Past Unreal Situations 1
Analyzing events with hypotheticals
Concorde Accident
In July 2000, Air France's safest aircraft —the supersonic Concorde— crashed causing many to speculate about what might have caused the accident. Speculation ranged from a flock of birds, to a bad repair job, to the intake of runway debris by one or both of the failed engines. Most experts agreed, "We can guess that a tire or several tires on the landing gear exploded."
At week's end, the French Transport Ministry announced, "From the information available at the present time, it seems that at least one tire burst, something that could have triggered a chain of events, damage to the aircraft's structure, a fire and engine failure."
"Air France Flight 4590" Wikipedia
burst (v.) – explode, break open or apart
chain of events – related or linked, one thing causes the next
crash (n.) – collision (esp. cars, trains, boats)
debris (n.) – a piece of something that has fallen or broken off another jet
explode (v.) – burst, rupture, break open or apart
flock (n.) – quantifier for a group of birds
range (v.) – vary from X to Y to Z
speculate (v.) – guess; speculation (n.) – the process of guessing, inferring
supersonic (adj.) – capable of speed greater than the speed of sound waves through air (SST Supersonic Transport)
tire (US-Eng) tyre (Br-Eng)
trigger (v.) – anything, as an act or event, that starts a series of reactions.
Hypothetical past statements are not factual— the statement in the if-clause did not occur.
A person uses a conditional statement:
- "to step into the past"
- to view a situation from a different perspective (side)
- to explore alternative (other) actions or solutions
Analysis by posing alternative actions
| HYPOTHETICAL PAST CONDITION |
|---|
The if-clause expresses a past hypothetical condition. The speaker imagines a different action, a solution, to achieve a better outcome or to avoid a bad outcome. The if-clause includes past perfect. |
| #1 POOR INSPECTION OF JET |
If the Air France maintenance crew had done a thorough inspection of the aircraft, |
If the Continental maintenance crew had not hurried to complete their inspection of the aircraft, |
| # 2 FAILURE TO REMOVE DEBRIS FROM RUNWAY |
If the runway crew had cleared the strip of metal from the runway, |
If the runway crew had done a preflight inspection of the runway, |
| #3 TIRE FAILURE |
If one of the tires hadn't exploded, |
If the engine had held up, |
| #4 ENGINE FIRE |
If both engines hadn't caught fire, |
If the wing hadn't started melting, |
| HYPOTHETICAL PAST EFFECT |
|---|
The effect-clause states a hypothetical result, a better or different outcome than the actual (true) outcome. The effect-clause includes a modal—would have, could have, might have + a participle. |
| #1 OUTCOME OF BETTER INSPECTION |
they would have checked the tires, landing gear and fuel lines in engine no. 2 more carefully. |
they would have noticed a loose strip of metal on the aircraft. |
| # 2 OUTCOME OF REMOVAL OF DEBRIS FROM RUNWAY |
it wouldn't have struck the wheels of the Concorde. |
they might have cleared the way for Flight 4590. |
| #3 OUTCOME OF TIRES HOLDING UP |
the tire pieces wouldn't have gone into an engine air intake. |
it wouldn't have shot out pieces that damaged fuel tank no. 2. |
| #4 OUTCOME OF ENGINE UNDAMAGED |
the pilot would have had enough speed to take off and return for an emergency landing. |
the pilot could have made an emergency landing. |
explode (v.) – to burst into small pieces
hold up (v.) – stay whole, undamaged
hypothetical (adj.) – based on a situation that is not real, but that might happen
inspection (n.) – a careful viewing, . to examine closely, esp for faults or errors
landing gear (n.) – the wheel system under an aircraft
melt (v.) – become liquid, dissolve (ice melts to water)
thorough (adj.) – very complete
strip (n.) – a long piece, a long, narrow shape
struck (v.) – past tense form of strike; hit
Past Unreal Conditional (Hypothetical)
Analysis of fortunate actions
Analysis through hypothetical opposites
| HYPOTHETICAL PAST CONDITION |
|---|
A past hypothetical may also express good fortune by pointing out a disastrous outcome for an opposite (negative) action taken in the if-clause. |
| #1 PILOT'S QUICK THINKING |
If the pilot hadn't made a sharp right turn at the end of the runway, (he did make the turn) |
| # 2 TIME OF DAY |
If the accident hadn't occurred in daytime (it did) |
| # 3 GROUNDING OF ALL SST |
If the authorities hadn't grounded all SSTs (they did) |
| HYPOTHETICAL PAST EFFECT |
|---|
By pointing out a disastrous outcome under different circumstances, the speaker expresses good fortune or satisfaction with the (true) action that was taken. |
| #1 DISASTER AVOIDED |
he would have crashed into a neighborhood of homes. |
| # 2 DISASTER AVOIDED |
more people might have been killed inside the hotel that was struck at the end of the runway. |
| # 3 DISASTER AVOIDED |
more aircraft could have gone down due to the same design problems. |
avoid (v.) – keep away from, get around, stop from happening
disaster (n.) – a terrible, horrible event causing great loss
SST – supersonic transport aircraft like the Concorde
Past Unreal Conditional (Hypothetical)
Other Expressions
If, Even if, Only if, Otherwise, Or Else
| THE CONDITION | |
|---|---|
If, even, if, only if joins a condition-clause to an effect-clause. Note that the effect-clause mentions a bad outcome that was avoided. |
|
| IF – a condition | |
If the pilot hadn't made a sharp right turn at the end of the runway, |
he would have crashed into a neighborhood (of homes). |
| EVEN IF – no condition | |
Even if the pilots had shut down the fuel tank on engine 2, |
there still would have been enough escaped fuel to cause the explosion. |
| ONLY IF – one unique condition | |
Only if the pilots had avoided the runway debris, |
could they have avoided the accident. (Auxiliary is placed before the subject.) |
| THE EFFECT | |
|---|---|
If not, otherwise, or else express alternative effects. That is, an imagined result that did not happen. |
|
| IF NOT | |
The pilot made a sharp right turn at the end of the runway. |
If not, he would have crashed into a neighborhood (of homes). |
| OTHERWISE – if not | |
There were no birds in the area. |
Otherwise, they could have been a possible cause of engine failure. |
| OR ELSE – if not | |
The French Transport Ministry grounded all Concordes, |
or else Air France would have continued flying its Concordes. |
escaped fuel – gas that leaked out of the tank that contains fuel
failure (n.) – something that fails, is old, in bad condition or is produced imperfectly
Also see Indeed / Even, If / Unless.
Past Unreal Conditional (Hypothetical)
Punctuation
| INITIAL CLAUSE POSITION |
|---|
|
If they had done their jobs well, the accident wouldn't have happened. |
If the tire had not exploded, the engine would not have caught fire. |
When the | FINAL CLAUSE POSITION |
|---|
|
The accident wouldn't have happened if they had done their jobs well. |
The engine would not have caught fire if the tire had not exploded. |
When the
Past Unreal Conditional (Hypothetical)
Sentence Types
| IF CLAUSE | EFFECT CLAUSE |
|---|---|
| STATEMENT | |
If they had checked, |
they could have made repairs. |
|
the problem would have been found. (passive) |
| NEGATIVE | |
If they had checked, |
they wouldn't have let the jet leave the hangar. |
If they hadn't been in a hurry, |
they would have kept the jet in the hangar. |
| IF CLAUSE | EFFECT CLAUSE |
|---|---|
| QUESTION | |
If they had checked, |
would they have seen the problems? |
Had they checked, |
|
| TAG QUESTION | |
If they had checked, |
they would have seen the problems, wouldn't they have? |
Had they checked, |
they could have made repairs, couldn't they have? |
hangar – aircraft garage
See Grammar Notes for diagrams.
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
| ERROR | SOLUTION |
|---|---|
If the pilot hadn't flew the jet down like a glider, it would of crashed into Manhattan.
|
If the pilot hadn't flown the jet down like a glider, it would have crashed into Manhattan. (1) Use the participle form of the verb: fly – flew – flown. |
We would have given him a ride if he would have asked us. (not incorrect, but awkward) |
He would have given them a ride if they had asked him. The modal form is used in the effect clause, but avoided in the if-clause because it is repetitive.
|
If she would be alive, she would have been delighted to see her new grandchild. |
If she had been alive, she would have been delighted to see her new grandchild. (Would is not usually used in both clauses. Here, it sounds more like a request to "be alive".)
|
If he hadn't stopped in the nick of time, we would of been toast. |
If he hadn't stopped in the nick of time, we would have been toast. |
in the nick of time (expression) – at the last possible moment before
we would have been toast (expression) – burned, seriously hurt
Practice
What Caused the Accident?
Read for Errors
As Air Frances Flight 4590 left the gate an hour late, a series of unfortunate events were already unfolding. To begin, the aircraft had been overloaded by approximately one ton (907kg). Then, the flight before it lost a titanium strip of metal, which fell on the runway. A mechanic had not secured the strip of metal properly, and the runway workers had not completed the required preflight inspection of the runway.
As Flight 4590 took off, it struck the piece of metal, which burst a tire. Pieces of the tire hit the underside of the aircraft which ruptured fuel tank #5. When the fuel tank caught fire it shorted the electric cables which retract the landing gear. The aircraft could not gain enough speed even though it still had three engines. The fire continued to melt the port (left) wing, which caused the aircraft to roll, lose altitude and crash into a nearby airport hotel.
adverse condition – a situation that poses difficulty
approximately (adj.) – about, near
altitude (n.) – height above sea level
burst (v.) – exploded
electric cables (n.) – electrical wires or very strong rope made of metal wire
gain (v.) – increase, get, acquire
gate (n. – the place in an airport building where people enter an aircraft
landing gear (n.) – the wheel system under an aircraft
melt (v.) – change something from a solid to a liquid (as with ice → water)
overloaded (adj.) – having too much weight put within
preflight (adj.) – before an aircraft departs
reveal (v.) – show, make clear, make public
retract (v.) – pull back in, a cat can retract its claws
rupture (v.) – burst, break open
secure (v.) – make tight, not loose
short (v.) – cause an electrical arc, a failure (stop working)
strip (n.) – a long piece, a long, narrow shape
struck (v.) – past tense form of strike; hit
tank (n.) – a large container for transporting liquids, esp., gas, fuel
titanium (n.) a light-weight, strong metal; Ti atomic no. 22
unfold (v.) – (open flat) develop, progress
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Click the "check all" button at the bottom of the practice to reveal the answers after you finish, or
c lick the individual "check" buttons #1-10 to compare responses as you go.