Unreal Past: Expressing Preferences and Hypothetical Situations

• We use past tense forms to talk about unreal or hypothetical present situations. This helps us express preferences, urgency, or imagined scenarios.
• Structure
• Function
• Example
• It's (high) time + Past Simple
• To say that something should be done immediately
• It's high time we moved to Seattle.
• Would rather + Subject + Past Simple
• To express a preference about someone else's action
• I would rather you bought a detached house.
• As if / As though + Past Simple
• To describe a hypothetical state or manner
• Mark acts as though he owned the whole estate agency in Boston.
• Suppose / What if + Past Simple
• To imagine a scenario and its consequences
• What if we got a mortgage from a bank in Chicago?
• Remember
• Use the past simple after 'it's time', even though we are talking about the present or immediate future.
• Use 'would rather' followed by a subject and a past tense verb to state a preference for another person.
• Use 'as if' or 'as though' with past forms for improbable or imaginary comparisons.
• Use 'suppose' or 'what if' with past forms to speculate about hypothetical outcomes.
• Examples
• It is high time Sarah updated her resume for the realtor in Austin.
• We would rather our children grew up in a quiet suburb than in central London.
• The apartment felt cramped, as if we had outgrown it completely.
• Suppose you lost your job in Manchester, what would we do?
• Common mistakes
• It's time we move to a larger house.
• It's time we moved to a larger house.
• I would rather you buy a detached house in Portland.
• I would rather you bought a detached house in Portland.

Complete the sentences

• It is high time we (put) ____ our cottage in Bristol on the market.
• I would rather you (buy) ____ a spacious property in the commuter belt.
• Brian spoke to the realtor (as though) ____ he were the owner of the agency in Denver.
• What if we (get) ____ a mortgage from that bank in Seattle?
• It's about time David (stop) ____ complaining about the cramped apartment in Chicago.
• Suppose they (upsize) ____ their home in Oxford, where would they store everything?

Sources: photo by olia danilevich on Pexels