Most Common CONDITIONALS Mistakes! Don't Say "If I HAD BEEN"?

What's the difference between if I was and if I had been?

Is there a problem if you use this instead of this?

Short answer: Yes.

and if I say “I would go”

Instead of: “I would have gone”

It's that a problem?

Will people still understand my English?

Short answer: Sometimes.

And can you mix conditionals?

Is that correct grammar?

Short answer: Yes.

And it's very easy.

So in today's English lesson, I'm going to teach you exactly how to use

conditionals in an advanced way

to more accurately express what you want to say.

The easy way.

we need to use our imagination for today's lesson.

For example, right now I want a coffee, but I don't have a coffee.

Sorry. Wait. Stop the video. Stop stop stop stop stop stop.

I need better scenery than this.

Right now.

I want a coffee.

I don't have a coffee, so I imagine that I have one.

For imaginary situations, we need to use this grammar structure.

It's called second conditional, but you don't need to know that.

So it looks like this.

I imagine I have a coffee and that makes me happy.

So imagine that:

Yeah. Yeah.

So when you think about possibilities, hypothetical situations,

imaginary things, you use this grammar.

let's practice with an example question for you in your life.

What do you want?

Do you want to be rich or famous?

So I imagine this.

the grammar I need is this.

“If I am rich...” so, when we imagine a situation

that's NOWor in the FUTURE

we don't use a NOW verb. No.

If I was rich.

we change the present.

“If I AM...” to a PAST Why?

Because we IMAGINE this situation.

And this is now or in the future.

If with a past.

If I was rich.

Wait, wait.

If I WAS or if I WERE?

well in English tests or situations

where you need to be grammatically correct.

Yes. Use “If I WERE...”

However, I'm here to teach you real English.

What you really hear in everyday English conversation is this.

If I was rich, I would buy a boat.

Imagine you're rich.

What's the result of that?

For me: I buy a boat.

But for you what do you do?

buy a boat?

Live in a mansion?

Hire Sabrina Carpenter to be your alarm clock in the morning?

So to say this imaginary result

of this, we use “WOULD”

and because this is talking about

an imaginary now or imaginary future, this doesn't change.

I would BUY, I would LIVE, I would HIRE

Also, pronunciation!

You want to contract when you can. So

“I WOULD” What's the contraction of that?

“I'd” right? If you're speaking slowly

But listen to how I pronounce it quickly.

If I was rich, I'd buy a mansion.

if I was rich, I'd buy a boat.

It didn't sound like AYD I made it lazy. UD

I'd buy a boat. I'd live in a mansion.

I'd hire Sabrina Carpenter to be my alarm clock in the morning.

What would you do?

I'd what?

Say it three times fast and you won't forget.

Actually, no.

For me, I'd buy one of those huge fridges.

You know, the big fridge with the the door.

That's a window.

I'd buy one of those if I was rich.

That's the dream. Huge fridge.

So your turn.

Write your answer to that question.

If you were rich, if you were famous, what would you do?

Write three things on a piece of paper

in your notes app in the comments to this video to practice it.

Then pause this video.

Say your answer out loud three times.

That way it stays in your memory for longer.

Then when you're ready, continue with the video.

but you already know that right?

So let's take your English to a more advanced level

with this advanced grammar structure.

If you want to make that coffee sentence into an advanced structure,

change it to: “WERE I TO HAVE a coffee”

I'd be happy.

by the way,

that is a very advanced structure in English grammar.

It's called inversion.

And I cover it in my ultimate English e-book,

if you already have it, it's unit 59.

If you don't have it.

This is the best method for self-study in English.

You can get it at papateachme.com or just below this video.

There's a link right there.

you can practice with this.

And over 100 other lessons

on grammar, vocabulary, phrasal verbs, idioms, pronunciation.

It has everything you need and you learn at your pace.

So you choose the lesson, you’re like

“Hey, I want to learn inversion today!”

Go to that lesson, you practice it. Boom!

You just learned something amazing.

this is the very quick and very easy way to learn inversion.

So you need to change some things.

we change this.

To “WERE” and the verb.

TO + INFINITIVE

it's more formal.

We use it for slightly different reasons.

Again, it's covered in my ultimate English e-book, (papateachme.com)

Or that link below the video.

But if you do want to be more formal, more advanced,

more emphaic! you can use this structure.

Wait. Hang on.

Were I to be rich?

If you're thinking that doesn't sound good, you are right.

It doesn't.

So the simple way: “Were I rich”

You already have the BE verb.

Don't need another one.

Were I rich, I would live in a big house.

See, my voice changed.

It feels so much more formal if I use this structure.

So don't use it all the time.

Just for special occasions like weddings and funerals.

You can practice this now.

Write your own examples in the comments.

I will check for you.

so that was future and now imaginary situations.

Now let's change the past.

For example, this is you.

This morning, you woke up feeling great????

No, you woke up feeling terrible!

But why?

What did you do last night?

You stayed up late.

Yeah, I know! You were scrolling on your phone.

That's why you didn't sleep early.

I remember yesterday you were like, I'm so tired.

I need to sleep early tonight.

Oh, but then this was you at 1 a.m..

Yeah, I know I was watching.

Remember, this is the past result of another past.

But let's imagine that this didn't happen

or happened differently.

what is the result again

in the past?

Okay.

I imagine if I didn't sleep late.

If I slept early, I woke up feeling great.

I didn't forget my house keys.

So remember, we're imagining a different past

to change also the past.

What grammatically needs to change here?

for the “IF” you need a HAD or HADN’T + V3

Boring, I know, but what does it look like?

Didn't sleep.

Becomes. Hadn't slept.

Hadn't + a verb 3

It's sleep. Slept, slept.

I don't know why it's not “SLEEPED”

Sounds better as “SLEEPED” anyway.

Slept the positive becomes

had slept “If I had slept early,...”

or, use the contraction “If I‘d slept early, ...”

What's the result of this situation?

For a past result: “WOULD HAVE” + V3

Wake - woke - woken.

I would have woken up feeling great.

How about a negative?

I didn't forget my keys.

What changes?

again.

It's past and a negative.

So I wouldn't have.

And a verb three.

So forget - forgot - forgotten “I wouldn't have forgotten my keys!”

Whole thing together

I wouldn't have forgotten my keys.

If I hadn't slept late.

Or if I had slept early.

So your turn to practice.

Think about something in your past that you want to change.

Write it with the correct grammar in your notes or in the comments.

If you want me to check it.

Oh, actually.

Actually, the best way to learn conditionals and mixing conditionals

is with songs, right?

So there's this really famous singer

who sings Spanish songs, but in English.

Look him up on YouTube.

I can't remember the name,

And it didn't sound good, but

his songs always used conditionals.

So for example, that second conditional we learned before,

he has a song that was like.

or for the conditionals about imagining a different past.

That's a third conditional.

Again, you don't need to remember that term,

but this guy made lots of songs using Third Conditional.

you know what?

Let's practice with that one.

in the song,

he says, if you had told me that was our last kiss.

He's imagining a different past.

and, now result of that different past.

This is how you mix conditionals.

if you want to say.

I imagine a different past, and I imagine the result now of that action.

This is the structure you need.

So again. It's your time to practice.

Think about your life.

Something from your past.

Imagine it happened differently.

What would that change about your life NOW?

For example, If I hadn't randomly bumped into a friend in the street.

And if she hadn't told me about teaching English,

I wouldn't be a teacher right now.

Or. Let's make it sad.

If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend,

imagine that you hadn't said hello to them that first time.

Would you be crying right now?

I guess I'm asking you to practice by writing a love song.

Yeah, write a love song, a love poem or a love story

for your boyfriend or girlfriend.

If you're in a relationship.

Or a love letter to someone you just broke up with,

Or write a love letter to whoever's Instagram you're scrolling at 1 a.m..

Yeah, that's right.

I know what you do.

That's why you're tired right now.

So if you need practice with this or any other lesson, remember,

you can get my ultimate English

e-book, papateachme.com or that link just below the video.

Let me know what you'd like to study in the next class in the comments.

and I'll see you in the next class.