Present Unreal Continuous Conditional.
Hello everyone! Last week we learned a bit about all three continuous conditionals. We heard a little about the present, past, and future continuous conditionals. This week we will focus entirely on the present continuous conditional.
You might remember that we use the present unreal continuous conditional to talk about imaginary situations, which might be happening now, IF the current situation were different.
Today we will learn that the continuous (-ing form) can be in either the IF clause or the result clause.
Examples in the if-clause:
>If the sun were shining, I would go to the beach.
Unfortunately, it is raining so I can't go.
Unfortunately, it is raining so I can't go.
>We would be able to go sailing if the wind were blowing.
But there is no wind, so we can't go sailing.
But there is no wind, so we can't go sailing.
Examples in the result:
>If I were in Hawaii, I would be lying on the beach.
But I am not in Hawaii.
But I am not in Hawaii.
>I would be rafting down the Colorado River right now if my leg weren't broken.
But my leg is broken, so I am not there.
But my leg is broken, so I am not there.
The only difference between the placements of the -ing verb is which action is / would be in progress now.
Remember to use WERE and WOULD BE.
The most important thing to remember about the present unreal continuous conditional is that you're talking about NOW, but you're also talking about something that ISN'T REAL. With the present continuous conditional, this is easy to remember because you can see what is really happening now.
Next week we will think about the past unreal continuous.
See you then!
-Tim
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