英语语法必考之虚拟语气：非真实条件句
非真实条件句常以if引导，表示一个完全“假定”的情况，这种“假定”只是说话人的一种不太可能实现的“愿望”，或与事实相反、或者不可能成为事实的情况。如：
a. If I were ten years younger, I would seek a job in the legal profession. 年轻10岁，我就去做律师。(“年轻10岁”只是一个不可能实现的愿望)
b. If the dinosaur hadn’t died out, what would the world today be like? 恐龙没有灭绝的话，今天的世界会是什么样子? (“恐龙没有灭绝”与实际情况相反)
表示“虚拟”的从句与主句都需要使用特定的动词形式。具体见下表：
表中的数字标注说明如下：
1. be的过去式一律使用were
2. would可根据需要替换为could, might, should
3. had, were, should可置于句首，代替if从句。
例如本文开头的例句可以改写为：
a-1. Were I ten years younger, I might seek a job in the legal profession.
b-1. Had the dinosaur not died out, what could the world today be like? (not位置不前移)
虚拟条件句的考试难点主要在于所谓“错综条件”和“含蓄条件”两种情况。
一、错综条件
通常，按照上表所列，主句与从句的动词形式需要保持相互间的一致。但是，有时主句与从句所表达的时间不一致，这时，其动词形式要与各自所表达的时间一致。这种主句与从句动词形式不一致的情况称为“错综条件”，又称“分裂条件”。
If the dinosaur hadn’t died out, what would the world today be like? 一句中，从句动词(hadn’t died out)表示“过去”，主句动词(would be like)表示“现在”，而不是使用表示“过去”的would have been like。
再如：
Were I not to have something important to attend to this afternoon, I would have joined you in the outing yesterday. 如果不是今天下午有重要的事情需要处理，我昨天就跟你们去郊游了。(从句动作发生在“将来”，主句动作发生在“过去”)
二、含蓄条件，指不是以if从句表示的条件。这里分为两种情况。
1. 以某些词语来表示条件。这些词语主要包括：without, but for, or (else),
otherwise. 例如：
But for your timely warning, I would have got into trouble. 若不是你及时提醒，我会陷入麻烦。
= If you hadn’t warned me in time, I would have got into trouble.
= You warned me in time, or I would have got into trouble. (or: if you hadn’t warned me in time)
2. 以事实表示隐含的条件：
I would have got into trouble, but you warned me in time. (but之后是一个事实，= if you hadn’t warned me in time.)
3. 以常理表示隐含的条件，常常通过设定“人物”、“时间”、“地点”的方式，表示一个“人所共知”的常识。
A. Anyone else in my place would have stood up against it. 任何人处于我的位置都会站出来表示反对。(设定“人物”，= If anyone else had been in my place, he /she would have stood up against it.)
B. Many things are now recycled that would have been thrown away a decade ago. 许多十年前会被扔掉的东西如今被回收利用。(设定“时间”，= ... that would have been thrown away if it had been a decade ago.)
C. This sort of thing wouldn’t happen in western culture. 这种事在西方文化背景下不会发生。(设定“地点”，= This sort of thing wouldn’t happen if it were in western culture.)
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作者：苏北(公众号 苏北教育)
