Linguists’ Forum Wishes, Hypotheticals and Regrets: The Power of Unreal Past Tenses by Lateef Kugbayi, PhD

For easy understanding of the grammar of English language, teachers of English at the basic level usually identify three major categories of tense: present tense (which describes an action that takes place in the present time, e.g., sing, learn, walk), past tense (which shows that an action occurred in a past time, e.g., sang, learnt, walked) and future tense (which indicates actions that will take place in the future or later, e.g., will sing, will learn, will walk). While this traditional way of describing tenses is foundational to the understanding of grammar, it rules out the possibility of exceptions to the relationship between tenses and time. Among the exceptions are instances where past tenses are used to describe present or future actions. When this happens, the tense of the verb used, even though it is in the past form, is an unreal past tense. The unreal past tense is usually used to talk about situations that are not real (untrue) in the present or future time, as in the use of:
1. Wish + (unreal) past tense: This is used to talk about a situation in the present time to express regret/sadness.
Examples
• Her husband wishes she would love him (Reality = She does not love her husband).
• He wishes he had a car (Reality = He does not have a car).
2. It’s time/It’s high time/It’s about time + (unreal) past tense: This is used to say that the present time is the right time to do something.
Examples
• It’s time we closed the office today.
• It’s high time you stopped smoking.
• It’s about time Nigeria crushed bandits across the country.
3. I’d rather (I had rather): It is used to show that one prefers an action/experience to another.
Examples
• I’d rather remain single.
• I’d rather obey God.
4. If + (unreal) past tense: It is used to describe a hypothetical (impossible/imaginary) situation.
Examples
• If I were a lawyer, I would defend the marginalised (Reality = I am not a lawyer and do not defend the marginalised).
• If President Trump came to Nigeria, we would welcome him (Reality = President Trump does not come to Nigeria and we do not welcome him).
5. Supposing + (unreal) past tense: It is used to describe a hypothetical (impossible/imaginary) situation.
Examples
• Supposing you were at the gate of heaven, what would you request the heavenly beings to do for you?
Key Takeaway
The existence of unreal past tenses foregrounds the fact that, despite being a rule-governed phenomenon, language is a pliable tool that its users can bend to fulfil their interactional needs, which may range from expressing wishes and hypotheticals to documenting regrets for correction and future reference.

Lateef Iyanda Kugbayi, PhD
Senior Lecturer
Department of English Language
Zamfara State University
Talata Mafara
[email protected]/+2347032985052