Here's an incredible story to read about: FAR FROM HOME
Can you make a summary of the story or film?
By the way, here are some interesting notes about the CONDITIONAL SENTENCES, If only... & I wish... (for further information visit my site):
CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
To begin with, we have to
differentiate between the 'IF-CLAUSE' and the 'MAIN CLAUSE'. If we put
the IF CLAUSE first, you have to put a comma after it.
If we put the IF CLAUSE first, you have to put a comma after it. (You have to put a comma after it if we put the...)
IF CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE
- There are three main types of conditional sentences:
- REAL CONDITIONALS.- You are based on a real situation.
- HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONALS.- You are based on a hypothetical (NOT IMPOSSIBLE) situation.
- IMPOSSIBLE or UNREAL CONDITIONALS.- You are based on past facts that cannot be changed at all.
REMEMBER THAT IN THE IF-CLAUSE WE DON'T USUALLY HAVE EITHER 'WILL' OR 'WOULD', WHICH IS A SIMILAR CASE TO THE TIME CLAUSES.
1. REAL CONDITIONALS
They are based on a real situation, so the main clause depends on the if-clause.
If + PRESENT SIMPLE...... >>> Future Simple (we will have a barbecue in the garden)
If it is sunny,... >>> Modal verb (we can have a barbecue in the garden, we must moan the lawn)
>>> Imperative (come to my house and we will have a barbecue in the garden)
ZERO CONDITIONALS
They are used when we refer to physical laws, rules..... If + PRESENT SIMPLE... >>> PRESENT SIMPLE
Example: Water freezes if it reaches a temperature of 0º C.
Exception number 1
You can have a real conditional in the past. They can be confused with the hypothetical conditionals, but they can be easily recognized when we translate them into Spanish as they don't use the subjunctive in the if-clause. The main clause is usually in the interrogative form.
Example: You had a car accident and someone tells you: 'If you could't drive, why did you take your father's car?'
2. HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONALS
They
are based on a hypothetical situation, which may seem in many cases
impossible, so you have to be careful. Just imagine the case of Pau
Gasol when he was 4 and said: "I would play in the LA Lakers and the
Chicago Bulls if I played in the NBA).
SITUATION: It is raining and the weather forecast is not very optimistic, so it is not very likely that it is sunny.
If + PAST SIMPLE...... >>> Conditional Simple (we would have a barbecue in the garden)
If it were (was) sunny,... >>> MIGHT & COULD are also possible
'WERE' used to be the only possible form in the if-clause, although nowadays both forms (was, were) are possible.
3. IMPOSSIBLE or UNREAL CONDITIONALS
They are based on impossible situations which we cannot change at all.
SITUATION: Kennedy was murdered.
If + PAST PERFECT...... >>> CONDITIONAL PERFECT
If John Fitzgerald had not been murdered, he would have been a great president.Exception number 2
Combination of a past fact that cannot be changed and a quality that you don't have, but that you could have (it is still not impossible)
Example: I would have been a Science teacher if I were better at Physics.
Exception number 3
Combination of a past fact whose effects are still permanent.
Example: If you hadn't drunk so much last night, you wouldn't have a hangover now.
OTHER CONDITIONALS
- UNLESS (= if not) a menos que I will give a party for my birthday unless I am ill.
-
AS LONG AS / PROVIDING (PROVIDED) THAT (= only if) con la condición
de que, siempre que, siempre y cuando, en tanto, mientras
I will help you with your English homework as long as / providing that you listen to my explanations
WISHES AND REGRETS
- wishes for change in the present (I wish + PAST SIMPLE / PAST CONTINUOUS)
I wish I were rich / we were spending our holidays in Honolulu this year.
-
regrets about something in the past (I wish + PAST PERFECT)
I wish At Madrid had defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League Final in 2014.
-
complaints about a thing or situation and that you would like it to change in the future.
I wish my students would listen to me (Actually they don't do it, but I would like them to do it).
Here's a similar structure, although it is a bit stronger:
- If only... (si al menos) to express a strong wish that things could be different. It may be used for past, present and future unreal situations.
We use if only + past verb forms to talk about a wish for the present:
If only he could speak English properly. (he can't, but he wishes he could)
If only there was some snow to ski.
Remember we can use were instead of was in more formal situations:
If only I were (was) in the Alps (when our protagonist was back in Uganda).
To talk about a wish for the future or to show a contrast between how things are and how we would like them to be, we use if only + would + infinitive without to:
If only all the students would follow the teachers' advice.
If only it would rain more during the spring.
We use if only + past perfect to talk about a wish to change something that has already happened:
If only Benitez had kept his position as Real Madrid coach. (but he didn't.)
And here's a song to listen to (If only by Dove Cameron):If only Andrea had come to Chester. (but she didn't come.)
