Before I begin, I would like to explain what hypothetical conditions actually mean. Hypothetical is something that isn’t real or just imaginary.
For example, in a sentence, “I wish I were a Spider-Man”, you imagine something that isn’t possible or real.
Sometimes, we want to express thoughts in a way that both talk about a hypothetical instance in relation to a condition.
Here’s an example:
“If I were a Spider-Man, I would fly everywhere”.
In the above example, the person expresses his wishes of flying everywhere on the condition of being a Spider-Man. To explain it further, his not being a Spider-Man negates his chances of flying.
Here’s another example:
If I had enough money, I would definitely buy this house. (You won’t buy this house because you don’t have enough money but you kind of wish you had enough money)
Note: Please, note that in the above examples, both conditions are in relation to the present time. Therefore, the use of “were” or “had” doesn’t say anything about the past.
While the above examples are based on the present hypothesis, there are situations when we express a conditional hypothesis that has relations with the past.
For example:
If I had worked harder, I would have made it to the top position in that company.
In the example above, you’re essentially talking about an outcome (you not making it to the top position) that didn’t happen because some conditions weren’t fulfilled, i.e., you working harder.
However, we can hear many speakers using the following structures these days.
- #1 – If I would have worked harder, I would have made it to the top position in that company.
- #2 – If I would have been in his position, I would have taken the right decision.
As a matter of fact, both these sentences are structurally ungrammatical.
The correct structures of these sentences should be as follows:
- #1 – If I had worked harder, I would have made it to the top position in that company.
- #2 – If I had been in his position, I would have taken the right decision.
Here’s a thread on Stack Exchange that explains this usage with more examples.
Sometimes, we talk about the conditional hypothesis which is related to both past and present life.
For example:
If I had saved enough money in my youth, I would be living a happier life.
In the example above, the speaker is apparently in his old age and wishing for something he can no longer perform. However, his present life is affected by his past action.
Here are some more examples:
If he hadn’t done well in the training courses, he wouldn’t be a Project leader now.
Note: The keyword is now. He is now the Project Leader but would not now be the Project Leader if he hadn’t done well.
Now, let’s compare the following examples:
- Ex #1: If he hadn’t done well on the training courses, he wouldn’t be a Project leader now.
- Ex #2: If he hadn’t done well on the training courses, he wouldn’t have been Project Leader.
(In the second example, the person is no longer the project leader in the company because he may no longer be working in the company)
Now, let’s compare the following examples:
- Ex #1: If I had money, I would fly to Spain.
- Ex #2: If I had had money, I would have flown to Spain.
(In the first example, the speaker is apparently financially weak but wishing for something hypothetical. Note that both instances belong to the present time.
In the second example, the speaker simply talks about his past. Note that both his actions belong to the past only.)
Here’s a question for you: Is the following sentence grammatically correct or wrong?
If I were a Spider-Man, I would have flown everywhere.
PS: Please, answer the question in the comment section below.
22 responses
I am not sure, please tell me the answer.
And thanks for above article.
Hey Ruturaj, I’m glad you found this guide useful! As for the example in the question, it’s incorrect. The correct sentence would be: “If I were a Spider-Man, I would fly everywhere.”
So many thanks for your help and support
So how mixed conditional takes place?
I thought it was correct as it seemed like mixed conditional to me ♀️
I disagree. That statement is correct is you are referring to specific spiderman movie you had just seen.
Rich, in that case, after seeing the movie, how about, “If I had been the Spiderman, I would have flown everywhere”?
We have to consider the context. Usually, people express their wishes as conditional hypothesis, meaning their wishes are unreal even in the present scenario. It has nothing to do with the past tense. That’s why we use “were” in stead of “was”. However, in modern English, especially colloquial speech, many tend to use “was” as well.
On the other hand, we use “had….would have” when we talk about a “missed opportunity” in the past. Your wishes are very much realistic and given an opportunity you really “could” do it.
So, the difference is really about “wishing for an unrealistic scenario” vs “missed opportunity in the past”.
Therefore, it’d sound strange if you said, “I had been a horse, I would have run faster.”
I hope this makes sense.
“I had been a horse, I would have run faster.” is perfectly fine. It may sound strange to you, but that just means you don’t have the right ear for this.
Can you help me with the following ?
Which is the correct of the following two ?
1. If I had a modicum of luck, I would win the election.
2. If I had a modicum of luck, I would have won the election.
The first one refers to conditional hypothesis, meaning you wish you had some luck to win elections. The sentence is grammatically correct.
However, the second one is grammatically wrong. It’s missing the verb. The correct sentence is: If I had had a modicum of luck, I would have won the election.
As you can see, we have used “had” two times in the sentence. The second “had” is essentially the past participle form of “have”.
Hope this makes sense!
Thank you SUSANTA SAHOO for this piece of information about “would” vs “would have”. I was looking for the distinction and I came to the right place. Very clear and detailed explanation for us who speak English as a 2nd language.
You’re welcome!
Thank you for your good post. I was confused wit that kind of expressions, now it is cristale clear.
If you had not helped us, We would not differentiate the usage now.
“If he hadn’t done well on the training courses, he wouldn’t be a Project leader now.” In this statement, could it not be ” If he didn’t do well on the training courses, he wouldn’t be a Project leader now.?”
Thank You
You would use (if didn’t, then wouldn’t) if you were talking about a conditional-hypothetical scenario in the present context. For example, “If he didn’t reach the station in time, he’d miss the train.” This essentially means he still has time to start early.
You would use (if hadn’t, then wouldn’t) if you were talking about a conditional (not necessarily hypothetical) scenario in the present context with strong relevance to the past. For example, “If he hadn’t reached the station in time, he wouldn’t be here at this meeting now.” Please, note that his being at the meeting has strong relevance to the past occurrence.
However, if you’re talking about this scenario, say, a day after the meeting, you would say, “If hadn’t reached the station in time, he wouldn’t have been there at the meeting yesterday.” As you can see, at the time of speaking, the entire event is a thing of the past, with no relevance to the present time.
Is it correct?
It should be obvious to you that if you persist in bothering him, he would get angry with you.
Persisted with (not in) bothering him is correct. The rest of the sentence is fine.
I think the correct answer is –
If I were a Spider Man,I would fly everywhere.
I used to watch english movies. Is it possible that sometimes maybe do they use “would” instead of “would have”? I ‘ve found this “kind of situation“ a lot of times and really often it has not sense for me. Is it maybe one colloquial form of speaking?
It is incorrect. However, it can be corrected in two manners:
1) If i were a spider-man, i would fly everywhere.
2) If i had been a spider-man, i would have flown everywhere.
Sentence 1 talks of present hypothetical condition and sentence 2 talks of past hypothetical condition.
The prompt sentence is wrong & should read *If I were a Spider-Man, I would fly everywhere.*
Hypothetical conditionals use past plural *be* & past helper verbs. Past hypothetical conditionals use past helpers with participles.
Very clear, thank you
Spider-man doesn’t fly, he swings using his webbing lmao plus there are a couple of grammatical errors in the article itself that should be corrected: e.g., “[…] his not being a Spider-Man”. What.