. (I am not going.) 2 Would and could If the verb is an event verb, the reference is to the future. We use would or could after wish. Would here means 'decided to'. I wish you would leave. I wish I could come on holiday with you next year. The use with would is often used to describe an annoying habit. I wish you wouldn't make such a mess. 3 Past These are wishes referring to a past event, which cannot be changed. I wish I hadn't eaten so much. 4 Hope Wishes about simple future events are expressed with hope. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. I hope he'll stop talking soon!

I'd rather/I prefer (followed by a clause)


1 I'd rather is followed by past tenses in the same way as wishes about the present. It expresses a personal preference about actions. I'd rather you didn't smoke in here. I'd sooner works in the same way. Both I'd rather and I'd sooner are used with normal tenses when comparing nouns or phrases. I'd rather be a sailor than a soldier. (present) I'd rather have lived in Ancient Greece than Ancient Rome. (past) 2 I'd prefer can be used as part of a conditional sentence. Note that 'prefer' in this type of sentence has an object 'it'. I'd prefer it if you didn't go. I'd prefer is not followed by an unreal tense. I'd prefer tea to coffee. I'd prefer you not to go.

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