Grammar / C1 Grammar lessons and exercises / Unreal Time
We use unreal time to talk about situations that are imagined, wished for, unlikely or different from reality. In these situations, English often shifts the verb form backwards: the present can change to a past form, and the past can change to the past perfect. This shift creates distance from reality.
If only there was something I could do to help.
It's high time we stopped using plastic bags.
I'd rather you didn't mention this to Sam for now.
We use wish and if only to talk about things that we would like to be different in the present or the past.
If only is usually stronger and more emotional than wish.
I wish I knew more people my own age.
If only drivers paid more attention to cyclists.
To talk about a present situation that we want to be different, we use:
wish / if only + past form
The verb looks like past tense, but the meaning is about the present.
I wish I knew more people my own age.
If only drivers paid more attention to cyclists.
Reality: I don't know many people my own age, and drivers don't pay enough attention.
We can use wish + would when we want another person or situation to change.
It often expresses annoyance or dissatisfaction.
I wish people wouldn't eat noisily at the cinema.
Meaning
People eat noisily now, and the speaker wants them to change their behaviour.
To talk about something in the past that we wish had happened differently, we use:
wish / if only + had + past participle
I wish I hadn't stayed out so late last night.
If only we had known the company was going to close.
These events are already finished, so they cannot be changed.
We normally do not use wish simply to express a normal hope about a future event.
❌ I wish you pass the exam.
✅ I hope you pass the exam.
Use hope for real future wishes and expectations.
We use it's time or it's high time + subject + past form to say something should happen now, especially when it should already have happened.
It's (high) time + subject + past verb
It's high time we went to bed.
It's time we took responsibility for our planet.
Although the verb is in a past form, the meaning refers to what should happen now.
We use as if and as though to describe how something appears or seems.
As if is more common than as though.
Some people behave as if their actions had no consequences.
It was as though she hadn't heard me.
When an unreal tense follows as if/as though, the speaker suggests that the statement is probably not true.
We use would rather to express a preference.
I'd rather buy less, but better quality.
When the subjects are different, we often use an unreal past form.
They'd rather we didn't wait too long.
I'd rather you didn't eat dinner on the new sofa.
| Structure | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wish + past | unreal present | I wish I knew. |
| wish + would | want change / annoyance | I wish he would listen. |
| wish + past perfect | regret about the past | I wish I'd known. |
| it's high time + past | something should happen now | It's time we left. |
| would rather + subject + past | preference about another person | I'd rather you stayed. |
❌ I wish I know more people.
✅ I wish I knew more people.
❌ I wish I didn't stay out late last night.
✅ I wish I hadn't stayed out late last night.
❌ It's high time we go home.
✅ It's high time we went home.
❌ I'd rather you don't tell him.
✅ I'd rather you didn't tell him.
Unreal present: move the verb one step back to a past form.
Unreal past: move the verb back to the past perfect.
Wish + would: use it when you want somebody or something to change.
It's high time: use a past form even though the meaning is about now.
Would rather + different subject: normally use a past form for the second subject.