FORM

If + the past simple tense, + would, should, could, might

 If you took out a loan, would you be able to repay it?

USES

1   Imagining and unlikely situations

Imagine what would happen, if all the world’s stock exchanges crashed.

If we hired a factoring agency, we could recover our debts more easily.

It is possible to use if l were or if l was in both formal and informal styles:

If I was / I were after my final exams at secondary school, I would take a gap year before the university.

2    Bargaining

It is common to make hypothetical statements in negotiations.

Compare:

a) If you give us a 5% discount, we’ll sign a five-year contract. (this is almost a promise)

b) If you gave us a 5% discount, we‘d sign a five-year contract. (this is a more tentative offer)

You may therefore want to use if + past verb + would as an opening move in a negotiation, in order to test the ground.

3     Linking words in negotiations

During negotiation it is typical to use provided (that) ,so long as, as long as or on condition (that) instead of if to express a firmer position.

Compare these two sentences:

a) We would be happy to sign the agreement next week, if you were willing to be flexible about your retainer fee.

b) We would be happy to sign the agreement next week, as long as / so long as you were willing to be flexible about your retainer fee.

Now, compare these two sentences:

a) We would be open to negotiate our retainer fee, if you were ready to sign a long-term contract with our office.

b) We would be open to negotiate our retainer fee, provided / on condition you were ready to sign a long-term contract with our office.

EXERCISE 1

Unlikely situations. What would , should, could, or might you do in the following situations? Choose the correct ending of the sentences from the list.

YOUR SCORE(S) IN THIS EXERCISE:

EXERCISE 2

Bargaining. Complete each sentence with one of the expressions from the box. You can use each expression several times.

YOUR SCORE(S) IN THIS EXERCISE: