Levitation Secrets [Present Unreal Conditional]

A couple days ago, I woke up thinking about levitation. (Levitation is the ability to float above the ground, unaffected by gravity.) That morning, for whatever reason, I woke up feeling certain that I could levitate. I believed that I used to levitate in the past, but had forgotten how to do it. I tried very hard to remember the secret techniques of levitation!

If I remembered how to levitate, I would be an excellent volleyball player.
If I remembered how to levitate, I would always have clean shoes.
If I remembered how to levitate, I could dance in the air.

A few minutes later, when I was 100% awake, I realized that my mind was playing tricks on me. Too bad!  It would be fun to move through air in the same way that one swims through water, wouldn’t it?

When we talk about levitation and other things that are impossible or unlikely, we use “unreal” conditional verb forms. Today, we’ll focus on the Present Unreal Conditional form. We’ll save Past Unreal and Future Unreal forms for later lessons.

Let’s look again at one of  the sentences above. I’ll use it to explain a few key points.

If I remembered how to levitate, I would be an excellent volleyball player.

Two-Part Sentence
This sentence has the two-part structure that all conditional sentences have: 1) a conditional part (“If I remembered how to levitate…”) and 2) a result part that explains what will happen as a result of the condition (“… I would be an excellent volleyball player.”) The order of the two parts can be reversed, making the sentence, “I would be an excellent volleyball player if I remembered how to levitate.”

Use of If
The conditional part of the sentence begins with the conditional marker if. Unlike the real conditional forms, the unreal conditional forms only use if, and never when.

Verb Tense in the Conditional Part
The verb in the conditional part is simple past tense but it actually refers to a present or future event. That may sound a little crazy, but I think there’s a reason for it. The person who is speaking is imagining himself/herself in the  future or in an alternate reality. In that alternate reality, the speaker looks back to the time when everything changed.

For example, if I remember how to levitate, then it will change everything and set me on a path to a different reality in which I am an excellent volleyball player. In that imaginary future, I am (now) an excellent volleyball player because I remembered the secrets of levitation (in the past). I hope that explanation helps you, but if it doesn’t,  just remember the rules and don’t think about the reasons for them.

In an unreal conditional sentence, when the subject of the sentence is “I”, and the verb is “be”, the correct form of the verb is were, not was.

If I were able to levitate, I would be an excellent volleyball player.

Many native speakers of English ignore this rule and say, “If I was able… ” Although that is incorrect, it is acceptable and may one day be considered correct. Language is always changing!

Verb Tense in the Result Part
In the result part of the sentence, use would + the basic form of the verb.

There is an exception to this rule. The special verbs can, shall, and may cannot be used with would. Instead of would + can, use could. Instead of would + shall, use should. Instead of would + may, use might. For example:

If I remembered how to levitate, I could dance in the air.

I hope today’s grammar lesson was helpful and not too long. If you are tired and need to take a break from English, go to Natsumi’s Yowayowa Camera Woman Diary. She takes a photo of herself “levitating” in a different pose every day. The photo above is one of hers.

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If I had three wishes,  I…     ?

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