2. The Subjunctive/ 虛擬假設句 Patterns: A: (present; unreal) If + S + were/pt. …, S + should/would/ might… + be/V… B: (past; unreal) If + S + had been/had pp. …, S + should/ would/might… + have been/have pp. …

3. A: The truth is that I am busy now and I can’t talk to you. But, I do like to talk you. What can I say? “If I were not busy now, I would like to talk to you.” (present; unreal) That is an expression with verbs in the subjunctive mood, indicating what you say is an unreal situation at this moment.

4. Look at another example. Mary is the only child in her family and she often gets very lonely. It’s very likely that Mary will express how much she wants a brother or sister to play with. She might say, “If I had a sister, I wouldn’t be so lonely.” When she is saying so, she is talking about a wish that is unreal in her case.

5. Now try to say something that is not the way it actually is by using “If…” 1. Sue doesn’t have children, so she doesn’t know how busy a parent can be. If___________________________ 2. David has a lot of homework to do today; therefore, he can’t go to the concert with us. If___________________________

6. I’m glad I’m not the chicken in the oven. If I _____ the chicken in the oven, I ____ dead now.

7. I’m not as rich as Bill Gates, but if I _______, I _______(build) a computer kingdom of my own.

8. Now it’s time that I introduced to you something more difficult about the subjunctive. What if you want to talk about things that happened in the past? We all know that what was done was done; however, we still can express our wish or regret, wishing that what happened could have been otherwise. Hard to understand? Well, read on.

9. B. (past; unreal) Let’s say you didn’t study English last night and that you didn’t do well in the English test this morning. Now you’re very sorry about it. You might say, “If I had studied English last night, I would have done well in the English test this morning.” to express your regret. But what you say is the opposite of what happened last night and this morning. (past; unreal)

10. Did you watch TV last night? My favorite baseball team was defeated by yours. Really? I didn’t watch TV last night. But if I _____, I ____ (happy) to see the result then.